Code of Civil Procedure

• A suit goes to the court for the defendant's general venue (普通裁判籍): for a person, their domicile, failing that their residence in Japan, failing that their last domicile; for a company or other body, its principal office or place of business (or, without one, its representative's domicile), and for a foreign one its principal office or place of business in Japan (or, without one, the domicile of its representative in Japan). Suits can also be brought at the places Article 5 lists — among them a property claim where the obligation is to be performed, a claim about the business of an office where that office is, a tort claim where the tort took place, and a claim about real property where it lies — and a court of first instance also has jurisdiction if the parties agreed on it in writing or an electronic record for suits from a defined legal relationship, or if the defendant argues the merits there, or makes statements in preparatory proceedings, without objecting that it lacks jurisdiction. Suits over patents, utility model rights, circuit layout rights or authors' rights in computer programs that a district court would hear go only to the Tokyo District Court where that court lies in the area of the Tokyo, Nagoya, Sendai or Sapporo High Court, and only to the Osaka District Court in the area of the Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka or Takamatsu High Court; where a law makes jurisdiction exclusive like this, those places, agreements and appearance give jurisdiction only to the court that law names.(Art. 4(1), Art. 4(2), Art. 4(4), Art. 4(5), Art. 5(1), Art. 11(1), Art. 11(2), Art. 11(3), Art. 12(1), Art. 6(1), Art. 13(1), Art. 13(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Japanese courts have jurisdiction over a suit against a person domiciled in Japan — or, with no known domicile, resident in Japan, or with no known residence, domiciled in Japan before the suit unless they later lived abroad — and against a company or other body whose principal office or place of business is in Japan (or, without one, whose representative is domiciled in Japan). Other suits can be brought in Japan on the grounds Article 3-3 lists, among them a contract obligation to be performed in Japan, a money claim where the defendant has seizable assets in Japan that are not of very low value, a suit about the work of an office in Japan or business done in Japan, a tort that took place in Japan (unless harm in Japan from an act abroad could not normally have been foreseen), and real property in Japan. The parties can also agree, in writing or an electronic record, which country's courts may hear suits from a defined legal relationship, though an agreement for foreign courts alone cannot be relied on if those courts cannot in law or in fact exercise jurisdiction; Japanese courts gain jurisdiction if the defendant argues the merits, or makes statements in preparatory proceedings, without objecting; only Japanese courts may hear certain suits about companies and other bodies set up under Japanese law, suits about a registration to be made in Japan, and suits over whether an intellectual property right registered in Japan exists or is valid; and jurisdiction is judged as at the time the suit is filed.