In 2020, Japanese court has begun the implementation of IT in civil court proceedings.
As of August 2020, some courts have enabled procedures for preparatory meetings to be conducted via web conferencing (Microsoft Teams). Web conferencing is also being implemented in labor tribunals (rodo-shinpan procedure).
It is expected that court documents, including complaints, will be able to be submitted online in the next few years.
Until now, the basic form of court work has been to send printed materials by fax, which has caused various inefficiencies. If a document was originally created on a PC, it is more convenient to send and receive and to reuse the contents of the document if it is sent electronically. It is also anticipated that the availability of web conferencing will greatly reduce the number of times the attorneys (and the clients) have to travel to distant courts. This will lead to a reduction in travel and per diem expenses for the client.
Although it has only just started, court practice will change significantly over the next five years. As an attorney who deals with the practice of law, it will be necessary to keep up to date with the latest information and to try to handle cases in a way that reduces the time and financial burden on the clients as much as possible.
