According to a 2019 survey commissioned by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), 85% of the Japanese companies involved in international transactions responded that they have an arbitration clause in their contracts. While Japanese companies recognise the importance of international arbitration for the resolution of cross-border disputes, they are not frequent users of international arbitration. The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) received only 15 international arbitration cases in 2021. Since 2017, the Japanese government has taken initiatives to promote international arbitration in Japan along with Japanese practitioners in the arbitration community.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all arbitral proceedings have become virtual. Statistics indicate that in 2021, 76% of arbitration cases at the JCAA were conducted completely online, and another 12% were conducted partially online. In 21 January 2022, the Japan International Dispute Resolution Center (JIDRC) released a model protocol for online hearing that the practitioners can agree on to modify the hearing procedures. The model protocol consists of 11 sections having a total of 32 provisions.

While there is no publicly available data to demonstrate whether any industry has experienced significant changes in its international arbitration activity, the majority of arbitration cases handled by the JCAA involve disputes arising from sales or distributor contracts.

The JCAA is the arbitral institution most used in Japan to resolve business-related disputes. The Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission of the Japan Shipping Exchange Inc. is used to handle maritime arbitrations.

Currently there are no specific courts in Japan designated to hear disputes related to arbitration, whether domestic or international. Japan’s Arbitration Act (Act No 138 of 2003) (“Arbitration Act”) provides exclusive jurisdiction to the following three district courts with respect to any court procedures contemplated under the Act: (i) the court agreed by the parties, (ii) the court presiding over the place of arbitration, and (iii) the court having jurisdiction over the location of the general venue of the respondent (such as residence or headquarter office). However, to establish courts specialised in handling disputes related to international arbitration, the MOJ finalised a Proposed Outline of Amendments to the Arbitration Act (“Proposed Amendments”) which includes, among other things, a proposal to grant concurrent jurisdiction over such disputes to the district courts in Tokyo and Osaka.

The law governing international arbitration seated in Japan is the Arbitration Act, which is based on the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“Model Law”) of 1985. However, compared with the Model Law, the following provisions are unique to Japan.

• For the convenience of parties having difficulty obtaining materials to prove the delivery of a notice in arbitration proceedings, a party may request a court’s assistance to serve written notices.
• The arbitral tribunal or the arbitrator(s) may facilitate a settlement only “with the consent of both parties”. Settlement is frequent in Japanese arbitration practice. This provision clarifies the requirement to do so.
• In the absence of an agreement by the parties, the arbitral tribunal shall decide arbitrator remunerations. Under Japanese law, an arbitrator's contract is interpreted as a contract of mandate (or one similar to it), and under the Civil Code of Japan, a mandatary cannot claim remunerations in the absence of any special agreements. Since it is not in line with the actual practice to pay remunerations to arbitrators, this provision was stipulated.
• To protect consumers, the Arbitration Act provides a special provision that allows consumers to terminate, without cause, arbitration agreements regarding future civil disputes that may arise between a consumer and a business entity.

In 2017, the Japanese government adopted a policy to revitalise international arbitration in Japan and develop the judicial infrastructure necessary for its promotion. As part of this policy, the MOJ established the Arbitration Act Subcommittee of the Legislative Council in October 2020 in an effort to align the Arbitration Act with the Model Law, as amended in 2006. On 8 October 2021, the MOJ published the Proposed Amendments. The Proposed Amendments offer amendments to the rules regarding an arbitral tribunal’s interim measures (see 6.1 Types of Relief) and relaxing the “in writing” requirement of an arbitration agreement (see 3.1 Enforceability). In addition, the Proposed Amendments offer changes to the rules on arbitration-related court cases by (i) granting concurrent jurisdictions to the district courts in Tokyo and Osaka to concentrate expertise to handle arbitration-related cases, and (ii) allowing the court to exempt the parties from submitting translations of the arbitral award and other documentary exhibits prepared in languages other than Japanese in certain cases to reduce the parties’ burden.

An arbitration agreement shall be in writing, such as in the form of a document signed by all the parties, or letters or telegrams exchanged between the parties (including those sent by facsimile device or other communication measures for parties at a distance which provide the recipient with a written record of the communicated content).