(Art. 3-2(1), Art. 3-2(3), Art. 3-3(1), Art. 3-12(1), Art. 3-5(1), Art. 3-5(2), Art. 3-5(3), Art. 3-7(1), Art. 3-7(2), Art. 3-7(3), Art. 3-7(4), Art. 3-8(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Parties must argue their case orally before the court (口頭弁論), except in matters decided by ruling, where the court decides whether to hold oral argument; where the court finds it appropriate, after hearing the parties, it can hold the hearing by video link, and a party who takes part that way counts as present. A party who does not make clear in oral argument that they dispute a fact the other side alleged is deemed to admit it, unless the whole of the argument shows they dispute it, and this also applies to a party who does not appear, unless they were summoned by service by publication (公示送達). An interpreter is brought in when a person taking part in oral argument does not understand Japanese, or cannot hear or speak, though a person who cannot hear or speak may instead be questioned, or make statements, in writing.(Art. 87(1), Art. 87-2(1), Art. 87-2(3), Art. 159(1), Art. 159(3), Art. 154(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• In a summary court (簡易裁判所), a plaintiff whose claim is for payment of money worth 600,000 yen or less can ask, when filing the suit, for it to be heard as a small claims action (少額訴訟), declaring how many times they have asked at that court that year — a false count draws a civil fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen — and cannot ask more often in a year at the same court than the Rules of the Supreme Court allow. The hearing is finished on the first date unless there are special circumstances, only evidence that can be examined on the spot is taken, and no counterclaim is allowed; the defendant can have the case moved to ordinary procedure until they argue at that first date or it ends, and the court must move it in the cases Article 373 lists, among them when the defendant can be summoned to the first date only by service by publication or the court finds small claims procedure unsuitable. A judgment for the plaintiff is declared provisionally enforceable and may, where especially needed in view of the defendant's means, set deferred payment or instalments over up to three years; there is no appeal (控訴) from it, but an objection can be lodged with the same court within two weeks of being served with the judgment or the court record standing for it, after which the case is heard under ordinary procedure, and the judgment then given can be challenged only by a final appeal to the Supreme Court on the ground that it breaches the Constitution.(Art. 368(1), Art. 368(2), Art. 368(3), Art. 381(1), Art. 369(1), Art. 370(1), Art. 371(1), Art. 373(1), Art. 373(3), Art. 375(1), Art. 376(1), Art. 377(1), Art. 378(1), Art. 379(1), Art. 380(1), Art. 380(2), Art. 327(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A creditor owed a fixed quantity of money, other fungible things or securities can apply to the court clerk (裁判所書記官) of the summary court for the debtor's general venue — or, for a claim about the business of an office or on a bill or check, of the summary court where that office is or where it is payable — for a demand for payment (支払督促), which is issued without hearing the debtor, and only where it can be served in Japan without service by publication. If the debtor does not lodge an objection (督促異議) within two weeks of being served, the clerk declares the demand provisionally enforceable on the creditor's application unless an objection comes first, and the demand lapses if the creditor does not apply within 30 days of being able to. Once two weeks pass after the demand bearing that declaration is served with no objection, or a ruling dismissing the objection becomes final, it has the same effect as a final and binding judgment; a lawful objection instead turns the claim into a suit, treated as filed in the summary or district court, according to its value, at the time the demand was applied for.(Art. 382(1), Art. 383(1), Art. 383(2), Art. 386(1), Art. 386(2), Art. 391(1), Art. 392(1), Art. 393(1), Art. 396(1), Art. 395(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• 24 June 2026

