Introduction to Japanese legal system

1. Introduction to the Japanese legal system
KYOTO SEMINAR

2. PRESENTER

3. OBJECTIVES
• Define ‘litigiousness’, including the normative
dimensions of what litigation rates say about the
health of any given society
• Compare litigiousness in Japan with other nations
• Explain relatively low levels of litigation in Japans

4. DEFINITIONS
• Discussion questions:
• What does ‘litigiousness’ mean?
• What are the costs associated with a litigious
culture?
• Are there any positives?

5. COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES: ARE
AUSTRALIANS LITIGIOUS?
Judicial quotes
“In a rights-conscious and litigious society, in which people are apt to demand reasons for
any decision by which their rights are affected, the trend away from jury trial may be
consistent with public sentiment.” (Swain v Waverly Municipal Council (2005) 79 ALJR
565 at 567; 213 ALR 249 at 251, per Gleeson CJ)
“In a litigious society, enthusiasm for litigation may, in some cases, overwhelm rational
consideration of whether “the game is worth the candle” with the unfortunate result that
the costs expended by the parties upon the litigation vastly exceed the monetary value of
the matters in dispute.”( Lade & Co Pty Ltd v Black [2006] 2 Qd R 531, 543 per Keane JA)
“Second, in Australian society, we have become accustomed to claimants pursuing claims
against insured friends and relatives; we are no longer shocked when a husband sues his
wife in a motor vehicle accident case for damages for personal injuries, children sue
parents for whom they work when injured in the work place or students sue their school
for damages arising from negligence.” (Melwchior v Cattanach & Anor [2001] QCA 246 at
[60] per McMurdo P)

6. COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES: ARE
AUSTRALIANS LITIGIOUS?
• Popular culture
• Attitudes: laid back
• Sayings: “she’ll be right, mate”, “fair go”, “no worries”
• Popular culture: eg, The Castle
• Mass media
• Tort reform and the insurance industry
• Social trends
• ALRC report

7. AUSTRALIAN DATA

8. COMPARATIVE DATA
Mark Ramseyer and Eric B. Rasmusen, “Are Americans More Litigious? Some Quantitative Evidence” in F H Buckley (ed), The
American Illness: Essays on the Rule of Law (2011)
Table 1: Various Measures of Litigation
Australia Canada France Japan England USA
Suits
filed (per
100,000
people
1,542 1,450 2,416 1,768 3,681 5,806
Judges
(per
100,000
people)
4.00 12.47 3.3 2.83 2.22 10.81
Lawyers
(per
100,000
people
357 26 72 23 251 391
…

9. LITIGIOUSNESS IN JAPAN
• Japan’s judicial system has been described as limited and passive
• Statistics
• Wollshlager (1994): 9.3 (Japan), 123.2 (Germany), 74.5 (US), 64,4 (UK), 40.3
(France)
• Haley (District Court filings): Korea (5 times), Taiwan (2 times)
• Historical trends

10. EXPLANATIONS
• Culture
• Institutions
• Politics
• Economics