Civil Procedure in Japan - Third Edition

ABOUT THE EDITORS

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Yasuhei Taniguchi is a Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University. He received his LL.B. in 1957 from Kyoto University. He has been a member of the Tokyo Bar Association and has been of counsel at Matsuo & Kosugi since 1998. He was the President of the Japan Association of Civil Procedure from 1992-95, the Vice President of the International Association of Procedural Law from 1995-2007, and a Council Member of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) from 1990-2011 and the ICC Institute of World Business Law from 2004-07. He was also the President of the Kyoto Labor Relations Committee from 1985-92 and the Kyoto Equal Opportunity Conciliation Committee from 1994-96. In addition, he was a member of Law Revision Commission for civil procedure reform. He served in the Ministry of Justice from 1985-97. He was a Member of Appellate Body of WTO from 2000-07, serving as its Chair from 2004-05. He went on to be the President of the Japan Association of Arbitrators from 2004-13. He has been Chair of Financial Transactions Overseeing Committee of the Bank of Japan since 2010 and Judge of Singapore International Commercial Court since 2015.  

Pauline Reich is a Former Professor at the Waseda University School of Law and is the Founder and Director of Asia-Pacific Cyberlaw, Cybercrime and Internet Security Research Institute. She received her B.A. in Political Science in 1968 from C.C.N.Y. and Princeton University. She received her M.A. in 1972 from C.U.N.Y. Graduate Center. She completed the Coro Foundation Public Affairs Leadership Program in 1981. She received her J.D. in 1985 from New York Law School. She was an Associate at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2002. She was a Lecturer at Tsuda College, Tokyo Women’s Christian College Jr. College, Chuo University, and Sophia University from 1972-74.  She was also a fellow at the Japan Foundation in 1973. She then served as the Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist/Management Analyst for the U.S. Department of Education from 1978-1994.  She worked as a Consultant for Andrews & Kurth, L.L.P., N.Y. from 1994-95.  She was an Associate Professor at Waseda University from 1995-2004 and a Professor at Waseda University School of Law from 2004-17.  She has been a member of the New Jersey State Bar since 1987 and has been admitted to practice in State and Federal Courts of New Jersey, U.S. Court of International Trade, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. She was the Vice Chair of the Legal Services Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan from 1999-2000.  She was the Co-Chair of the Pacific Rim Subcommittee of the A.B.A. Section of Dispute Resolution from 1995-1999. She was the Vice Chair of the International Legal Education Committee of the A.B.A. Section of International Law and Practice from 1996-97.  She sits on the Executive Committee of the Commission on Asian Law for the Association for Asian Studies (U.S.). 

Hiroto Miyake has been a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 1999.  In 1957, he received his B.A. in Social Science from the International Christian University. He later went on to receive his LL.M. in 1965 from Northwestern. In addition to his time spent as a visiting scholar at Northwestern University, he also spent time as a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago from 1963-65. He served as an Assistant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1961-65 and from 1970-71 as well as in the Sapporo District Court & Sapporo High Court from 1966-69, and the Tokyo Family Court from 1969-70.  From 1971-1975, he was a member of the legal staff at the Ministry of Justice. He also served as the General Secretariat of the Supreme Court from 1965-66 and from 1975-1980.  Following this he went on to sit as a Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1980-84 and the Tokyo High Court from 1993-97.  Following his first term on the Tokyo High Court, he worked as a Professor at the Legal Training & Research Institute from 1984-88, then as a Deputy Chief Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1988-92.  Following this he served as the Chief Judge of the Mito District Court from 1992-93, then as the Chief Judge of the Tokyo Family Court from 1997-99.  Between 1999-2008, he worked as a Professor at the Yokohama School of Law of Toin University. From here, he went on to serve as the Dean of Yokohama School of Law at Toin University from 2008-10.

Associate Editors

Hiroshi Tega is currently an Associate Professor of Civil Procedure at the Tokyo Metropolitan University Law School. He received his LL.B. in 1998 and his LL.M. in 2000, both form the University of Tokyo. He worked as a Research Assistant at the Tokyo Metropolitan University Law School from 2005-06 and an Academic Assistant from 2006-09. From 2009-2015, he was an Associate professor at the Tokyo Metropolitan University Law School.

Kyoko Ishida is currently an Associate Professor at Waseda Law School. Having received her B.A. from the International Christian University in 1999, her M.A. from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2001, and her LL.M and Ph.D from the University of Washington School of Law in 2003 and 2006 respectively. She went on to work as a Research Assistant at the Waseda Institute of Comparative Law from 2007-2009 and as an Assistant Professor at the Waseda Law School from 2009-12. 