If an arbitration agreement is made in an electromagnetic record recording the contents thereof, such arbitration agreement shall be deemed to be in writing.

The Proposed Amendments provide that if a contract that is not in writing refers to a document or electronic data containing an arbitration agreement and incorporates it as forming part of such contract, then the requirement that the arbitration agreement be in writing is deemed to have been met.

An arbitration agreement shall be effective only when the subject thereof is a civil dispute (excluding disputes concerning divorce or the dissolution of an adoptive relation) which can be settled between the parties.

In addition, arbitration agreements covering individual labour-related disputes are currently considered invalid. Furthermore, currently, from the point of view of consumer protection, consumers may cancel consumer arbitration agreements concluded with a business entity.

The governing law of the arbitration agreement shall be determined by agreement of the parties and, in the absence of agreement of the parties, the law of the place of arbitration.

Japanese courts can be said to be “pro-arbitration”. For example, in its decision of 1 August 2018, the Tokyo High Court stated: “In interpreting the Arbitration Act... we should bear in mind an interpretation common to the arbitration laws of other countries, an interpretation that is internationally accepted.” In the case of a request to set aside an arbitral award, it is not permissible to conduct a substantive review of the arbitral award. The national court of the place of arbitration may not intervene in an arbitral award and set it aside merely based on erroneous fact-finding or legal judgment (which does not constitute grounds to set aside an arbitral award).

Statistics between 2004 and 2016 indicate that out of 34 cases filed at the Tokyo District Court, approximately 70% were granted an execution order. The proceedings at the Tokyo District Court required less than six months for approximately 50% of the cases, and less than a year for an additional 25%.

Furthermore, statistics during the same period indicate that of 23 petitions to set aside an arbitral award in the Tokyo District Court, only one case was granted, while 17 other cases were either denied, dismissed or withdrawn (four cases were still pending at the time, and one case settled).

Even if clauses of the contract other than the arbitration clause are invalid due to nullity, rescission or for any other reasons, it does not render the arbitration clause invalid. The Arbitration Act recognises the doctrine of separability of arbitration clauses.

The Arbitration Act does not require any specific qualifications for an arbitrator to be selected by the parties.

In Japanese practice, academic experts who are not qualified as lawyers have acted as arbitrators in areas such as commercial arbitration, maritime arbitration and construction arbitration.

Where the parties to an arbitration agreement have agreed on qualifications required of the arbitrators (eg, lawyers, industrial experts or former judges), such requirements will be upheld.

Under the Arbitration Act, if there are two parties, and an agreement on the number of arbitrators has not been reached, there shall be three arbitrators. If there are two parties and three arbitrators, and the procedure to appoint an arbitrator has not been agreed, the parties shall each appoint one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators appointed by the parties shall appoint the third arbitrator.

In either of the following cases where there will be three arbitrators, the court will appoint the arbitrator upon the petition of one of the parties:

• if one party fails to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days from the day on which it received a demand to appoint an arbitrator from the other party that has already appointed an arbitrator; or
• if the two arbitrators appointed by the parties fail to appoint the third arbitrator within 30 days from their appointment.

If the parties agreed to have one arbitrator but are unable to reach an agreement for the appointment, the court shall appoint the arbitrator, upon the petition of one of the parties.

If there are three or more parties, and the number of arbitrators has not been agreed, the court will decide the number of arbitrators, upon the petition of a party.

In this case, if the procedure for the appointment of arbitrators has also not been agreed, the court will appoint the arbitrator, upon the petition of a party.

If it is no longer possible to appoint arbitrators in accordance with the procedure agreed by the parties (for example, a third party entrusted by the parties to appoint the arbitrators passes away before making the appointment), then one of the parties may file a petition to have the court appoint the arbitrator.

Please refer to 4.2 Default Procedures for cases where the court appoints an arbitrator.