  The text on this site

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律

  Act No. 46 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 21 May 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.

  情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 39 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 21 May 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, etc.

  民事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 48 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 22 July 2025

  Act on the Implementation of Agreements Between Japan and Other Contracting States Concerning the Facilitation of Reciprocal Access and Cooperation Between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Armed Forces of Other Contracting States

  日本国の自衛隊と我が国以外の締約国の軍隊との間における相互のアクセス及び協力の円滑化に関する日本国と我が国以外の締約国との間の協定の実施に関する法律

  Act No. 26 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 23 May 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.

  情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 39 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 March 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, etc.

  民事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 48 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 15 November 2023

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc.

  刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 28 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 6 June 2023

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc.

  刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 28 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2023

  Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc.

  民法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 24 of 2021The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 March 2023

  Act Partially Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, etc.

  民事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 48 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

All 17 amendments already in force

• Consumers and workers have their own rules on international jurisdiction: a consumer can sue a business in Japan over a consumer contract if the consumer was domiciled in Japan when suing or when making the contract, and a worker can sue an employer over an individual labor dispute if the place of work under the contract (or, if none was set, the place of business that hired them) is in Japan. A business suing a consumer, or an employer suing a worker, cannot rely on the grounds of Article 3-3. An agreement choosing a country's courts for future disputes binds a consumer only if it allows suit in the country where they were domiciled when contracting (and even then does not stop suits elsewhere) or the consumer sues under it or relies on it, and binds a worker only if it was made when the labor contract ended and allows suit in the country of the place of work then, on the same terms, or the worker sues under it or relies on it.(Art. 3-4(1), Art. 3-4(2), Art. 3-4(3), Art. 3-7(5), Art. 3-7(6)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Even where Japanese courts have jurisdiction, the court may dismiss all or part of a suit if special circumstances — the nature of the case, the burden on the defendant of answering it, where the evidence is, and others — mean that trying it in Japan would be unfair between the parties or obstruct a proper and speedy trial; this does not apply to a suit filed under an agreement that only Japanese courts may hear it.(Art. 3-9(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A summary court (簡易裁判所) is to settle disputes quickly by simple procedure: a suit can be filed orally, the complaint need only state the points of the dispute instead of the grounds of the claim, oral argument need not be prepared in writing except that matters the other side could not answer without preparing must be prepared in writing or notified to the other side directly before the hearing, and the court may take written statements in place of examining witnesses, parties or experts. The court can have a judicial commissioner (司法委員) help in seeking a settlement, or sit in on the hearing and give an opinion on the case. In a money claim the defendant does not contest, the court may, considering the defendant's means and after hearing the plaintiff, order payment with deferral or instalments over up to five years as a ruling in place of a settlement (和解に代わる決定), which has the same effect as a court settlement unless a party objects within two weeks of notice.(Art. 270(1), Art. 271(1), Art. 272(1), Art. 276(1), Art. 276(2), Art. 278(1), Art. 279(1), Art. 275-2(1), Art. 275-2(3), Art. 275-2(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A claim for payment of money on a bill or note (手形), with damages at the statutory rate, can be tried as an action on bills (手形訴訟) if the complaint asks for it, and the same goes for checks (小切手): no counterclaim is allowed, evidence is limited to documents and electronic records, and the parties can be examined only on whether these are genuine or on presentment of the bill. The plaintiff can move the case to ordinary procedure, without the defendant's consent, until oral argument ends. The judgment cannot be appealed (控訴), except some judgments dismissing the suit, but an objection can be lodged within two weeks of being served with it, and a lawful objection sends the case on under ordinary procedure.