Editorial Assistant:

The editors thank the following editorial assistant whose devotion made in the early stage of this second edition possible:

ABOUT THE EDITORIAL ADVISORS

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Toji Tao is the Former Dean of the Law Department at Teikyo University. He received his LL.B. from the University of Tokyo in 1949 and a LL.M. from Southern Methodist University in 1959. Following this, he served as an Assistant Judge in the Kobe District Court from 1951-53, in the Tokyo District Court from 1953-55 in the Utsunomiya District Court from 1955-58, and in the Kumamoto District Court from 1960-61. Later he served as a Judge in the Kofu District Court from 1961-64 and the Tokyo High Court from 1969-72, 82-86, 86-90.  In addition to his Judicial accomplishments, he worked as a Professor at the Legal Training & Research Institute from 1964-69. Also, he worked as a Research Officer for the Supreme Court from 1972-79.  He also served as the Chief Judge in the Niigata Family Court from 1979-80, the Utsunomiya Family Court from 1980-82, the Chiba District Court in 1986, and in the Sendai High Court from 1990-91.  He was also a Professor at Teikyo University and the Dean of the Teikyo University Law Department from 1991-2002. He died in 2017.

Itsuo Sonobe is a retired Justice of the Supreme Court. He received his LL.B. in 1954 and his LL.D. in 1967, both from Kyoto University. During his studies, he spent time as a visiting scholar at both the University of Michigan and Columbia University from 1957-59.  He also worked as an Associate Professor at Kyoto University from 1956-70.  Additionally, he served as a Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1970-75, and from 1983-85, as well as on the Tokyo High Court in 1975 and the Maebashi District Court from 1975-78.  He then worked as a Research Officer for the Supreme Court from 1978-83.  From 1985-1987, he worked as a Professor at Tsukuba University from 1985-87, and from 1986-1987 as the Provost for the First Group of Faculties. He then moved on to become a Professor at Seikei University in 1987 where he remained until 1989. Following this, he served as a Justice of the Supreme Court from 1989-1999.  He has been a member of the Tokyo Bar Association since 1999 and most recently worked as a Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University from 1999-2015. 

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL EDITORS

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Takaaki Hattori (October 1, 1921-March 24, 1993), former Chief Justice, The Supreme Court of Japan. In 1935, He was a participant in the Tokyo Imperial University Japanese American Program for Cooperation in Legal Studies. He attended Harvard University from 1954-55 and the University of Michigan and Stanford University from 1955-56, following which he was appointed to the bench. From 1938-1946, he worked as a member of the Legal Staff in the Ministry of Justice. Following this he served as the General Secretariat of the Supreme Court from 1947-54. He then went on to be a Professor at the Legal Training and Research Institute from 1956-59. Following this he served as a Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1957-65, and the Tokyo High Court from 1968-71. He also served as the Chief Judge in the Tsu District Court & Family Court from 1966-67, the Tokyo Family Court in 1972, the Fukuoka High Court from 1973-74, and the Osaka High Court in 1975. He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court, from 1975-79 and went on the become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1979-82. After his judicial career, he became a Visiting Professor at the University of Washington in 1984. 

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

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Tadashi Hanami is a Professor Emeritus at Sophia University. He has also held the position Of Counsel, at Matsuo & Kosugi since 2003. He received a LL.B. in 1953 from the University of Tokyo. After completing a Humboldt Fellowship in Cologne from 1959-60, he earned a J.S.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1962. After this, He went on to complete a Fulbright Fellowship at Cornell from 1964-65. From 1961-1965, he was Lecturer at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He was a lecturer at Sophia University from 1962-1965, then became a Professor in 1965 and continued to hold the position until 2000. He was also the Dean of the Law School from 1980-84. He has also spent time as a visiting professor at several Universities. First, from in 1993 at Columbia University, then at Harvard Law School from 1984-85 and again in 199. From 1969-80, he held the position of Public Commissioner of the Tokyo Metropolitan Labor Relations Committee. He also served as the Chairman of the Central Labor Relations Commission from 1992-2002. He then went on to serve as the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister from 2003-2006 and as a Special Advisor in the Cabinet Office in 2007. He has been a member of the International Industrial Relations Association since 1970 and was its President from 1998-2000. He has also been a member of the International Society of Labor Law and Social Security since 1970 and a member of the Tokyo Bar Association since 2003.