In appointing an arbitrator, the court must consider the following:

• the requirements for the arbitrator as provided by the agreement of the parties;
• the impartiality and independence of the person to be appointed; and
• in cases involving an appointment of a sole arbitrator or the third arbitrator to be appointed by two party-appointed arbitrators, whether it is appropriate to appoint a person whose nationality is different from those of both parties.

However, it is not possible to appeal against the court's appointment decision.

A party may challenge the appointment of an arbitrator if the arbitrator fails to satisfy the requirements provided by the agreement of the parties, or there are reasonable grounds to doubt the impartiality or independence of the arbitrator.

A party may file a petition to the court to dismiss an arbitrator if the arbitrator has become de jure or de facto unable to perform his or her duties, or the arbitrator unjustly delays the performance of his or her duties.

A person who has been requested to become an arbitrator must disclose all facts that would be likely to give rise to doubts as to his or her impartiality or independence before accepting the nomination.

Furthermore, during the arbitration proceedings, an arbitrator must, without delay, disclose to the parties all facts that would be likely to give rise to doubts as to his or her impartiality or independence.

Under the Arbitration Act, civil disputes which can be settled between the parties are considered arbitrable, except as otherwise provided by law. Disputes concerning divorce or the dissolution of an adoptive relation cannot be referred to arbitration. In addition, for protection of employees, individual labour-related disputes arising in the future are also not arbitrable. Furthermore, to protect consumers, consumers may terminate an arbitration agreement for civil disputes which may arise in the future between the consumer and a business entity, even if the agreement has been already concluded between them.

An arbitral tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction.

If the arbitral tribunal has ruled that it has jurisdiction in its independent decision made before an arbitral award, a party may petition a court to rule on whether the tribunal has jurisdiction without waiting for a final award. In addition, if the tribunal has made an arbitral award based on the assumption that it has jurisdiction, a party may file a petition with the court to set aside the award.

Among the published Japanese court precedents, none has set aside an arbitral award on the grounds that the arbitral tribunal lacked jurisdiction. In this sense, Japanese courts are generally reluctant to intervene in arbitral proceedings.

On the other hand, if the arbitral tribunal denies its own jurisdiction, whether in its “independent decision before an arbitral award” or as part of the final award, a party may not petition the court to challenge the tribunal’s ruling on its jurisdiction.

If a party files a petition with a court to challenge an “independent decision before an arbitral award” in which the arbitral tribunal affirmed its own jurisdiction, the party may file such a petition only within 30 days after receiving notice of the decision.

If a party requests the court to set aside an arbitral award, the party may file such a petition within three months from the date of notification of the award; provided, however, that the petition may not be filed after the execution order of the arbitral award has become final and binding.

The court will review the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction ruling de novo, without being bound by the arbitral award or the independent decision before the arbitral award.

If an action is filed for a civil dispute which is subject to an arbitration agreement, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice, upon the petition of the defendant. However, the action cannot be dismissed in the following cases:

• if the arbitration agreement is not valid due to nullity, rescission or for any other reasons;
• if it is impossible to carry out an arbitration procedure based on an arbitration agreement; or
• if said petition was filed after the defendant presented oral arguments on the merits or made statements on the merits in preparatory proceedings.

The Arbitration Act does not provide under what circumstances a person or entity that is neither a party nor a signatory to an arbitration agreement is bound by the arbitration agreement. Please refer to 13.5 Binding of Third Parties.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the Arbitration Act provides that an arbitral tribunal may, upon the petition of one party, order interim or provisional measures which the tribunal deems necessary with respect to the subject matter of the dispute. However, they are not enforceable under the current Arbitration Act. In addition, the current Arbitration Act does not specify the content of interim or provisional measures that the tribunal may issue, and they are left to the tribunal’s discretion.

The Proposed Amendments provide that an arbitral tribunal may, upon the petition of one party and pending an arbitration award, order an interim measure against the other party. The Proposed Amendments provide the following five categories of an interim measure:

(a) Prohibiting the disposal or alteration of assets necessary for the payment of a monetary claim when there is a risk that the claim may become difficult to enforce or encounter significant difficulty in doing so.

