Japanese Business Law

Since the ‘lost decade’ of the nineties, the progress of Japanese administrative and economic reform has been intense. Although some early critics characterized the reforms as ‘window dressing,’ it is becoming clearer that systemic reform has taken hold and the new Japanese economy is picking up. This deeply knowledgeable book provides a penetrating analysis and expert evaluation of matters of crucial concern to business lawyers — including corporate governance, contract law, business liabilities, intellectual property, media, employment, taxation, investment, the legal profession, the judiciary, and much more — as they are developing and intersecting in Japan today.

In the course of the detailed presentation, the contributors touch on such details of interest to those doing business in Japan as the following:

• • status of foreign lawyers;
• • mergers and acquisitions and leveraged buyouts;
• • grounds for terminating contracts;
• • real estate transactions;
• • financing and capital markets;
• • antimonopoly law and licensing guidelines;
• • IT and e-commerce law;
• • managing, disciplining, and terminating employees;
• • occupational safety and health;
• • labor union law;
• • corporation income taxation;
• • government programs offering low cost finance;
• • consumer protection laws; and
• • litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

One of the most valuable benefits of the contributors’ approach is the keen insight offered into the tatemae (outward appearance) well known to frustrate and mislead foreigners in almost any dealings with the Japanese.

Japanese Business Law is not only the first book to tackle this important subject in its current and developing mode; it is also not likely to be superseded in its superb combination of sweeping overview, minute detail, and cultural insight. Business lawyers, corporate counsel, and business executives worldwide will welcome it.