Japan

International Legal Theory and Teaching, Japan, Teaching International Investment Arbitration Series, WTO

(Waseda University)/ /Leave a comment

The World Trade Organization (“WTO“) dispute settlement is akin to a distant cousin for the investment law community. Many investment lawyers know little about it except that it exists. It operates under a different treaty framework and involves different procedures from investment treaty arbitration. However, it is one of the two most frequently used international…

Civil Law, Institutional Rules, Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA, Prague Rules, Settlement

(Mori Hamada & Matsumoto)/ /Leave a comment

In recent years, criticism that international arbitration rules lean too heavily on common law traditions—with similar legal costs as a result—has culminated in the creation of multiple new sets of arbitration rules, each claiming to facilitate more efficient arbitration proceedings through civil law-based case management strategies. Whether those rules actually result in more proactive management…

Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Japan, Renewable energy

, / /1 Comment

The energy sector has long been one of the major users of international arbitration, and the field has always been a fertile ground for disputes, whether they be price reviews, construction claims, sale and delivery disagreements or disputes over the decommissioning of assets. This has certainly been the case in recent years, including for arbitrations…

Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Japan, Renewable energy

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Renewable energy is front-and-centre in the Japanese energy agenda. Japan is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels for its electricity generation needs with one-third of its carbon emissions coming from its 78 thermal power stations. The Japanese prime minister has pledged that Japan will be carbon neutral by 2050 leading to the Japanese Ministry of…

2022 in Review, Arbitration Act, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Interim measures, ISDS, Japan, Korea, Legislative amendment, Macau, New York Convention, PRC, Taiwan, Treaty, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

, , (Singapore International Arbitration Centre), and (Williams & Connolly LLP)/ /Leave a comment

East and Central Asia made further strides to promote arbitration, including through legislative reforms and enhancement of judicial assistance, as well as the accession, ratification, and creation of treaties.  Some domestic courts clarified views on fundamental issues in arbitration.  On the user side, East and Central Asian parties continued to be active as both claimants…

Arbitration, Japan, JCAA, Mediation

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The dispute resolution landscape in Japan is almost unrecognisable from the position 20 years ago.  In that time, Japan has evolved into a significant market for cross-border contentious legal matters.  Sophisticated Japanese corporations with significant overseas business are comfortable using international arbitration and mediation as methods of dispute resolution. 86% of the case load of…

Asia-Pacific, California, California International Arbitration Week, Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association

(California State Polytechnic University-Pomona) and (University of Glasgow)/ /Leave a comment

On 14 March 2022, the first day of the inaugural California International Arbitration Week, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”) hosted a webinar on the rising waves of arbitration in Japan and California. The session was moderated by Kazuhiko Nishihara (Secretary General, Japan International Mediation Center in Kyoto), and featured speakers Yoshinori Tatsuno (Partner, Mori…

Investment Arbitration, ISDS, Japan, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Treaty

, (Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Singapore LLP)/ /1 Comment

On 2 June 2021, the British government announced that the existing 11 signatories (the “Parties”) to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) have agreed to the United Kingdom’s bid to begin the accession process.1)The signatories consist of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. International Trade…

Hong Kong, Investment Treaties, investor-State arbitration and mediation, ISDS, Japan

, (City University of Hong Kong)/ /Leave a comment

In March 2021, a major newspaper broke the story that a Hong Kong investor had filed what may be considered the very first investment treaty arbitration claim against Japan under the Hong-Kong Bilateral Investment Treaty (Hong Kong, China SAR – Japan BIT 1997). While it may take anywhere from a few months to a few years…

Arbitral seat, Arbitration Act, Arbitration institution, Institutional Rules, Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA

(Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Singapore LLP) and (Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu)/ /Leave a comment

On 31 May 2021, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”), Japan International Dispute Resolution Center (“JIDRC”), and the Japanese Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) co-hosted a webinar on developments in arbitration in Japan and Japan’s potential as an international arbitration hub. Some of the key takeaways from the event include: positive experiences with the physical and…

Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA, Third party funding

(Nishimura & Asahi)/ /Leave a comment

The economic turmoil brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly give parties pause in weighing the potential benefits of pursuing an arbitration claim, no matter how strong it is believed to be.1)The author thanks and acknowledges Mr. Akihiro Hironaka and Mr. Mihiro Koeda for their comments on this piece. Yet international disputes and arbitration…

Arbitration institution, Institutional Rules, Interviews with Our Editors, Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA

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Professor Masato Dogauchi is a Chief Arbitration and Mediation Officer of the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”), Professor of Law at Waseda University Law School, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. He has authored numerous publications in the areas of arbitration, international civil procedure, and private international law. He has sat as arbitrator,…