Akihiro Hironaka has been a Partner at Nishimura & Asahi (formerly Nishimura & Partners) since 2007.  He earned a LL.B. in 1993 from the University of Tokyo, and a LL.M. in 2003 from Harvard. He was a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association from 1996-1998 and has been a member since 2000 following readmission. He has also been a member of the N.Y. State Bar since 2004. He was an Associate at Nishimura & Partners (formerly Nishimura & Sanada) from 1996-1998 and from 2000-2006. He also served as an Assistant Judge in the Yokohama District Court from 1998-2000. He worked at Arnold & Porter LLP, D.C. from 2003-2004. 

Kiyoshi Hosokawa was a Retired Chief Judge, having previously served on the Nagoya High Court. He held the position Of Counsel at Matsuo & Kosugi. After receiving a LL.B. in 1967 from the University of Tokyo, he went on to earn a LL.M. from Harvard in 1975.  He sat as an Assistant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1969-72 and from 1975-76. Additionally, he served as an Assistant Judge on the Hakodate District Court & Family Court from 1972-75. He then served as a Judge on the Tokyo High Court from 1996-97 and from 2001-02, as well as on the Tokyo District Court in 1997. Later, he would serve as Chief Judge in the Saitama District Court from 2002-2005, the Tokyo Family Court from 2005-07, and the Nagoya High Court from 2007-09. Earlier in his career, he worked as an Attorney with the Civil Affairs Bureau within the Ministry of Justice from 1976-79. He left this position and assumed the positions of Counselor and Director, of various divisions, of the Ministry of Justice over the course of the years between 1979 and 1996. Following this, he went on to hold the position of Director-General of the Litigation Bureau and Civil Affairs Bureau within the Ministry of Justice from 1997-2001. In 1979, he served as First Secretary in the Japanese Embassy in the Netherlands. He had been a member of Tokyo Bar Association and Of Counsel with Matsuo & Kosugi since 2009. He was also a member of the Commission of the National Legal Exam from 1983-1990. In addition, he sat on the Governing Council of UNDROIT from 2000-09. Deceased in 2012.

Tatsuo Ikeda is a Professor at Osaka University. He received a LL.B. in 1974, a LL.M. in 1976, and a LL.D. in 1995, all from Kyushu University. He was a Visiting Scholar at Freiburg University in Germany from 1985-87.  Prior to this, he served as an Assistant Judge in the Kobe District Court from 1978-80.  Shortly after that, he went on the be a Lecturer from 1980-82, an Associate Professor from 1982-92, and a Professor since 1992 at Osaka University. Since 2005, he has worked as an Attorney at Law, at Kitahama Partners. He was a Member of the Commission of the National Legal Exam from 1997-98.  

Masako Kamiya has been a Professor at Gakushuin University since 1992. She earned a LL.B. in 1975 from the University of Tokyo, a LL.M. in 1977 from Tohoku University, and a LL.D. in 1981 from the University of Tokyo.  In 1982, she became an Associate Professor at Hokkaido University and held that position until 1991 when She became a Professor. She departed from Hokkaido University in 1992 for Gakushuin University.

Kazuo Kato is a retired Chief Judge of the Sapporo High Court. Kazuo received a LL.B. in 1956, and a LL.M. in 1961, both from the University of Tokyo. He went on to earn a LL.M. in 1968 from Harvard University.  He served as a Judge on the Tokyo District Court from 1963-66, 1970-74, 1979-81, and 1986-90, on the Sapporo District Court from 1966-70, on the Tokyo High Court in 1993, and from 1996-97. He then worked as a Counselor at the Ministry of Justice from 1974-79. After that, he went on to work as a Research Officer for the Supreme Court from 1981-86. From 1990-93, he served as Director-General of the Litigation Bureau within the Ministry of Justice. He later served as Chief Judge in Kanazawa District Court in 1994, the Shizuoka District Court from 1995-96, the Yokohama District Court from 1997-99, and the Sapporo High Court from 1999-2001. Then, from 2004-2007, he held the position of Chairman on the Environmental Disputes Coordination Commission of the Japanese Cabinet.

Kiyoshi Kawashima has been a Partner at Kawashima & Kawashima Attorneys since 1983.  He earned his LL.B. in 1977 from the University of Tokyo and his LL.M. in 1982 from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a member of the Dai-ni Tokyo Bar Association from 1979-83 and has been a member of the Yokohama Bar Association since 1983. He worked as an Associate at Adachi, Henderson, Miyatake & Fujita from 1979-83 and at Davis Wright Todd Riese & Jones in Seattle, Washington from 1982-83.  He later took a position as a Professor at the Legal Training & Research Institute from 1995-98 and then as a Professor at Yokohama National University Law School from 2004-09. Since 2011, he has been a Visiting Professor at The Open University of Japan.

