Code of Civil Procedure

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Code or other laws and regulations concerning a motion or statement that is part of proceedings for a civil action (referred to below as a "motion or statement"), a person may file a motion or statement that, pursuant to the provisions of those laws or regulations, is to be filed using a paper document (meaning using a paper document, piece of writing, written material, transcript, extract, authenticated copy, duplicate copy, extra copy, or other piece of paper or tangible object bearing characters, shapes, and other such information that can be perceived using the human senses; the same applies in this Chapter), and that the person is filing with the court (including one that a person is filing with the court's presiding judge, authorized judge, commissioned judge, or court clerk), by using an electronic data processing system as provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court pursuant to their Rules to record the information required to be stated in the paper document into the court's computer files.

A motion or statement that has been filed by the means referred to in the preceding paragraph (referred to below as an "electronically filed motion or statement" in this Article) is deemed to have been filed using the paper document provided for in the provisions of laws and regulations concerning motions and statements which provide that the motion or statement in question is to be filed using a paper document; and the provisions of those laws and regulations and other laws and regulations concerning the motion or statement in question apply.

An electronically filed motion or statement is deemed to arrive at the court when the information that it contains is recorded in the court's computer files.

Notwithstanding the provisions of other laws and regulations, in a case as referred to in paragraph (1), a person filing a motion or statement that they are to affix their name to (meaning to sign the paper document, print or stamp their name on it, affix their seal to it, or otherwise include their name or trade name in it; the same applies in this paragraph) pursuant to the provisions of other laws and regulations concerning that motion or statement, in lieu of affixing their name, must take measures to clarify their name or trade name, as provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

Notwithstanding the provisions of laws and regulations that concern the electronically filed motion or statement in question, if a motion or statement has been filed electronically, the service of that motion or statement is effected by serving the relevant person with an electronic or magnetic record giving the information that has been recorded in the court's computer files through the electronic filing.

Service of an electronically filed motion or statement that has been effected by the means referred to in the preceding paragraph is deemed to have been effected by the means of service provided for in the provisions of laws and regulations that concern that electronically filed motion or statement, and the provisions of laws and regulations that concern that service and of other laws and regulations that concern that electronically filed motion or statement apply.

A person as stated in one of the following items must file motions and statements in a case as provided in that item by the means referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article; provided, however, that this does not apply if it is permissible to file an oral motion or statement, and the person does this:

a litigation representative who has been entrusted with handling a case (excluding a person who became a litigation representative with permission under the proviso to Article 54, paragraph (1)):the case they have been entrusted with handling;

a person designated under the provisions of Article 2, Article 5, paragraph (1), Article 6, paragraph (2), Article 6-2, paragraph (4) or (5), Article 6-3, paragraph (4) or (5), or Article 7, paragraph (3) of the Act on the Authority of the Minister of Justice over Suits Relating to the Interests of the State (Act No. 194 of 1947):the case subject to the designation;

an official entrusted with handling a case under the provisions of Article 153, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947):the case they have been entrusted with handling.

The persons stated in the items of the preceding paragraph must make a notification referred to in the proviso to Article 109-2, paragraph (1).

The provisions of paragraph (1) do not apply if a person stated in an item of that paragraph is unable to file a motion or statement using an electronic data processing system due to the failure of a computer used by the court or any other grounds not attributable to that person.

When a person files a motion or statement using a paper document (unless it is filed in violation of the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article), the court clerk must record the information given in that paper document (excluding the information specified in the following items for the cases stated in those items) in the court's computer files; provided, however, that this does not apply if there are circumstances that make it difficult to record that information in the court's computer files:

if a petition as referred to in Article 92, paragraph (1) (limited to one filed because the grounds stated in item (ii) of that paragraph exist) concerning the paper document used to file the motion or statement in question is filed together with that document; and if the use of a trade secret detailed in that paper document 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 the trade secret, and the court finds it to be particularly necessary to exclude the relevant information from its computer files in order to prevent this (unless the petition referred to in that paragraph is denied or a judicial decision setting aside a ruling on the petition referred to in that paragraph becomes final and binding):the trade secret detailed in that paper document;

if a notification under the provisions of Article 133, paragraph (2) is submitted using a paper document:the information detailed in that paper document; and

if a petition as referred to in Article 133-2, paragraph (2) concerning the paper document that has been used to file the motion or statement in question is filed together with that document, and the court finds it to be necessary to exclude the relevant information from its computer files (unless the petition referred to in that paragraph is denied or a judicial decision setting aside a ruling on the petition referred to in that paragraph becomes final and binding):the part of a record containing the personal information of a person seeking anonymity prescribed in that paragraph which is detailed in that paper document.

Notwithstanding the provisions of laws and regulations concerning the motion or statement in question, service of an electronic or magnetic record giving the information recorded in a file pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph may be substituted for the service of a motion or statement that has been filed using a paper document detailing information that has been recorded into the court's computer files pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Service of a motion or statement that has been effected by the means referred to in the preceding paragraph is deemed to have been effected by the means of service prescribed in the provisions of laws and regulations concerning the motion or statement in question, and the provisions of laws and regulations concerning the service in question and of laws and regulations concerning the motion or statement in question apply.

In addition to the information detailed in a paper document used to file a motion or statement prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, the court clerk must record the information detailed in paper documents, and in recording media containing electronic or magnetic records, that have been submitted to the court pursuant to the provisions of this Act or any other laws and regulations in connection with civil litigation proceedings (excluding the information specified in the following items in the cases stated in those items) into the court's computer files; provided, however, that this does not apply if there are circumstances that make it difficult to record that information in the court's computer file:

if a petition as referred to in Article 92, paragraph (1) (limited to one filed because the grounds stated in item (ii) of that paragraph exist) concerning the paper document or recording medium is filed together with these submissions; and if the use of a trade secret detailed in that paper document or recording medium 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 exclude that information from its computer files in order to prevent this (unless the petition referred to in that paragraph is denied or a judicial decision setting aside a ruling on the petition referred to in that paragraph becomes final and binding):the trade secret detailed in that paper document or recording medium;

if a notification under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the following Article is filed through the submission of a recording medium:the information recorded in that recording medium;

if a petition as referred to in Article 133-2, paragraph (2) concerning the paper document or recording medium in question is filed together with that submission, and the court finds it to be necessary to exclude the relevant information from its computer files (unless the petition is denied or a judicial decision setting aside a ruling on the petition becomes final and binding):the part of a record containing the personal information of a person seeking anonymity prescribed in that paragraph which is detailed in that paper document or recording medium;

if a ruling under the provisions of Article 133-3, paragraph (1) has been made, and the court finds it to be necessary to exclude the relevant information from its computer files (unless a judicial decision setting aside a ruling on the petition becomes final and binding):the information detailed in the paper documents connected with that ruling, or in recording media containing the electronic or magnetic records connected with that ruling.