Brexit, Free Trade Agreements, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Japan, Reform

and (Robalino Abogados)/ /1 Comment

On 23 October 2020, Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the agreement coming into force on 1 January 2021. This signifies a historic landmark as the UK’s first trade deal as an independent nation, and represents a key milestone for international trade in a post-Brexit UK. The…

2020 In Review, Arbitrability, Arbitration institution, Armenia, China, COVID-19, Document Production, Enforcement, Free Trade Zones, Georgia, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Japan, Macau, South Korea, Virtual hearings

, and (Peter & Kim)/ /Leave a comment

In spite of unfamiliar challenges that emerged in 2020, arbitration progress in East and Central Asia has persisted. In this post, our East and Central Asian editorial team recapitulates major arbitration trends and developments of the region featured in the past year from the perspectives of national and interstate policies, judicial and legislative changes, as…

foreign direct investment, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Treaties, Japan, VCLT, WTO

(Nagoya University)/ /Leave a comment
Academic Council, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The years since 2017 have witnessed a global trend of tightening foreign direct investment (FDI) screening processes. Major economies, including the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have moved towards stricter FDI rules. In all of these cases, security concerns and, in particular, the need to protect cutting-edge technologies against…

Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA

(Greenberg Traurig, LLP) and (Iwata Godo)/ /Leave a comment

Arbitration in Japan recently received a domestic boost when two Japanese industry titans agreed to arbitrate their dispute over a South African coal plant, with claims worth several billion US dollars, before the JCAA. However domestic arbitration in Japan tends to be used sparingly and this is often cited as a reason for many Japanese…

2019 In Review, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belt Road Initiative, China, Georgia, HK Arbitration Week, HKIAC, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Online Dispute Resolution, South Korea, Third party funding, Trade, Uzbekistan

and (Peter & Kim)/ /Leave a comment

Gong Xi Fa Cai! The Year of the Earth Pig has drawn to a close. In what was certainly an auspicious and lucky year for arbitration developments in East and Central Asia, we take a closer look at five key developments:   1. Initiatives in PR China to boost arbitration In southern coastal China, the…

ISDS, Japan, Korea, Mediation, WTO

(Waseda University), (University of Sydney & Williams Trade Law), and (Williams Trade Law)/ /Leave a comment

1. Complex Multi-faceted Tensions between Japan and Korea A media and geopolitical storm recently erupted after Japan introduced measures affecting exports to the Republic of Korea (Korea). Thunder sounded with Japan’s imposition of certification requirements on three chemicals needed by South Korean companies to make semiconductors, memory chips and displays for consumer electronics (the 4…

ISDS, Japan, Korea, Mediation, WTO

(Waseda University), (University of Sydney & Williams Trade Law), and (Williams Trade Law)/ /Leave a comment

Our previous posting set out the background to the current trade tension between Korea and Japan. It outlined the possibility of Japan bringing claims under a 1965 Treaty that purported to settle claims resulting from Japan’s colonisation of Korea, or under two investment treaties, regarding Korean courts recently ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation to…

Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA, Prague Rules

, , and (Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Overview1)The views expressed herein are those of the authors and should not be construed as necessarily reflecting those of their firm or of any of its clients. On 1 January 2019 the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (the “JCAA“) amended its two current sets of arbitration rules. At the same time, it introduced an additional set…

Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA

(Universiti Brunei Darussalam & University of Sydney) and (University of Sydney & Williams Trade Law)/ /Leave a comment

Not long after the ICCA Congress held in Sydney, the Japan International Dispute Resolution Center (JIDRC) was established in Osaka on 1 May 2018, with some fanfare from the Japanese government and local legal circles. ‘JIDRC-Osaka’ does not provide arbitration services but offers specialist facilities for international arbitration hearings and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution…

Asia-Pacific, Japan, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Treaty

(Waseda University)/ /2 Comments

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed by 11 of the original TPP Partners on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile. After the United States announced its withdrawal from the original TPP on 23 January 2017,1) The announcement made it clear that the United States was not ‘obliged to refrain from…

Annulment, Bias, Conflicts of interest, Disclosure, Duty to investigate, England, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, Impartiality, Independence, Japan, Non-disclosure, Set aside an arbitral award, Set aside an international arbitral award, Switzerland

(City-Yuwa Partners) and (Independent Attorney at Law)/ /Leave a comment

On December 12, 2017, the Supreme Court of Japan rendered its first decision on the setting aside of an arbitral award based on an arbitrator’s failure to disclose facts allegedly constituting a conflict of interest, reasoning that, in order for the award to be set aside on this ground, it is necessary that the arbitrator…