The purpose of this Act is to aid the resolution of civil disputes through mutual concession between relevant parties with reason, taking the circumstances of the dispute into consideration.

If a civil dispute arises, a relevant party may file a petition for mediation with a court.

①Except as otherwise provided, a mediation case is under the jurisdiction of the summary court that has jurisdiction over the location of the domicile, residence, business office, or any other office of the respondent, or of the district court or summary court agreed to by the relevant parties.

②A mediation case is under the jurisdiction of the summary court that has jurisdiction over the last domicile of the respondent (excluding a corporation or any other association or foundation) if the respondent has no domicile or residence in Japan or the respondent's domicile or residence is unknown.

③A mediation case in which the respondent is a corporation or any other association or foundation (excluding foreign association or foundation) is under the jurisdiction of the summary court that has jurisdiction over the domicile of its representative or any other person principally in charge of its business if the respondent has no office or business office in Japan, or the location of its office or business office is unknown.

④A mediation case in which the respondent is a foreign association or foundation is under the jurisdiction of the summary court that has jurisdiction over the domicile of its representative or any other person principally in charge of its business in Japan if the respondent has no office or business office in Japan.

①If the court finds that all or part of a mediation case is not under its jurisdiction (excluding a case as prescribed in the main clause of the following paragraph), the court must, upon petition or by its own authority, transfer the case to the district court or summary court that has jurisdiction; provided, however, that if the court finds it particularly necessary for handling the case, it may, by its own authority, transfer all or part of the case to another court with jurisdiction or handle the case itself, notwithstanding the provisions on territorial jurisdiction.

②If the court finds that all or part of a mediation case is not under its jurisdiction, and the case is one which a family court may mediate pursuant to the provisions of Article 244 of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act (Act No. 52 of 2011), the court must, by its own authority, transfer the case to the family court that has jurisdiction; provided, however, that if the court finds it particularly necessary for handling the case, it may transfer all or part of the case to another family court, notwithstanding the provisions on territorial jurisdiction.

③Even if a mediation case brought to the court falls under its jurisdiction, if the court finds it appropriate for handling the case, by its own authority, it may transfer all or part of the case to another court under whose jurisdiction the case falls, notwithstanding the provisions on territorial jurisdiction.

①A petition for mediation must be filed by submitting a written petition to the court.

②The written petition referred to in the preceding paragraph must state the following matters:

①The court carries out mediation through a mediation committee; provided, however, that if the court finds it appropriate, mediation may be carried out only by a judge.

②Upon the petition of a relevant party, the court must carry out the mediation through a mediation committee, notwithstanding the provisions of the proviso to the preceding paragraph.

A mediation committee is composed of a chief mediator and two or more civil mediation commissioners.

①The chief mediator is a judge designated by a relevant district court.

②A civil mediation commissioner who constitutes a mediation committee is designated by the relevant court for each case.

①A civil mediation commissioner is to, if ordered by the court, state their opinion with regard to other mediation cases based on their expert knowledge and experience, hear opinions from the persons relevant to those cases in order to resolve the dispute, and perform other necessary affairs specified by the Supreme Court for handling mediation cases, in addition to participating in mediation carried out by the mediation committee they are affiliated with.

②A civil mediation commissioner serves part-time, and important particulars concerning their appointment and dismissal are specified by the Supreme Court.

①The provisions of Article 11, Article 13, paragraphs (2), (8), and (9), and Article 14, paragraph (2) (excluding the parts concerning a challenge) of the Non-Contentious Case Procedures Act (Act No. 51 of 2011) apply mutatis mutandis to the disqualification of a civil mediation commissioner.

②A judicial decision on the disqualification of civil mediation commissioner is made by the court to which the civil mediation commissioner belongs.

A civil mediation commissioner is paid an allowance as separately provided by law, and is also paid travel expenses, a daily allowance, and accommodation expenses as specified by the Supreme Court.

①A person with an interest in the outcome of mediation may participate in mediation proceedings, with the permission of the mediation committee.

②The mediation committee, if it finds it appropriate, may have any person with an interest in the outcome of mediation participate in mediation proceedings.

①If the mediation committee finds it particularly necessary as a measure prior to mediation, it may prohibit the respondent or any other person concerned with the case from changing the existing state of or disposing of any property, or order them to cease and desist any action that would make it impossible or particularly difficult to achieve the subject matter of the mediation upon the petition of a relevant party.

②The measure stated in the preceding paragraph is not enforceable.

Mediation proceedings conducted by a mediation committee are subject to the control of the chief mediator.

A mediation committee must specify the appearance date for mediation proceedings and issue a summons of relevant persons.

A mediation committee may mediate cases at an appropriate location outside of court in light of circumstances surrounding the case.

The court clerk must prepare a record for the date of mediation proceedings; provided, however, that this does not apply if the chief mediator finds it unnecessary to do so.

①The parties to a case or any third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in the case may file a request with the court clerk to inspect or copy the mediation case records, to issue an authenticated copy, transcript or extract of those records, or to issue a certificate concerning the mediation case.

②The provisions of Article 91, paragraphs (4) and (5) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Act No. 109 of 1996) apply mutatis mutandis to the record referred to in the preceding paragraph.

①A mediation committee may examine facts by their own authority and examine evidence as necessary upon petition to do so or by its own authority.

②A mediation committee may have their chief mediator examine facts or examine evidence.

If a mediation committee finds that a case is unsuitable for mediation due to its nature, or finds that a party has filed a petition for mediation for an unjust purpose and without due cause, the mediation committee may decide not to carry out the mediation and close the case.

If there is no likelihood of the parties reaching an agreement or if the mediation committee finds that the agreement reached is inappropriate, and the court does not issue an order referred to in Article 17, the mediation committee may deem the mediation unsuccessful and close the case.

The provisions of Article 11 through the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to cases in which mediation is carried out only by a judge.

If an agreement is reached between parties during mediation and it is entered in a record, the mediation is deemed successful, and the entry has the same effect as a judicial settlement.

If mediation carried out by a mediation committee is unlikely to be successful, and the court finds it appropriate, it may issue an order as necessary to resolve the case after hearing the opinions of the civil mediation commissioners in the mediation committee by its own authority and to an extent that does not contradict the objectives of the parties' petitions, giving consideration to equitable treatment of the interests of both parties, and taking into account all relevant circumstances. Through this order, the court may order the payment of money, delivery of an item, or any other provision of economic benefit.

①A relevant party or any interested person may file an objection to an order referred to in the preceding Article. The period for filing an objection is two weeks from the day on which the party receives notice of the order.

②If the court finds the objection under the provisions of the preceding paragraph to be defective, it must dismiss the objection.

③An immediate appeal against a judicial decision to dismiss an objection pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph has the effect of stay of execution.

④If a lawful objection is filed, the order referred to in the preceding Article ceases to have effect.

⑤If no objection is filed within the period referred to in paragraph (1), the order referred to in the preceding Article has the same effect as a judicial settlement.