Chapter V Judgment

①When litigation has been sufficiently developed to allow the court to reach a judicial decision, the court enters a final judgment.

②If a part of litigation has been sufficiently developed to allow the court to reach a judicial decision, the court may enter a final judgment with regard to that part.

③The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis if one of the several pieces of litigation for which the consolidation of oral arguments has been ordered, has been sufficiently developed to allow a judicial decision to be reached, or if the principal action or counterclaim has been sufficiently developed to allow a judicial decision to be reached.

If one or both parties fails to appear or leaves court without presenting oral arguments on a date for oral arguments, and the court finds it to be appropriate in consideration of the current status of the trial and the status of each party's conduct of the litigation, it may reach a final judgment; provided, however, that if one of the parties fails to appear or leaves court without presenting an oral argument on a date for oral arguments, this applies only at the request of the adverse party who appeared on that date.

If an independent allegation or piece of evidence or any other interlocutory dispute has been sufficiently developed for the court to reach a judicial decision on it, the court may enter an interlocutory judgment. The same applies with regard to the statement of the claim if it, or the number or amount concerned, is in dispute.

The court may not reach a judgment on any matter not raised by the parties.

In reaching a judgment, the court decides whether to find allegations of fact to be true based on its freedom of personal conviction, in light of the entire import of oral arguments and the results of the examination of evidence.

If damage is found to have occurred, but, due to the nature of the damage, it is extremely difficult to prove the amount of damage that occurred, the court may reach a finding on the amount of damage that is reasonable, based on the entire import of oral arguments and the results of the examination of evidence.

①Judgment is rendered by a judge who has participated in the oral arguments that form the basis for that judgment.

②If a judge has been replaced, the parties must state the results of prior oral arguments.

③If a single, independent judge or the majority of a panel of judges has been replaced and a party requests that a witness who was examined before the replacement be examined again, the court must examine the witness.

A judgment enters into force when it is rendered.

①The court must render a judgment within two months of the date on which oral arguments conclude; provided, however, that this does not apply if the case is complex or there are any other special circumstances.

②The court may render a judgment even if the parties are not present in court.

①When the court renders a judgment, it must create an electronic or magnetic record in which it records the following things ( referred to below as an "electronic judgment"), as provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court:

②In its record of the facts under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the court must clarify the claim and summarize the main points of the allegations needed to show that the content of the main text is justified.

①The court renders its judgment based on an electronic judgment created pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article.

②Once the court has rendered a judgment pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it must record the electronic judgment on which this was based in its computer files, as provided for by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

①Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding Article, in the following cases, if the court upholds the plaintiff's claim, it may render a judgment that is not based on an electronic judgment:

②If the court has rendered a judgment pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, in lieu of preparing an electronic judgment, the court must have the court clerk make a record of the parties and legal representatives, the main text of the judgment, the claims, and the gist of the grounds, in the electronic record for the oral arguments date on which the judgment is rendered.

①An electronic judgment (limited to one recorded in the court's computer files pursuant to the provisions of Article 253, paragraph (2); the same applies in the following paragraph, Article 285, Article 355, paragraph (2), Article 357, Article 378, paragraph (1) and Article 381-7, paragraph (1)) or an electronic record containing a record of the parties and legal representatives, the main text of the judgment, the claims, and the gist of the grounds pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article (limited to a statement recorded in the court's computer files pursuant to the provisions of Article 160, paragraph (2); the same applies in the following paragraph, Article 261, paragraph (5), Article 285, Article 357 and Article 378, paragraph (1)) must be served on the parties.

②Service prescribed in the preceding paragraph is effected by any of the following means:

①If the court finds a violation of law or regulation in a judgment, it may reach a judgment to modify it, but only within one week after the judgment's rendition; provided, however, that this does not apply if the judgment has become final and binding or additional oral arguments in the case are necessary in order to modify the judgment.

②A judgment for modification is reached without oral arguments being heard.

③If a summons to appear on the date for the rendition of a judgment as referred to in the preceding paragraph is served by an electronic writ of summons (limited to a summons recorded in the court's computer files pursuant to the provisions of Article 94, paragraph (2)), service is deemed to have been effected at the times specified in the following items for the categories of service stated in those items:

①If there is a miscalculation, clerical error, or any other clear error similar to this in a judgment, the court may issue a corrective ruling at any time, upon petition or sua sponte.

②An immediate appeal may be filed against a corrective ruling under the preceding paragraph; provided, however, that this does not apply if a lawful appeal to the court of second instance has been filed against the judgment.

③An immediate appeal may be filed against a ruling to deny the petition under paragraph (1) as not in accordance with the law; provided, however, that this does not apply if a lawful appeal to the court of second instance is filed against the judgment.

①If the court omits to address part of a claim in a judicial decision, litigation of that part of the claim remains pending before that court.

②If the court omits to address the bearing of court costs in a judicial decision, the court reaches a judicial decision on the bearing of court costs in the form of a ruling, upon petition or sua sponte. In such a case, the provisions of Articles 61 through 66 apply mutatis mutandis.

③An immediate appeal may be filed against a ruling as referred to in the preceding paragraph.

④A judicial decision on the bearing of court costs under the provisions of paragraph (2) ceases to be effective if a lawful appeal to the court of second instance is filed against a judgment on the merits. In such a case, the court of second instance reaches a judicial decision on the bearing of the total costs of the litigation.

①In a judgment involving a claim on a property right, if the court finds it to be necessary, it may declare, upon petition or sua sponte, that provisional enforcement may be effected if security is provided or that provisional enforcement may be effected without security being provided.

②With regard to a judgment on a claim for the payment of money for a bill, note, or check and an incidental claim for damages at the statutory interest rate, the court must issue a sua sponte declaration that provisional enforcement may be effected without security being provided; provided, however, that if the court finds it to be appropriate, it may require the provisions of security for provisional enforcement.

③The court, upon petition or sua sponte, may declare that it is possible to avoid provisional enforcement by providing security.

④Any declaration of provisional enforceability must be stated in the main text of the judgment. The same applies to any declaration under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

⑤If the court has not reached a judicial decision on a petition for a declaration of provisional enforceability or has not issued a declaration of provisional enforceability that it should have issued sua sponte, it issues a supplemental ruling upon petition or sua sponte. The same applies if the court has not reached a judicial decision on a petition as referred to in paragraph (3).

⑥The provisions of Articles 76, 77, 79 and 80 apply mutatis mutandis to security as referred to in paragraphs (1) through (3).

①A declaration of provisional enforceability ceases to be valid to the extent of any modification, if a judgment is rendered modifying the declaration or the judgment on the merits.

②When modifying a judgment on the merits, at the petition of the defendant, the court must order the plaintiff to return what the defendant delivered based on a declaration of provisional enforceability, and to compensate for any damage the defendant has suffered due to provisional enforcement or in order to avoid it, in its judgment.

③If only a declaration of provisional enforceability is modified, the provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to a later judgment modifying a judgment on the merits.