(Art. 350(1), Art. 350(2), Art. 351(1), Art. 352(1), Art. 352(3), Art. 353(1), Art. 356(1), Art. 357(1), Art. 361(1), Art. 367(1), Art. 367(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The parties can ask for a trial under the procedure with a statutory-limited duration (法定審理期間訴訟手続), except in suits over consumer contracts or individual labor disputes; if both ask, or one asks and the other consents, the court orders it unless that would be unfair between the parties or obstruct a proper trial. The presiding judge then sets a first date within two weeks of the order and, on that date, a date to close oral argument within six months of it and a date for judgment within one month after the close; the parties must present their case within five months of that first date, and if either asks, the case returns to ordinary procedure. The judgment cannot be appealed (控訴) unless it dismisses the suit, but an objection can be lodged within two weeks of being served with it, and the case then continues under ordinary procedure.(Art. 381-2(1), Art. 381-2(2), Art. 381-3(1), Art. 381-3(2), Art. 381-3(3), Art. 381-4(1), Art. 381-6(1), Art. 381-7(1), Art. 381-8(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Anyone may ask the court clerk to inspect a case record, on paper or in the court's electronic files, but for a hearing closed to the public only the parties and third parties who make a prima facie showing of an interest can, and only they can have copies. On a party's request and prima facie showing, the court can limit to the parties access to the parts of a record that contain a party's trade secret, or a serious secret about a party's private life whose inspection by third parties would be likely to seriously hinder their social life.(Art. 91(1), Art. 91(2), Art. 91(3), Art. 91-2(1), Art. 91-2(2), Art. 91-2(3), Art. 91-2(4), Art. 92(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A person making a filing, or their legal representative, who makes a prima facie showing that their address or name becoming known to a party is likely to seriously hinder their social life can ask the court to keep it secret (秘匿決定); the court then sets substitute details, and only that person can inspect the parts of the record that give it. Another party can still be permitted by the court to see them if keeping them hidden is likely to cause substantial harm to that party's own case, but must not, without good reason, use what they learn for other purposes or disclose it to others.(Art. 133(1), Art. 133(5), Art. 133-2(1), Art. 133-4(2), Art. 133-4(3), Art. 133-4(7)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The main provisions of Act No. 48 of 2022 came into force on a day a Cabinet Order set, which e-Gov's record of this Code's amendments gives as 21 May 2026. For suits filed before that day, including claims treated as filed by an application made before it, the earlier rules keep applying to how the judgment is given and served, to the time limits for appeal and final appeal, and to objections to judgments in bill, check and small claims actions, and the procedure with a statutory-limited duration is not available — though personal status suits (人事訴訟) and some family-court enforcement suits are left out of these rules of its supplementary provisions (附則). The earlier rules also keep applying to service by publication and to online filing (the earlier Article 132-10 stays in force in place of the present chapter on it) in those suits and in other proceedings begun before that day, and to the service, provisional enforcement declaration and later objections of demands for payment applied for before it.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 1(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 2(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 5(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 8(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 11(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 17(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 20(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 21(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 22(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 23(1), Suppl. Prov. Art. 24(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• Service (送達) is made by the court on its own initiative and handled by the court clerk; documents are served as a rule by post or by a court execution officer (執行官), handed to the person at their domicile, residence, place of business or office, or at their workplace where those are unknown or serving there is hindered. If the person is not met at a place of service other than their workplace, the document can be handed to an employee or a member of the household with enough sense to receive it, or left there if it is refused without good reason; where even that is impossible, the court clerk can send it by registered mail, and it counts as served when sent. Service abroad is requested by the presiding judge from that country's authorities or from the Japanese ambassador, minister or consul there.(Art. 98(1), Art. 98(2), Art. 101(1), Art. 102-2(1), Art. 103(1), Art. 103(2), Art. 106(1), Art. 106(3), Art. 107(1), Art. 107(3), Art. 108(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Electronic service through the court's computer system can be used for people who have registered for it, and for the litigation representatives and officials who must file online; it takes effect when they view or download the document, or one week after the notice is sent (for those who must file online and have not registered, after the document is made available), whichever is earlier, and time in which they could not view it through no fault of their own is not counted. Where a party's address and other places for service are unknown and electronic service is not possible, or service by registered mail or abroad cannot be made, the court clerk can serve by publication (公示送達) on request, or on the court's order to avoid delay; it takes effect two weeks after it begins, or six weeks for service to be made abroad, and later publications to the same party, which the clerk makes without a request (other than after an unanswered request for service abroad), take effect the day after they begin. A party who could not meet a time limit that cannot be extended (不変期間) because the court's computer failed, or for another reason not their fault, can still take the step within one week after the reason ends, or within two months if they are abroad.