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the Japanese court should assert international jurisdiction, unless special circumstances
existed . However, Japanese courts tended to give emphasis to case-by-case justice
19
by broadly considering a variety of elements regarding fairness between the parties
and an equitable and expeditious administration of justice in the determination of

special circumstances . This case-by-case basis approach left room for broad
20
interpretation and raised concerns over legal certainty as well as the predictability of

international jurisdiction. The “Act for partial Amendment of the Code of Civil
Procedure and the Civil Provisional Remedies Act”, which came into force in 2012,

was adopted to improve the clarity and predictability of jurisdictional rules. This
2012 amendment to the JCCP established a new section (Chapter II Section 1) on the

jurisdiction of Japanese courts (so-called “international jurisdiction”). It set forth
comprehensive and detailed rules on international jurisdiction in civil and commercial

matters for each category of international transactions or activities, including, inter
alia, general jurisdiction based on the defendant’s domicile (Article 3-2), jurisdiction

over an action involving a contractual obligation (Article 3-3), jurisdiction over an
action involving consumer contracts and labor relations (Article 3-4), exclusive

jurisdiction (Article 3-5), jurisdiction over a joint claim (Article 3-6), agreement on
jurisdiction (Article 3-7), jurisdiction based on appearance (Article 3-8), and dismissal

without prejudice due to special circumstances (Article 3-9). These rules were
primarily adopted parallel to the domestic jurisdictional rules provided in Section 2

of the JCCP . In addition, the new “Act for partial Amendment of the Personal Status
21
Litigation Act etc.” was recently promulgated in April 25, 2018 to insert specific and

detailed rules on international jurisdiction in family matters such as personal status
litigation and domestic relations cases .
22

19. Junichi Tobimatsu and Kana Manabe, “Difficulties in Deciding Jurisdiction,” IFLR Dispute Resolution
2014, September 2014, 17.
20. Yokomizo, “New Act on International Jurisdiction,” 99.
21. Nishitani, “International Jurisdiction of Japanese Courts,” 254.
22. This Act will come into force in April 1, 2019. See “The Act Partially Amending Personal Status
Litigation Act Etc.,” Ministry of Justice of Japan, last modified November 30, 2018, http://www.moj.
go.jp/ENGLISH/m_minji07_00019.html.

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