Code of Civil Procedure

The parties must conduct oral arguments before the court in connection with their litigation; provided, however, that for a case that is to be concluded by a ruling, the court determines whether or not the parties are required to conduct oral arguments.

If oral arguments are not conducted pursuant to the proviso to the preceding paragraph, the court may hear the parties.

The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs do not apply when otherwise provided.

If the court finds it to be appropriate, after hearing the opinions of the parties and as provided by the Rules of the Supreme Court, the court may conduct proceedings on a date for oral arguments using a means that enables the court and both parties to communicate with one another through audio and visual transmissions while gaining an awareness of one another' situation.

If the court finds it to be appropriate, after hearing the opinions of the parties, the court may conduct the proceedings on the date for hearing in a way that enables the court and both parties to communicate with one another at the same time, through audio transmissions, as provided by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

The party who has participated in proceedings as referred to in the preceding two paragraphs without appearing on the date referred to in that paragraph is deemed to have appeared on that date.

If a hearing is held, the court may have it held by an authorized judge.

Irrespective of the extent to which litigation has progressed, the court may attempt to arrange a settlement or have an authorized or commissioned judge attempt to arrange a settlement.

If the court finds it to be appropriate, after hearing the opinions of the parties, the court may conduct the proceedings on the date for settlement in a way that enables the court and both parties to communicate with one another at the same time, through audio transmissions as provided by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

The party who has participated in proceedings as referred to in the preceding paragraph without appearing on the date referred to in that paragraph is deemed to have appeared on that date.

The provisions of Articles 148, 150, 154 and 155 apply mutatis mutandis to settlement proceedings.

If an authorized or commissioned judge attempts to arrange a settlement, the duties of the court and presiding judge under the provisions of paragraph (2), or under the provisions of Articles 148, 154 and 155 as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, are to be performed by that judge.

If a party learns or could have learned of a violation of the provisions concerning litigation proceedings but fails to make an objection without delay, the party loses the right to object to those proceedings; provided, however, that this does not apply to a right that cannot be waived.

Any person may file a request with the court clerk to inspect a hard-copy case records (meaning the portion of the case records excluding the electronic or magnetic case records as prescribed in paragraph (1) of the following Article; the same applies in this Article).

Only the parties to the case or a third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in the case may file the request under the provisions of the preceding paragraph with regard to a hard-copy case records involving oral arguments that are prohibited from being disclosed to the public. The same applies to the portion of the hard-copy case records concerning the proposed terms of settlement under Article 264, the terms of settlement under the provisions of Article 265, paragraph (1) and the settlement as prescribed in Article 267, paragraph (1) (excluding a settlement that is concluded on the date for oral arguments).

The parties to a case and any third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in the case may file a request with the court clerk to copy the hard-copy case records, or to issue an authenticated copy, transcript or extract of the electronic or magnetic case records.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply with respect to hard-copy case records that have been prepared in the form of audiotapes or videotapes (including objects onto which a fixed set of information has been recorded by any equivalent means). Nevertheless, the court clerk must permit the reproduction of those audiotapes or videotapes at the request of a party to the case or a third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in these objects.

A request to inspect, copy, or reproduce a hard-copy case records may not be filed if these actions would be detrimental to the preservation of the hard-copy case records or the performance of the court's duties.

As provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court, any person may file a request with the court clerk to inspect something that, in the manner specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court, has been made to show the content of an electronic or magnetic case record (meaning the part of a case record that constitutes information which has been recorded into a file stored on a computer (inclusive of its input and output devices; the same applies below) used by the court (these files are simply referred to below as the court's "computer files", except in Article 91-2, paragraphs (2) and (3), Article 91-3, and Article 109-3, paragraph (1), item (ii)), pursuant to the provisions of this Code and other laws and regulations (the information is referred to as "information from the court's computer files" in Article 132-7 and Article 133-2, paragraph (5)); the same applies below).

As provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court, the parties to a case or a third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in the case may file a request with a court clerk to copy the information recorded in electronic or magnetic case records by using an electronic data processing system specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court (meaning an electronic data processing system that connects a computer used by the court and the computer used by the other person involved in the procedure via a telecommunications line; the same applies below) to record the information in a file stored on a computer that the person is using, or by any other means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

As provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court, the parties to a case or a third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in the case may request a court clerk to issue a paper document containing the whole or part of the information recorded in an electronic or magnetic case record, whose content the court clerk certifies, by the means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court, to give information identical to what is recorded in the electronic or magnetic case record; or to provide an electronic or magnetic record containing the whole or part of the information recorded in an electronic or magnetic case record, whose content the court clerk certifies, by the means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court, to give information identical to what is recorded in the electronic or magnetic case record, using an electronic data processing system specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court to record it in a file stored on the computer that the party is using, or by any other means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

The provisions of paragraphs (2) and (5) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the request to inspect or copy electronic or magnetic case records under the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2).

As provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court, the parties to a case or a third party that makes a prima facie showing of interest in a case may request a court clerk to issue a paper document containing information concerning the litigation that the court clerk certifies by the means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court; or to provide an electronic or magnetic record containing information concerning the litigation that the court clerk certifies by the means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court, using an electronic data processing system specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court to record it in a file stored on the computer that the party is using, or by any other means specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

If a party to a case makes a prima facie showing of the following grounds, the court, at the petition of that party, may rule to limit the persons who may request access to the parts of the case records that contain the confidential information in question (meaning access to hard-copy case records or access to electronic or magnetic case records; the same applies in Article 133, paragraph (3)) (referred to below as "access to the confidential parts of the case records" in this Article) to the parties to the case:

a material piece of confidential information about the private life of a party appears in the case record, and a third party's access to the confidential parts of the case records would be likely to substantially interfere with that party's public life;

a trade secret (meaning a trade secret as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (6) of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act; the same applies below) being kept by a party to the case appears in the case records.

Once a petition as referred to in the preceding paragraph has been filed, a third party may not request access to the confidential parts of the case records until a judicial decision on the petition becomes final and binding.

A third party seeking access to the confidential parts of the case records may file a petition with the court of record to set aside the ruling stated in paragraph (1), on the grounds that any requirement prescribed in that paragraph has not been met or is no longer being met.

An immediate appeal may be filed against a judicial decision denying the petition stated in paragraph (1) and against a judicial decision on the petition stated in the preceding paragraph.

A judicial decision setting aside a ruling as referred to in paragraph (1) does not come into force unless it becomes final and binding.

If a petition under paragraph (1) (limited to a petition filed due to the existence of grounds stated in item (i) of that paragraph; the same applies in the following paragraph and paragraph (8)) has been filed and a third party intervenes in the litigation after its filing, the court clerk must notify the party who filed the petition of the intervention immediately after the intervention; provided, however, that this does not apply if the judicial decision denying the petition has become final and binding.

In a case as referred to in the main clause of the preceding paragraph, the court clerk may not permit the intervener to access the confidential parts of the case records about which the petition under paragraph (1) was filed, during the time that runs from the day of the notification under the provisions of that paragraph until the final day in the two-week period that follows; provided, however, that this does not apply if a petition as referred to in Article 133-2, paragraph (2) has been made.

The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs do not apply if all parties that have filed the petition under paragraph (1) consent to allow the intervener referred to in paragraph (6) to access the confidential parts of the case records about which the petition under paragraph (1) has been filed.

If a petition under paragraph (1) (limited to one filed because the grounds stated in item (ii) of that paragraph exist; the same applies in the following paragraph) is filed, and if the use of a trade secret detailed in that petition for purposes other than conducting the suit, or the disclosure of that trade secret, would likely interfere with the party's business activities that are based on that trade secret, and the court finds it to be particularly necessary to do so in order to prevent this, the court may output the parts of the electronic or magnetic case records containing that trade secret in paper format or record them onto another recording medium, as well as taking measures to delete them from the electronic or magnetic case records or any other measures specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court as necessary and appropriate to securely manage the trade secret.

If, after measures under the provisions of the preceding paragraph are taken to delete parts of the electronic or magnetic case records, a judicial decision denying the petition referred to in paragraph (1) becomes final and binding, or a judicial decision setting aside the decision concerning the petition becomes final and binding, the court clerk must record the part of the records containing the trade secret in the court's computer files.