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 On January 1, 2007, the new Japanese 'Act on General Rules for Application of Laws' entered into force replacing the outdated conflict of laws statute of 1898.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.

This book is a record of the international symposium held at the Kyoto International Conference Hall to mark the centennial of the Japanese Association of International Law. The purpose of the symposium was to reflect on past Japanese practice, to analyze current problems affecting Japan, and to seek to clarify the future role of Japan in the global community, in terms of international law. After joining the international community in the middle of the nineteenth century, Japan adopted a policy of wealth creation and armament in order to maintain its independence against the expanding Western States. At the same time, on the domestic scene, Japan vigorously promoted the modernization - Westernization - of its political, economic, and social institutions. Japan emerged as one of the victorious 'Principal Allied and Associated Powers' in World War I, and started asserting its place in the international order. However, in the aftermath of the Great Depression, Japan failed to reach agreement with the international community, eventually left the League of Nations, invaded the Asian continent, and met with complete military defeat in World War II. In the subsequent years, Japan toiled to rebuild its economy and to rejoin the world community, but despite its miraculous economic recovery and expansion, Japan remains ambivalent in its policy of contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security. During these one and a half centuries the Japanese practice of international law has covered a wide range of fields. From these various fields, the symposium took up three specific topics: War and Peace, Economy, and Human Rights, because of their relevance to past Japanese practice and because future Japanese practice in these areas would be bound to affect international law in the coming century. In addition, the symposium discussed Japanese transactions, in general, with international law. The period covered by the symposium has witnessed many drastic changes in the world, and international law, which used to be applied almost exclusively to relations among the Western States, has now come to be applied universally. The Association wished to emphasize that an analysis of Japanese practice should be of significance for anyone interested in promoting and consolidating the rule of law in the world community at large.