The idea of national codification is advancing on a global scale in conflict of laws. A large number of legislative projects dealing with codifying and modernizing private international law, both on the national and the supranational level, have been launched in the past few years. Among such recent initiatives, the advances taken by the European and the Japanese legislators are particularly reflecting these developments. On January 1, 2007, the new Japanese 'Act on General Rules for Application of Laws' entered into force replacing the outdated conflict of laws statute of 1898. This major reform finds its parallels in the current efforts of the European Union to create a modern private international law regime for its member states.This volume presents the first comprehensive analysis of the new Japanese private international law available in any western language and contrasts it with corresponding European developments. Most of the contributors from Japan are scholars who were actively involved in and responsible for preparing the new Act. All of them are renowned experts in the field of private international law. Leading European experts in the conflict of laws supplement the Japanese analyses with comparative contributions reflecting the pertinent discussion of parallel endeavours in the EU. To guarantee better understanding, English translations of both the present and the former Japanese statutes have been added.

This is the leading reference on Japanese private international law in English. The chapters systematically cover the whole of Japanese private international law, not just questions likely to arise in commercial matters, but also in family, succession, cross-border insolvency, intellectual property, competition (antitrust), and environmental disputes. The chapters do not merely cover the traditional conflict of law areas of jurisdiction, applicable law (choice of law), and enforcement. The chapters also look into conflict of law questions arising in arbitration and assess Japanese involvement in the global harmonisation of private international law. In addition to summarising relevant principles and scholarly views, the authors discuss case law whenever possible and identify deficiencies and anticipate difficulties in the existing law. The book thus presents the Japanese conflict of laws through a combination of common and civil law analytical techniques and perspectives, providing readers worldwide with a more profound and comprehensive understanding of the subject.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to the law applied to cases involving cross border issues in Japan. It offers every lawyer dealing with questions of conflict of laws much-needed access to these conflict rules, presented clearly and concisely by a local expert. Beginning with a general introduction, the monograph goes on to discuss the choice of law technique, sources of private international law, and the relevant connection with other laws. Then follows clear description and analysis of the rules of choice of law on natural and legal persons, contractual and non-contractual obligations, movable and immovable property, intangible property rights, company law, family law (marriage, cohabitation, registered partnerships, matrimonial property, maintenance, child law), and succession law (including testamentary dispositions). The presentation concludes with an overview of relevant civil procedure, examining lex fori and issues of national and international jurisdiction, acceptability and enforcement of foreign judgements, and international arbitration. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for lawyers handling cases in Japan. Academics and researchers, as well as judges, notaries public, marriage registrars, youth welfare officers, teachers, students, and local and public authorities will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of private international law from a comparative perspective.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of the law of contracts in Japan covers every aspect of the subject – definition and classification of contracts, contractual liability, relation to the law of property, good faith, burden of proof, defects, penalty clauses, arbitration clauses, remedies in case of non-performance, damages, power of attorney, and much more. Lawyers who handle transnational contracts will appreciate the explanation of fundamental differences in terminology, application, and procedure from one legal system to another, as well as the international aspects of contract law. Throughout the book, the treatment emphasizes drafting considerations. An introduction in which contracts are defined and contrasted to torts, quasi-contracts, and property is followed by a discussion of the concepts of 'consideration' or 'cause' and other underlying principles of the formation of contract. Subsequent chapters cover the doctrines of 'relative effect', termination of contract, and remedies for non-performance. The second part of the book, recognizing the need to categorize an agreement as a specific contract in order to determine the rules which apply to it, describes the nature of agency, sale, lease, building contracts, and other types of contract. Facts are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable time-saving tool for business and legal professionals alike. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Japan will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative contract law.