(b) Prohibiting the disposal or alteration of a property that is the subject of a non-monetary claim when there is a risk that the claim may become difficult to enforce or encounter significant difficulty in doing so.

(c) Taking measures necessary to prevent significant damage or imminent danger to the petitioning party concerning the property or rights involved in the dispute or restore the status quo thereof.

(d) Prohibiting conduct that interferes with arbitration proceedings.

(e) Prohibiting the destruction, erasure or alteration of evidence necessary for arbitration proceedings.

Under the Proposed Amendments, a party may enforce an arbitral tribunal’s interim measure order by obtaining an execution approval from a competent court regardless of the place of the seat of arbitration. A court may not refuse to issue an execution approval unless there are exceptional grounds for refusal, which are similar to the grounds for setting aside an award (see 11.1 Grounds for Appeal). If an execution approval is obtained for an interim measure order under category (c) above, a party may enforce the order pursuant to the Civil Execution Act. For other categories, a court may order an offending party to pay a violation fine. The amount of the fine must be reasonable, taking into consideration the nature and content of the interest to be impaired by the violation of the interim measures order and the manner and extent of such impairments. 

In Japan, before the commencement of or during arbitral proceedings, parties to an arbitration agreement may petition a court to issue a provisional order. There are two kinds of provisional order: provisional seizure (an order to provisionally seize a debtor's property in order to preserve a monetary claim) and provisional disposition (an order to preserve the status quo of the subject matter in dispute or establish an interim relationship between the parties). A court may issue a provisional order even if the seat of arbitration is outside of Japan or undetermined, so long as the asset to be provisionally seized or the disputed subject matter is located in Japan.

The current Arbitration Act does not provide rules concerning emergency arbitrators. Although the Act does not prohibit them from issuing provisional orders, courts are unable to enforce them. The Proposed Amendments do not offer any new rules with respect to emergency arbitrators.

In ordering interim or provisional measures by an arbitral tribunal, the tribunal may order provision of reasonable security. Under the current Arbitration Act, the tribunal may order “any party” to provide appropriate security. To align with the 2006 amendment to the Model Law which requires a requesting party to provide the security, the Proposed Amendments offer to change that provision as follows: “In issuing an order for interim measures, an arbitral tribunal may, if it finds it necessary, order that reasonable security be provided.”

As for a court’s provisional order, the court may also require a requesting party to provide security when issuing one.

The Arbitration Act stipulates that the rules of the arbitral proceedings to be followed by the arbitral tribunal shall be agreed upon by the parties. However, the rules cannot violate the provisions of the Act concerning public policy. Provisions concerning public policy are construed to mean mandatory provisions. Whether a provision is considered mandatory is judged on a case-by-case basis according to the wording and purpose of each provision of the Act. For example, equal treatment of the parties and the guarantee to provide full opportunity for each party to present its case are considered mandatory.

In the absence of such agreement, the arbitral tribunal may conduct the arbitral proceedings in such manner as it considers appropriate, unless it is contrary to the provisions of the Act.

The Arbitration Act requires the following procedural steps to be taken:

• An arbitral tribunal may hold an oral hearing for the purpose of having the parties submit evidence or state their opinions. However, if a party files a request for an expert witness to appear or otherwise petitions to hold an oral hearing, the tribunal must hold the oral hearing at an appropriate time in the arbitral proceedings.
• An arbitral tribunal must notify the parties the date, time and place of the oral hearing reasonably in advance of the actual date of the hearing.
• If a party has provided an arbitral tribunal with a written allegation, documentary evidence or any other records, the party must ensure that the other party is aware of their contents.
• An arbitral tribunal shall take steps to enable all the parties to know the content of the expert's report and other evidentiary materials which form the basis of the tribunal's decision.

With the exception of mandatory provisions, parties may agree otherwise regarding the above procedures (see 7.1 Governing Rules).

Powers of Arbitrators

The powers given to arbitrators under the Arbitration Act include the following.

