Govt OKs Bill to Promote Int’l Arbitration for Biz Disputes

Jiji Pres

9:15 JST, March 1, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Japanese government adopted a bill to revise the arbitration law at a cabinet meeting Tuesday in a move to promote the use of international arbitration in Japan for resolving cross-border disputes between businesses.

The bill would give legal binding power to orders for interim measures of protection, which ban parties to arbitrations from disposing of assets at the center of their dispute until arbitration procedures are completed.

Arbitration is a dispute resolution procedure that does not involve courts. The parties involved select an independent third party with a high level of expertise, such as a lawyer, as their arbitrator to negotiate a settlement.

Although the procedure is used widely internationally, the number of arbitration cases in Japan remains low. Such a situation has led to calls for legislative change.