It’s long been known that Japanese file fewer lawsuits per capita than Americans do. Yet explanations for the difference have tended to be partial and unconvincing, ranging from circular arguments about Japanese culture to suggestions that the slow-moving Japanese court system acts as a deterrent. With Second-Best Justice, J. Mark Ramseyer offers a more compelling, better-grounded explanation: the low rate of lawsuits in Japan results not from distrust of a dysfunctional system but from trust in a system that works—that sorts and resolves disputes in such an overwhelmingly predictable pattern that opposing parties rarely find it worthwhile to push their dispute to trial. Using evidence from tort claims across many domains, Ramseyer reveals a court system designed not to find perfect justice, but to “make do”—to adopt strategies that are mostly right and that thereby resolve disputes quickly and economically. An eye-opening study of comparative law, Second-Best Justice will force a wholesale rethinking of the differences among alternative legal systems and their broader consequences for social welfare.

Preface --Dedication --List of Authors and Editors --Civil Law --Civil Law - Contract Law - Nullity of Contracts (Juristic Acts) due to a Violation of Mandatory Public Law Provisions --Civil Law - Contract Law - Doctrine of Frustration - Change of Circumstances --Civil Law - M&A - Binding Nature of Letter of Intent - Obligation to Negotiate in Good Faith - Confidentiality Clause - Injunctive Relief --Civil Law - Contract Law - Breach of Contract - Damages - Liability for Acts of the Assistant --Civil Law - Contract Law - Purchase Contract - Extinctive Prescription for Damage Claims Under the Warranty against Defects --Civil Law - Case to Seek Return of Money Equivalent to Unjust Enrichment - Actio de in rem verso --Civil Law - Tort Law/Contract Law - Liability for a Breach of Pre-contractual, Contractual and Non-contractual Information Duties - Liability of Experts - Claim for Damages --Civil Law - Tort Law - Joint Tort Liability --Civil Law - Tort Law - Product Liability Law - Claim for Damages --Civil Law - Contract Law - Improper Solicitation Transaction - Improperness of Solicitation of Transactions with Elderly People --Civil Law - Consumer Contract Act - Case That Decided whether Gold Futures Prices Are 'Important Matters' under the Consumer Contract Act --Civil Law - Contract Law - Consumer Credit - Documentation Requirements - Return of Unjust Enrichment --Civil Law - State Compensation Law - State Liability - Extinctive Prescription --Labour Law --Labour Law - Freedom Related to Hiring - Length of Probation Period --Labor and Employment Law - Duty to Work Overtime -Termination for Cause - Abuse of Right - Section 36 Agreements - Collective Bargaining Agreements - Work Rules --Labor Law - Abuse of Employer's Right to Transfer Employees --Labor Law - Succession to Labor Contracts upon Company Split - Section 5 Consultations --Corporate Law, Financial Regulation, Insurance Law --Corporate Law - Book-Entry Transfer System for Shares - Minority Shareholders' Appraisal Right - Requirementto Make Individual Shareholder Notice --Corporate Law - Duty of Care - Greenmailing - Benefits Granted to Shareholders --Corporate Law - Business Judgment Rule - Derivative Action --Corporate Law - Financial Assistance by Stock Corporation to Associated Corporation - Directors' Duty of Care and Duty of Loyalty --Corporate Law - Director's Remuneration - Pension-Type Remuneration after Retirement - Unilateral Cancellationby the Company --Corporate Law - Absorption-type Merger - Fairness of Merger Ratio - Action Seeking the Invalidation of a Merger --Corporate Law - Fraudulent Incorporation-type Company Split - Right of Creditors to Seek Avoidance and Request Compensation from the New Company --Corporate Law - Company Split - Continued Use of Trade Name - Liability of Succeeding Company for Obligations of Splitting Company --Corporate Law - Absorption-type Merger, etc. - Appraisal Remedy - Determination of Fair Value --Corporate Law - MBO - Squeeze-out - MinorityShareholders' Appraisal Right --Corporate Law - Takeovers - Issuance of Share Options as Defence Measure - Principal Purpose Rule --Corporate Law - Takeovers - Defensive Measures -Equality of Shareholders --Corporate Law - Constitutional Law - Political Donations by Companies - Legal Capacity of Companies - Purpose of Companies --Banking Law - Definition of Banking - Meaning of 'Funds Transfer' - Legality of Money Transmittance Service on Behalf of Customer --Insider Trading - Decision Regarding Carrying Out a Tender Offer - Decision-Making Organ --Insurance Law - Non-Life Insurance - Accidental Nature of the Insured Event - Burden of Proof --Insurance Law - Life Insurance - Claim for Payment -Exemption due to Intentional Cause of Death --Intellectual Property and Competition Law --Patent Law - Limits of Patent Rights - National andInternational Exhaustion --Intellectual Property - Patent Law - Patent Infringement - Defence of Patent Exhaustion and Exceptions --Intellectual Property - Patent Law - Clinical Trials -Research Exception --Intellectual Property Law - Patent Law - Requirements for a Patent Term Extension of Pharmaceutical Patents --Intellectual Property - Patent Law - Interpretation of Patent Claims - Doctrine of Equivalents --Intellectual Property - Patent Law - Employees' Inventions - Company Rules - Reasonable Remuneration --Intellectual Property - Patent Law - Employees' Inventions - Reasonable Remuneration --Intellectual Property - Patent Law - Patent Infringement - Counterclaim of Invalidity --Copyright Law - Time- and Space-Shifting Broadcast -Right of Reproduction --Copyright Law - Re-Broadcasting of TV Programmes -Public Transmission --Copyright Law - Parodistical use - Right of Quotation - Fair Use --Copyright Law - Cinematographic Works - DistributionRight - Exhaustion --Copyright Law - Future Works - Injunctive Relief -Enforcement of Copyright --Trade Marks - Registrability - Secondary Meaning -Three-Dimensional Marks --Trade Mark Law - Similarity - Confusion --Trade Marks - Trade Mark Use - Confusion - Comparative Advertising - Well-Known Marks --Trade Mark Law - Abusive Registration of Well-KnownMarks - Foreign Marks --Trade Mark Law - Parallel Imports - Identity of Goods -Licensing Agreement - Counterfeit Goods --Protection of Legal Interests Not Explicitly Recognized by Statute - Tort and Intellectual Property Law --Copyright - Works of Applied Art - Law of Torts - Slavish Imitation - Unfair Competition Prevention - Designs --Publicity Rights - Personality Rights --Patent Law - Licensing Law - Exclusive Registered Licensee - Standing to Sue --Antitrust Law - Price Fixing - Administrative Guidance - Fair Trade Commission --Antitrust Law - Concerted Behaviour - Cartels - Patent Pools --Antitrust Law - Unfair Trade Practices - Resale PriceMaintenance - Private Enforcement --Part V: Conflict of Laws, Arbitration and Civil Procedure --Infringement of a US Patent - Patent Law - Applicable Law --Claim for the Interdiction of an Arbitration Procedure: Law Applicable to the Legal Capacity of a Company -Adoption of an Arbitration Agreement - Doctrineof Separability of the Arbitration Agreement fromthe Main Contract --Law Applicable to Maritime Lien --Calculation of Lost Income of Foreign Victim becauseof Accident in Japan --International Civil Procedure Law - State Immunity from Civil Jurisdiction - Restrictive Immunity Theory - Waiverfrom Immunity --International Civil Procedure Law - Jurisdiction - Place of Business of Corporations --International Civil Procedure Law, Recognition of Foreign Judgments, Punitive Damages --Recognition - Enforcement - Foreign Judgment - Indirect Jurisdiction - Service - Public Policy - Mutual Guarantee --Arbitration Law - Governing Law - Scope of Arbitration Agreement --Arbitral Award - Setting Aside - Appropriateness of Arbitral Tribunal's Reasons not Examinable by State Court - Impactof New Arbitration Law --Arbitration Law - Separability and Arbitrability -Terminated Contract --Disclosure of Documents for Internal Use --Table of Cases.