Japan Business Law Handbook - Strategic Information and Basic Laws

Introduction to Japanese Business Law & Practice is an ideal first point of reference on Japanese business law in the English language. It provides a concise and reader-friendly overview of all Japan’s major laws relevant to 21st century corporate and financial enterprises, with a practical emphasis on international business topics such as the cross-border flow of goods, services and capital funds.Each chapter was authored by a team of specialist lawyers, supported by a team of researchers. This text provides insight for modern businesses on Japan’s major legislative fields in a practical and concise manner.This edition includes the “new companies act” which is due to be enforced in April 2015. The change is so important for Japanese business related to corporate governance.In an increasingly globalized world economy, the cross-border flow of goods, services, capital funds and other business activity has become increasingly commonplace. To facilitate these transactions, efforts to harmonize laws and regulations through model laws, multi-national legislation such as EU law, and bilateral and multi-lateral treaties have gained popularity and prominence. Despite this trend, in reality, each sovereign nation still possesses a system of law with unique features. In this sense ‘national borders’ will inevitably continue to exist in the world of law.Accordingly, it remains essential for multinational enterprises to have an accurate and current understanding of the laws and regulations in each of the countries and jurisdictions in which they conduct business.

Since the and‘lost decadeand’ of the nineties, the progress of Japanese administrative and economic reform has been intense. Although some early critics characterized the reforms as and‘window dressing, and’ it is becoming clearer that systemic reform has taken hold and the new Japanese economy is picking up. This deeply knowledgeable book provides a penetrating analysis and expert evaluation of matters of crucial concern to business lawyers including corporate governance, contract law, business liabilities, intellectual property, media, employment, taxation, investment, the legal profession, the judiciary, and much more as they are developing and intersecting in Japan today. In the course of the detailed presentation, the contributors touch on such details of interest to those doing business in Japan as the following: status of foreign lawyers; mergers and acquisitions and leveraged buyouts; grounds for terminating contracts; real estate transactions; antimonopoly law and licensing guidelines; IT and e-commerce law; managing, disciplining, and terminating employees; occupational safety and health; labor union law; corporation income taxation; government programs offering low cost finance; consumer protection laws; and litigation and alternative dispute resolution. One of the most valuable benefits of the contributors' approach is the keen insight offered into the tatemae (outward appearance) well known to frustrate and mislead foreigners in almost any dealings with the Japanese.

Compilations of cases with commentary – in Japanese Hanrei Hyakusen – often provide the most practical way to obtain a quick and reliable understanding of a specific field of law, as well as guidance on how best to proceed in specific situations. In this respect, leading cases much more than statutory provisions are essential for understanding the reality of Japanese commercial law. This incomparable book compiles 72 of the most important commercially relevant Japanese court decisions in the fields of civil law, labour law, company law, financial transactions, intellectual property, antitrust, conflict of laws, and arbitration. Each decision is presented in English translation and is accompanied by a practical and explanatory commentary by an expert in the field, be it from academia or private practice. There are 50 commentators in all, brought together here to honour the 60th birthday of Harald Baum, widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost scholars on Japanese business law. The cases encompass a wide reach of causes of action in fields such as: breach of contract; tort liability; product liability; unjust enrichment; collective bargaining; shareholders’ rights; directors’ duty of care; political donations; insider trading; patent infringement; parallel imports; trade mark rights; unfair competition; publicity rights; price fixing; arbitration agreements; and recognition of foreign judgements. Whether serving as practical guidance or as a basis for academic research, this compilation will be warmly welcomed by practicing lawyers, teachers and students of Japanese and international law, and all others who need to understand the various fields of Japanese commercial law.

Basic business legislation, laws, export-import regulations affecting business, business climate and contacts