• An arbitral tribunal may rule on whether or not it has jurisdiction.
• Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the arbitral tribunal may, on application of either party, order interim measures or provisional measures as the tribunal deems necessary for the subject matter of the dispute.
• An arbitral tribunal may order that all documentary evidence be accompanied by a translation into the language to be used in the arbitral proceedings as agreed upon by the parties or as determined by the decision of the arbitral tribunal (or, where there is a language to be used for the translation, in that language).

• An arbitral tribunal may appoint one or more expert witnesses, have them give expert opinions on necessary matters, and have them report the results in writing or orally.
• An arbitral tribunal or a party may petition a court to commission an investigation, examine witnesses, designate an expert to provide testimony, order production of documents, and perform inspection pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure, which the arbitral tribunal finds necessary.
• If a settlement agreement is reached between the parties during the course of an arbitral proceeding, the arbitral tribunal may, upon motion from both parties, decide to render the content of the agreement as an arbitral award.
• The arbitral tribunal may, upon motion of a party or sua sponte, correct any mistake in the calculation, any clerical error or any other similar error in the arbitral award.

Duties of Arbitrators

The main duties of arbitrators under the Arbitration Act include the following.

• Arbitrators must treat the parties equally and give full opportunity to present the case.
• Arbitrators must prepare a written arbitral award and sign it as the arbitrators making the award. However, where the arbitral tribunal is a panel, it suffices to have the signatures from the majority of the arbitrators constituting the tribunal and state the reasons for lacking the signature from the other arbitrator.
• An arbitrator shall, during the course of the arbitral proceedings, disclose to the parties, without delay, all facts that may raise doubt as to his or her impartiality or independence.

A bengoshi (a lawyer admitted to practice in Japan) is qualified to provide representation in arbitration, whether domestic or international. A certified judicial scrivener may also provide representation in an arbitration case if the amount in controversy is JPY1.4 million or less. In addition, a patent attorney is qualified to provide representation in certain arbitration cases involving intellectual property disputes conducted by an organisation designated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Foreign lawyers may provide representation in an “international arbitration case” as defined under the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Handling of Legal Services by Foreign Lawyers (the “Gaiben Act”).

In 1996, the Gaiben Act was amended to liberalise representation in international arbitration proceedings. However, “international arbitration case” was limited to cases where some or all of the parties had their address, principal office or head office in a foreign country. Therefore, foreign lawyers were unable to provide representation in an arbitration case where all of the parties had head offices in Japan, even if one party was a subsidiary wholly controlled by an entity outside of Japan.

As part of the policy to promote international arbitration in Japan, the Gaiben Law was amended in 2020 to expand the scope of an “international arbitration case”, which is now defined as a civil arbitration case which falls under any of the following cases:

• some or all of the parties have their address, principal address or head office in a foreign country, including cases where more than 50% of the voting shares (or equivalent) of a party is owned by a person or an entity having an address, principal office or head office in a foreign country;
• the law governing the arbitral award as agreed by the parties is not Japanese law; or
• the seat of arbitration is in a foreign country.

It must be noted that even under the amended Gaiben Act, a foreign lawyer who is not a gaikokuho-jimu-bengoshi (registered foreign lawyer in Japan) is only permitted to represent an international arbitration case that he or she has been requested to undertake or undertook in a foreign country.

There are no specific provisions in the Arbitration Act concerning the collection and submission of evidence or the procedures to examine evidence. Accordingly, an arbitral tribunal is to observe any agreement of the parties concerning the above (which may not violate the public policy of Japan). In the absence of such an agreement, the tribunal has discretion to determine procedures concerning evidence in a manner it finds appropriate. The tribunal may determine the admissibility, relevance and probative value of evidence.

Therefore, although the Japanese legal system itself generally follows the civil law tradition, evidentiary issues in international arbitration, such as the scope of discovery or treatment of privileges, are greatly affected by the background of the parties and the arbitrators, as the procedures for collecting evidence are left to the agreement of the parties or the discretion of the arbitral tribunal. In practice, the parties and the tribunal often adopt the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration as a guideline to resolve these matters.