(Art. 109-2(1), Art. 109-3(1), Art. 109-3(2), Art. 109-4(1), Art. 109-4(2), Art. 110(1), Art. 110(2), Art. 110(3), Art. 112(1), Art. 112(2), Art. 97(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Claims or defences a party presents too late, intentionally or through gross negligence, can be rejected where they would delay the end of the suit. If both parties fail to appear at a date for oral argument or preparatory proceedings (弁論準備手続), or leave without arguing, and neither asks for a new date within one month, or this happens at two dates in a row, the suit is deemed withdrawn; the court may also give final judgment where one or both parties are absent if it finds this appropriate in view of the state of the case, though where only one is absent, only at the request of the one who came. A suit can be withdrawn until judgment becomes final, but once the defendant has filed a brief on the merits, made statements in preparatory proceedings or argued, only with the defendant's consent, which is deemed given if the defendant does not object within two weeks of being served with the written withdrawal; a plaintiff who withdraws after a final judgment on the merits cannot bring the same suit again.(Art. 157(1), Art. 263(1), Art. 244(1), Art. 261(1), Art. 261(2), Art. 261(6), Art. 262(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The court may not give judgment on what a party has not asked for, and decides the facts freely on the whole of the oral argument and the evidence; judgment must be pronounced within two months of the close of oral argument unless the case is complex or there are other special circumstances, and is as a rule given on an electronic judgment document (電子判決書) that is served on the parties. A final and binding judgment (確定判決) is res judicata (既判力) only for what its main text (主文) contains, and binds the parties, a person on whose behalf a party sued, their successors after the close of oral argument, and those holding the thing claimed for them. A court settlement (和解), or a waiver or acknowledgment of the claim, once the court clerk records it in the court's files, has the same effect as a final and binding judgment.(Art. 246(1), Art. 247(1), Art. 251(1), Art. 252(1), Art. 253(1), Art. 255(1), Art. 114(1), Art. 115(1), Art. 267(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• In a judgment on a property claim, the court may, where it finds this necessary, declare on request or on its own initiative that the judgment can be enforced provisionally (仮執行の宣言), with or without security, and in a judgment on a claim for money on a bill or check it must do so without security unless it finds security appropriate; it may also declare that the defendant can avoid provisional enforcement by providing security. The declaration loses effect to the extent a later judgment changes it, and when the judgment on the merits is changed the court, on the defendant's request, orders the plaintiff to return what the defendant paid under it and to compensate the loss. A party who appeals or objects against a provisionally enforceable judgment or demand for payment can ask the court for a temporary stay of enforcement, on a prima facie showing of the grounds Article 403 lists.(Art. 259(1), Art. 259(2), Art. 259(3), Art. 260(1), Art. 260(2), Art. 403(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• The losing party bears the court costs (訴訟費用), though the court can make even a winning party bear the costs of acts not needed to assert or defend their rights, or of delay they caused; where each side loses in part the court divides them at its discretion, and it decides who bears them, on its own initiative, in the decision that ends the case. A person who cannot afford the costs of the suit, or whose living would be seriously strained by paying them, can on request be granted judicial aid (訴訟上の救助) for each instance, which, as the ruling sets out, defers court fees and exempts them from security for costs, unless it appears they have no chance of winning; it can be revoked, and the deferred costs ordered paid, if they turn out not to meet those conditions or cease to. A plaintiff with no domicile, office or place of business in Japan must, if the defendant asks, provide the security for costs the court orders, unless an undisputed part of a money claim already covers it; a defendant who argues the merits, or makes statements in preparatory proceedings, after learning of the ground can no longer ask, a defendant who asks may refuse to argue the case until it is given, and if it is not given in time the court may dismiss the suit by judgment, unless it is given before then.(Art. 61(1), Art. 62(1), Art. 63(1), Art. 64(1), Art. 67(1), Art. 82(1), Art. 82(2), Art. 83(1), Art. 84(1), Art. 75(1), Art. 75(2), Art. 75(3), Art. 75(4), Art. 78(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• An appeal (控訴) lies against a final judgment that a district court gave as the court of first instance or that a summary court gave, and must be filed within two weeks of being served with the judgment, by submitting a petition of appeal to the court that gave it. A final appeal (上告), also within two weeks, lies to the Supreme Court against a high court's judgment, and to a high court against a district court's judgment on appeal, on the ground that the judgment misinterprets or otherwise breaches the Constitution or has one of the grave procedural defects Article 312 lists, and before a high court also for a breach of law that clearly affected the judgment. A final appeal must give its reasons in the petition or in a statement of reasons filed with the court below within the period the Rules of the Supreme Court set, or it is dismissed; and an appeal court that dismisses an appeal it finds was filed only to delay the end of the suit may order the appellant to pay up to ten times the fee for filing the appeal.