1.
circumventing the law, exploiting legal loopholes
The act of technically staying within the law while violating its intent, or finding ways around legal restrictions. The actions are not strictly illegal but are designed to avoid legal obligations or prohibitions through technicalities.
脱法行為は許されない。
Circumventing the law is not acceptable.
脱法ドラッグが社会問題になった。
Legal-loophole drugs became a social problem.
法律の抜け穴を利用した脱法ビジネスが問題視されている。
Businesses exploiting legal loopholes are being criticized.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 脱法行為: act of circumventing the law
- 脱法ドラッグ: legal-loophole drugs (substances designed to evade drug laws)
- 脱法ハーブ: legal-loophole herbs (an earlier term for the same)
- 脱法ビジネス: business exploiting legal loopholes
USAGE:
脱法ドラッグ was a major news topic in Japan in the 2010s, referring to synthetic substances designed to mimic illegal drugs while technically not being covered by existing drug laws. The term was later officially replaced by 危険ドラッグ (dangerous drugs) by the government to remove any implication that they were safe or legal. The prefix 脱 means 'escape from,' giving the word its sense of evading legal constraints.