Rules of evidence provided under the Code of Civil Procedure, which applies to litigation in Japan, do not apply to arbitral proceedings seated in Japan. As explained in 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence, there are no specific provisions in the Arbitration Act concerning the collection and submission of evidence or the procedures to examine evidence. The parties may agree on such procedures to be followed by the arbitral tribunal, and in the absence of such agreement, the tribunal has the power to determine the admissibility, relevance and probative value of evidence.

The Arbitration Act does not authorise an arbitral tribunal to compel submission of documents or appearance of witnesses.

However, unless the parties agree otherwise, the Act allows the tribunal (or the party that obtained the tribunal’s consent) to petition the court for its assistance to obtain evidence from a third party, if the arbitral tribunal finds it necessary. Evidence may be obtained through the commission of investigation, examination of witnesses, obtaining expert opinion or documentary evidence, and conducting inspection under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure; however, examination of a party is excluded from the scope of this assistance from the court.

The Arbitration Act does not stipulate the obligation of secrecy. If the arbitration rules referenced in the arbitration clause and adopted by the parties stipulate a confidentiality obligation, it will be binding upon the parties. However, even if such rules do not provide for a confidentiality obligation, the parties may agree to enter into a confidentiality agreement and the scope of the confidentiality obligation.

Article 42-2 of the Commercial Arbitration Rules (2021) of the JCAA and Article 42-2 of the Interactive Arbitration Rules (2021) are examples of arbitration rules providing a confidentiality obligation.

Under the Arbitration Act, an arbitral award shall (i) be made in writing, (ii) be signed by the arbitrator who rendered the arbitral award (if the arbitral tribunal is a panel, the award shall be signed by a majority of the arbitrators and shall state the reasons for the absence of the signatures of the other arbitrator(s)), (iii) state the reasons (except where the parties agree that this is unnecessary), (iv) state the date of preparation; and (v) state the seat of arbitration.

The Arbitration Act does not regulate the time limit for notifying the parties of an arbitral award, which is left to the agreement of the parties and the rules of the arbitral institution.

The Arbitration Act does not establish rules limiting the types of remedies that an arbitral tribunal may award. However, arbitral awards that are contrary to public policy in Japan may be set aside or refused recognition by the court.

For example, punitive damages are not allowed in Japan, and an arbitral award ordering excessive, punitive damages may be set aside or refused recognition by a court for violation of public policy for that part of the award.

In Japanese practice, it is normal for the claimant to request the other party to pay the statutory or agreed-upon delinquent interest until the payment is completed, and the Arbitration Act does not limit the request for delinquent interest. However, arbitration awards that allow excessive delinquent interest may be considered offensive to public policy, and may be set aside by the court or refused approval.

The Arbitration Act stipulates that the costs of arbitration proceedings shall be borne by the parties by agreement, if any, or by each party in the absence of agreement. If the parties agree, the arbitral tribunal may, in accordance with that agreement, determine how the costs must be shared between the parties or the amount to be reimbursed by one party to the other in an arbitral award or an independent decision.

The parties may not appeal against an arbitral award. Where the seat of arbitration is Japan, a party may apply to a court for the setting aside of an arbitral award in order to dispute the validity of the award, but as explained below, the grounds for setting aside an arbitral award are limited.

The grounds for setting aside an arbitral award in the Arbitration Act correspond to the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement in the Model Law and the New York Convention on which it is based. These grounds can be categorised into three major types.

The first type relates to arbitration agreements. Since the basis for the binding effect of an arbitral award lies in the arbitration agreement, it is permissible to set aside an arbitral award when this basis is lacking. Specifically, a court may set aside an arbitral award if (i) the arbitral agreement is not valid due to the limitations on the parties' capacity to act or other grounds pursuant to applicable laws, (ii) the arbitral award contains a decision on a matter beyond the scope of the arbitral agreement or the request in the arbitral proceedings, or (iii) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or arbitral proceedings violates the agreement between the parties.

The second type concerns the procedural guarantees of the parties in arbitral proceedings. Where procedural safeguards are lacking, the arbitral award will not be recognised as legitimate and it will be permissible to set aside the arbitral award. Specifically, a court may set aside an arbitral award if (i) the party making the application to set aside did not receive the notice required by Japanese law or the agreement between the parties in the appointment of the arbitrators or in the arbitral proceedings, or (ii) it was impossible for such party to defend itself in the arbitral proceedings.