(Art. 281(1), Art. 285(1), Art. 286(1), Art. 311(1), Art. 312(1), Art. 312(2), Art. 312(3), Art. 313(1), Art. 315(1), Art. 316(1), Art. 303(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a final appeal would go to the Supreme Court, it may accept the case on a petition for acceptance of final appeal (上告受理の申立て) if the judgment conflicts with its precedents or the case otherwise involves an important question in interpreting the law; such a petition cannot rest on the constitutional and procedural grounds of a final appeal. A ruling or order (決定・命令) dismissing a procedural petition without oral argument, or made on a matter that cannot be decided by ruling or order, can be challenged by an appeal against a ruling (抗告), and an immediate appeal (即時抗告), where the Code provides one, must be filed within one week of notice of the decision. A special appeal (特別抗告) to the Supreme Court, on constitutional grounds against a decision that cannot otherwise be challenged or one of a high court, must be filed within five days, and a high court's ruling or order of a kind that could be appealed if a district court had made it can also go to the Supreme Court where that high court permits it (許可抗告) because it conflicts with Supreme Court precedent or involves an important question of interpreting the law.(Art. 318(1), Art. 318(2), Art. 328(1), Art. 328(2), Art. 332(1), Art. 336(1), Art. 336(2), Art. 337(1), Art. 337(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A final and binding judgment can be reopened by an action for retrial (再審) only on the grounds Article 338 lists — among them an unlawfully composed court, a lack of authority to represent a party, a forged document or false testimony that served as evidence, or a conflict with an earlier final judgment — and not on a ground the party raised on appeal or knew of and did not raise. Where the ground is a punishable act, such as forgery or false testimony, the action is possible only once a conviction or civil fine for it has become final, or where one cannot be had for a reason other than lack of evidence. It must be filed within 30 days of learning the ground, and not after five years from the judgment becoming final (or from when the ground arose), though neither limit applies to a lack of authority to represent or a conflict with an earlier judgment.(Art. 338(1), Art. 338(2), Art. 342(1), Art. 342(2), Art. 342(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A witness who fails to appear without good reason is ordered by ruling to bear the costs this caused and to pay a civil fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen, can be punished with a criminal fine (罰金) of up to 100,000 yen or penal detention (拘留), or both, and can be brought to court by force (勾引). The same civil fine and punishment apply to a witness who, without good reason, refuses to testify or to take the oath after a ruling that the refusal has no ground has become final. Experts who fail to appear without good reason, refuse the oath, or, after such a ruling on their refusal has become final, refuse without good reason to give an opinion face the same civil fine and punishment, and a civil fine under the Code's chapter on evidence (Part II, Chapter IV) is enforced on a public prosecutor's order, which has the same effect as an enforceable title of obligation (債務名義).(Art. 192(1), Art. 193(1), Art. 193(2), Art. 194(1), Art. 200(1), Art. 201(5), Art. 216(1), Art. 189(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• If a party disobeys an order to produce a document (文書提出命令), or destroys a document it had to produce so that the other side cannot use it, the court may take the other side's allegations about what the document says as true — and the fact it was to prove, where it would be extremely difficult for the other side both to make specific allegations about its contents and to prove that fact by other evidence. A party who without good reason does not appear for their own examination, or refuses to swear or testify, may have the other side's allegations on those matters taken as true, and a sworn party who lies is given a civil fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen, which the court may cancel if they admit the lie while the suit is pending. A party or representative who, intentionally or through gross negligence, disputes against the truth that a document is genuine is given a civil fine of up to 100,000 yen, likewise cancellable if they admit it is genuine while the suit is pending, and a third party who disobeys an order to produce a document one of up to 200,000 yen.(Art. 224(1), Art. 224(2), Art. 224(3), Art. 208(1), Art. 209(1), Art. 209(3), Art. 230(1), Art. 230(3), Art. 225(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A final and binding judgment of a foreign court has effect in Japan only if it meets all four conditions: the foreign court's jurisdiction is recognized by law or treaty, the losing defendant was served with the summons or order needed to begin the proceedings (other than by publication or a similar method) or took part without it, the judgment and its proceedings do not offend public policy in Japan (公の秩序又は善良の風俗), and there is a guarantee of reciprocity (相互の保証).(Art. 118(1)) (the provisions it rests on)