Hisaya Kimura is a Partner at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu. In 1983, he earned a LL.B. from Waseda University and later, in 1990, earned a LL.M. from Harvard. He has been a Member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 1985 and a member of the N.Y. State Bar since 1991. He worked as an Associate at Fujibayashi Law Offices from 1985-93, at Nagashima & Ohno from 1993-96, and at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, N.Y. from 1991-93.  

Kazutoshi Koike is a Partner at Hayabusa Asuka Law Offices. He earned a LL.B. in 1984 from the University of Tokyo and a LL.M. in 1989 from Harvard.  He served as an Assistant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1986-90, and from 1992-93; as well as in the Sapporo District & Family Ct. from 1993-96.  He worked as a member of the legal staff of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Court in 1990.  He was soon promoted to Assistant Councilor to the Cabinet Secretariat and held that position from 1990-92. He went on to serve as a Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1996-99, and from 2003-06, as well as in the Tokyo High Court from 1999-2001, as well as from 2009-16, and in the Osaka High Court and Osaka District Court from 2006-09.  He also held the position of Research Officer for the Supreme Court from 2001-03. 

Takeshi Kojima is a Professor Emeritus at Chuo University. He earned his LL.B. in 1959 and his LL.M. in 1961, both from Toin University of Yokohama. He later earned his LL.D. in 1978 from Chuo University. He taught at the Legal Training & Research Institute in 1963. He also spent time as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Michigan from 1966-68.  From 1964-1971, he worked as an Associate Professor at Chuo University and has been a Professor since 1971. he has also been a professor at Toin University of Yokohama since 2006 and was the President of Toin University of Yokohama from 2007-2016. He has also been a Guest Professor at Aix-Marseille University in 1983 and at Frankfurt Goethe University from 1991-92.  

Tamami Masumori has been a Judge in the Osaka District Court since 2013. She earned her LL.B. in 1989 from the University of Tokyo. From 1995-1996, she was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington. She served as an Assistant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1991-92, and from 1996-99, as well as the Fukuoka District Court Kokura Branch from 1993-96, and the Osaka District Court from 1999-2001. She served as a Judge in the Osaka District Court from 2001-02 and since 2013, as well as in the Fukuoka High Court Naha Branch from 2002-05, and the Tokyo High Court from 2010-13. She also held the position of Research Officer for the Supreme Court from 2005-10.

Hajime Nishiguchi is a Judge for the Tokyo High Ct. and has been a Professor at Waseda Law School since 2013. He earned his LL.B. in 1973 and his LL.M. in 1975 from Waseda University. From 1988-89 Hajime was a Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University. He went on to serve as Assistant Judge in the Okayama District Court from 1980-83, and in the Tokyo District Court from 1989-90. After leaving his position as Judge, he served as a Public Attorney for the Takamatsu Legal Affairs Bureau from 1983-86, and then the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau from 1986-89. Hajime then served as a Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1990-92, and from 1997-2000, as well as in the Osaka District Court from 1992-95, in the Tokyo High Court from 1995-97, and from 2007-10, in the Chiba District Court & Family Court from 2000-04, and in the Maebashi District Court & Family Court from 2010-13. He finally served as Chief Judge in the Chiba District Court & Family Court Sakura Branch from 2004-07.

Makiko Obuchi has been a Professor at Tsukuba University since 2013.  She earned her L.L.B. in 1993 from the University of Tokyo.  From 1999-2000 she was a Visiting Scholar at the University of British Columbia. She then served as an Assistant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1995-1998 in the Kofu District Court from 1998-2001, in the Saitama District Court from 2001-2004, and in the Kôriyama Branch of the Fukushima District Court from 2004-2005. She also worked as an Associate Professor at Tsukuba University from 2005-2013 until she became a Professor in 2013.

Tetsuya Obuchi has been a Professor at the University of Tokyo since 1999. He earned hi LL.B. in 1982 from the University of Tokyo, followed by earning his LL.M. in 1987 and his S.J.D. in 1988 both from Harvard. He went on to serve as an Assistant. Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1984-86 and in the Nagoya District Court from 1992-95.  He also worked as a Staff Attorney at the UN Bureau in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1989-90. From there he went on to work as the Secretary of the Japanese Permanent Mission in Geneva, Switzerland from 1990-92.  In his career, he has also worked as a member of the legal staff of the General Secretariat in the Supreme Court from 1988-89 and then again from 95-98. He sat as a member of the Commission of the National Legal Exam from 1995-97.  Before becoming a professor, Tetsuya sat as a Judge on the Tokyo High Court from 1998-99.