The third category relates to Japanese law and public policy: (i) where the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral proceedings violates Japanese law; (ii) where the request in the arbitral proceedings relates to a dispute that, according to Japanese law, cannot be the subject of an arbitration agreement; and (iii) where the content of the arbitral award is contrary to public policy in Japan.

Even where these grounds exist, the court may, at its discretion, dismiss the request to set aside the arbitral award.

Turning to the procedure, in order to seek the setting aside of an arbitral award, the parties need to file a petition with the court within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the arbitral award. The court must set at least one hearing date before reaching a conclusion. How long the hearing lasts is on a case-by-case basis, and statistics show that the court's review period in the court of first instance ranges from six months to two years. A party dissatisfied with the decision of the court of first instance may appeal to a higher court and then to the Supreme Court.

These hearings are held in private. Only the parties or interested persons may access the court records.

As explained in 11.1 Grounds for Appeal, the grounds for setting aside an arbitral award under Japanese law are limited, but the law does not make any provision as to whether or not grounds for set-aside can be added or excluded by agreement between the parties.

Some legal scholars argue that it is possible to add grounds for set-aside by agreement between the parties, or that an appeal against an arbitral award can be filed with the court based on such agreement. However, no court has ever ruled on whether such an agreement is valid or not. Thus, it is safe to assume that, at least in practice, such an agreement cannot be made between the parties.

As explained in 11.1 Grounds for Appeal, the grounds for setting aside arbitral awards under Japanese law are in line with international standards and are limited to cases where the arbitral award lacks the basic requirements of arbitral proceedings. The basic idea of the Japanese courts is that there should be no substantive re-examination of arbitral awards. Therefore, even if there is an error in the decision on the merits, the arbitral award will not be set aside unless it amounts to being against public policy.

Japanese courts have expressed repeatedly that courts must respect the judgment of the arbitral tribunal on the merits. For example, the decision of the Tokyo District Court on 28 July 2009 explains that setting aside an arbitral award by a court is not permitted if the factual finding or legal judgment by the arbitral tribunal is merely found to be unreasonable. Recently, a decision of the Tokyo High Court on 1 August 2018 reaffirmed that, other than the international standard of basic principles to be observed in arbitral proceedings, precise interpretations of the Code of Civil Procedure and court precedents of the seat of arbitration (ie, Japan) relating to domestic civil litigation proceedings will not be taken into account in whether to set aside an arbitral award.

In general, it is extremely rare for a Japanese court to set aside an arbitral award. Looking at the statistics, between 2004 and 2016, there were 23 petitions to set aside arbitral awards filed with the Tokyo District Court, of which only one petition was granted (see 3.3 National Courts' Approach).

Japan ratified the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in 1961. When Japan ratified the Convention, it made a reservation of reciprocity to the effect that the Convention would apply only to arbitral awards rendered in countries that are parties to the Convention (Article 1(3) of the Convention), but since Articles 45 and 46 of the Arbitration Act permit the recognition and enforcement of all foreign arbitral awards under almost identical conditions to those of the New York Convention, this reservation has effectively been withdrawn.

Prior to that, Japan had already ratified the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927. In addition, Japan has ratified the ICSID Convention and has concluded bilateral treaties individually with about 20 other countries.

To enforce an arbitral award, it is necessary to file a petition with the court and obtain an execution order. Upon receiving this petition, the court must make an execution order to allow enforcement unless there are grounds for refusing recognition of the award under the Arbitration Act. Therefore, the grounds for refusing recognition and enforcement are the same. The above grounds for refusing recognition and enforcement are basically the same as the grounds for setting aside arbitral awards described in 11.1 Grounds for Appeal.

If an arbitral award has been set aside by the courts in the seat of arbitration, this will be one of the grounds to deny enforcement under the Arbitration Act. Therefore, such an arbitral award may not be enforced. However, there is also a view that if a court decision setting aside an arbitral award in the country of the seat of arbitration would be contrary to public order in Japan, the arbitral award should be considered as not having been set aside and be enforceable.

