On current international insolvency law in Japan

✍ Scribed by Junichi Matsushita

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 995 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1180-0518
• DOI: 10.1002/iir.3940060304

✦ Synopsis

In the area of international insolvency, Japan is sometimes referred to as a country which has adopted the strict territorial principle.' It is true that the texts of the relevant provisions as they stand manifest the strict territorial principle. In addition, it is unfortunate that there is only one published case that has been written in English. This was a Canadian Federal Court's judgment in 19782 that dealt with the relevant provisions of the Corporate Reorganization Law of Japan and interpreted it literally. Additionally, as far as I know, there is little mention in the literature of the recent evolution of the case-law and practice in this field in Japan.

The purpose of this article is to clarify the status quo of Japanese international insolvency law and to show that Japan has already opened the door at least halfway. In particular, I wish to focus on the domestic effect of foreign insolvency proceedings, the extraterritorial effect of Japanese insolvency proceedings, and co-operation relating to international insolvency cases (see Parts I1 and I11 below). Finally, I would like to touch upon the prospects for reform of Japan's insolvency law (see Part IV).3

B. Judicial insolvency proceedings in Japan

Before discussing international insolvency law in Japan, a preliminary and general explanation of Japanese insolvency law4 is helpful. In Japan, there are