Masaharu Ohashi is currently a partner at Tokei Partners. He received his LL.B. in 1969 from the University of Tokyo and his LL.M. in 1976 from Harvard.  He has been a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 1972. He began working as an Associate in the Kajitani Law Office in 1972 and remained there until 1983 and as an Associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges from 1976-77. He was made Partner at Okazaki, Ohashi & Maeda (formerly Abiru & Ohashi) in 1983 and continued to work there until 2012, when he became a Justice of the Supreme Court. He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court from 2012-17. Additionally, he worked as a Professor at the Legal Training & Research Institute from 1993-96.

Katsu Sengoku has been a Partner at Nishimura & Asahi since 1990. He earned his LL.B. in 1980 and his LL.M. in 1987 both from Waseda University. He went on to earn his LL.M. in 1984 from Yale. He was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley from 1984-85.  He has been a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 1982. He began his work as an Associate in 1986 and remained at the position until he was made Partner in 1990.

Akira Takakuwa is a Member of the Dai-ni Tokyo Bar Association. She earned her LL.B. in 1960 from the University of Tokyo and her M.C.L. in 1968 from the Columbia University School of Law. She went on to earn her LL.D. in 2002 from Kyoto University.  She served as an Assitant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1962-65. Following this she worked as a member of the Legal Staff, and as a Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Justice and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1965-76. After working as a Partner at Takakuwa Law Office from 1977-87, she went on to become a Professor at Rikkyo University from 1988-92. She also worked as a Professor at Kyoto University from 1993-2000, at Teikyo University from 2000-03, and at Seikei University from 2003-13. She also held the position Of Counsel at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto from 2000-12. 

Koji Takeuchi has been a Partner at the Sakura Kyodo Law Offices since 1972 and a Lecturer at Waseda University since 2004. He earned his LL.B. in 1968 from the University of Tokyo and his LL.M. in 1983 from Columbia. He has been a member of the Tokyo Bar Association since 1970 and a member of the N.Y. State Bar since 1986. He worked as an Associate at Matsuo & Kosugi from 1970-72 before becoming a Partner at Sakura Kyodo Law Offices. He also worked at Hurt, Richardson, Garner, Todd & Cadenhead, Atlanta, Ga in 1983.  He was a Lecturer at Hosei University from 1977-82, at Gakushuin University in 1997, and at Hitotsubashi University in 2000. 

Yutaka Tanaka has been a Partner at Oe & Tanaka since 2007 and a Professor at Keio University Law School since 2004. He earned his LL.B. in 1973 from the University of Tokyo and his LL.M. in 1977 from Harvard. He served as an Assistant Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1975-79 and as a Judge in the Tokyo District Court from 1986-87. He then became a Professor at the Legal Training & Research Institute in 1987 and remained until 1991. He also served as a Research Officer for the Supreme Court from 1992-96. He has been a member of the Tokyo Bar Association since 1996 and was a Partner at Yutaka Tanaka Law Office, 1999-2007.

Hiroyuki Tezuka has been a Partner at Nishimura & Asahi since 1993, a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo School of Law since 2013, and a member of the Singapore International Arbitrations Centre (SIAC) Court of Arbitration since 2013. He earned his LL.B. in 1984 from the University of Tokyo and his LL.M. in 1992 from Harvard. He has been a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 1986, the N.Y. State Bar since 1993, and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar since 1998. He worked as an Associate at Nishimura & Sanada from 1986-93 and at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, N.Y. from 1992-93 before becoming a Partner at Nishimura & Asahi in 1993. He also worked as a Coordinator for the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice (Modernization of Private International Law) form 2003-05.

Takashi Tezuka has been a Partner at DT Law Co. since 2017. He earned his LL.B. in 1996 from the University of Tokyo and in 2000 was a member of the International Tax Program at Harvard.  He has been a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 2002 and a member of the N.Y. State Bar since 2000. He worked as an Associate at Nishimura & Asahi from 2002-13. He also served as Executive Director at EY Law Co. from 2014-17. In addition to his private sector work, he also worked served as a Government Official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (formerly the Ministry of Home Affairs) from 1996-2001.

Masako Yajima has been a Partner at Nishimura & Asahi since 2006, a Professor at Keio University Law School since 2007, and the Editor of the Japan Financial ADR/Ombudsman Study Group since 2008. She earned her LL.B. in 1992 from Keio University and her LL.M. in 2000 from Columbia. She has been a member of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association since 1994, and a member of the N.Y. State Bar since 2001. Before being made Partner in 2006, She worked as an Associate at Nishimura & Partners from 1994-2006. She also worked as an Associate Professor at Keio University Law School from 2004-07, and the Vice-chief of the Japan Association of Arbitrators from 2005-07.

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