Where a party files a petition at the seat to set aside an arbitral award or suspend its effect, the court in Japan may, if necessary, suspend the procedures for its recognition and enforcement. In this case, the party requesting to suspend the recognition and enforcement procedures may be required to provide security.

According to the Act on the Civil Jurisdiction of Japan with respect to Foreign States, foreign states are, in principle, immune from the civil jurisdiction of Japan. However, no such sovereign immunity is granted in civil execution proceedings for property used solely for commercial purposes. Sovereign immunity also does not apply where a foreign state has given express consent to civil execution against its property, although merely executing an arbitration agreement in and of itself does not mean that this consent has been given.

Japanese courts respect the validity of arbitral awards to the maximum extent possible, at their enforcement stage as well. As explained in 12.2 Enforcement Procedure, enforcement of an arbitral award requires an execution order from the court, which will be given unless there are exceptional grounds for refusing recognition. If the content of the arbitral award is contrary to public policy in Japan, this would be one of the grounds whereby recognition is refused.

The mere fact that a foreign law is different from Japanese law does not in and of itself mean that it is against Japan’s public policy. However, if, for example, excessive, punitive damages are ordered, it is likely that approval will be refused for that part of the award, as explained in 10.2 Types of Remedies.

The Arbitration Act does not provide for class-action or group arbitration.

The Arbitration Act requires that an arbitrator must disclose all facts that would likely give rise to doubts as to his or her impartiality or independence, before accepting appointment as well as during the arbitration proceedings.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that, in order for an arbitrator to have breached a duty to disclose facts that may give rise to doubts on his or her impartiality or independence, it is necessary for the arbitrator to have been aware of such facts, or to have been able to discover them through a reasonable investigation before the conclusion of arbitration proceedings.

A counsel who is an attorney licensed in Japan as a bengoshi or registered foreign lawyer must follow the respective ethical codes (Basic Rules on the Duties of Practising Attorneys or Basic Rules on the Duties of Registered Foreign Lawyers) and other rules and regulations promulgated by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. The Act on Special Measures concerning the Handling of Legal Services by Foreign Lawyers provides that a foreign lawyer who is not a registered foreign lawyer in Japan may act as counsel in an international arbitration case only if the case has been undertaken in the foreign jurisdiction where the lawyer is qualified, provided that the lawyer is not suspended from practising by a disciplinary action under the laws and regulations of that foreign jurisdiction.

Japanese law does not expressly prohibit or authorise third-party funding, and it is not commonly used in commercial dispute resolution in Japan.

There is a possibility that a third-party funding may be considered illegal and void depending on the structure, although the debate is still ongoing. Some argue that third-party funding violates the Attorney Act prohibiting unauthorised provision of legal services and engaging in legal procedures to pursue rights assigned by others, and the Trust Act prohibiting the creation of a trust to have a trustee litigate a settlor’s claim. 

The use of third-party funding was listed as one of the possible policy measures to promote international arbitration by the Japanese government in its announcement on 25 April 2018. 

The Arbitration Act does not provide whether an arbitral tribunal seated in Japan or a Japanese court may consolidate separate arbitral proceedings.

However, the JCAA Commercial Arbitration Rules permit an arbitral tribunal to consolidate separate arbitral proceedings if (i) all parties have agreed to do so in writing, (ii) the claims to be consolidated arise under the same arbitration agreement, or (iii) the claims to be consolidated arise between the same parties, concern a similar question of fact or law and are capable of being conducted in a single proceeding under the applicable rules at the JCAA considering multiple issues governed by the respective arbitration agreements.

The Arbitration Act itself does not stipulate whether an arbitration agreement (and the arbitral award given based upon it) can bind a third party, whether domestic or foreign, that is not named as a party to the agreement. Whether a third party can be bound by an arbitration agreement is subject to interpretation based on the reasonable intentions of the parties. There have been cases where courts in Japan ruled that a representative director of a corporation is also bound by an arbitration agreement into which the company entered as one of the parties.