Information

Question;
If you run business in Japan, and were not able to receive payment from a customer, how can you deal with the situation?

Answer;
There are two steps for demanding payment. The first step is demanding voluntary payment. The second step is demanding payment by legal procedures.

1) Demanding voluntary payment

To demand voluntary payment, generally the contents-certified mail is used (“Naiyo-Shomei Yuubin” in Japanese). On the mail, you should set a deadline and tell the debtor that you will go to legal procedures if the debtor did not pay by this deadline.

You can hire an attorney to write this mail for you, so that you can make the debtor understand that the legal procedures will surely be taken when there is no payment.

2) Demanding payment by legal procedures

If you could not receive the payment from the debtor voluntarily, then you can go to legal procedures (or you can go to legal procedures from the beginning, if you think that the debtor will not pay voluntarily from the first place).

The major legal procedures are as follows;

i) Demand for Payment (“Shiharai-Tokusoku”)
ii) Civil Conciliation (“Minji-Chotei”)
iii) Action on Small Claim (“Shogaku-Soshou”)
iv) Civil Suit (“Minji-Soshou”)

(To be continued)

If you want a divorce in Japan, legal proceedings which you can select differ by your nationalities etc. Here, we describe about the general divorce proceedings in Japan. There are generally four types of procedure when you want a divorce in Japan.

1）Divorce by agreement

The first step is “divorce by agreement”. In this case, a married couple will discuss about divorce themselves. If they reach an agreement, they can submit the divorce notification (“Rikon Todoke” in Japanese) to the city office, and then the divorce will be established. The couple can freely determine about the distribution of property, but producing a consensus document of the distribution is recommended.

2）Divorce by mediation (“Cho-tei” in Japanese)

The second step is “divorce by mediation”. When the married couple fails to reach an agreement by discussion, either party can request mediation for divorce  (“Rikon Cho-tei“) to the Family Court. At the mediation, one judge and two arbitrators advise on the couple’s divorce. If the couple could reach an agreement in a divorce settlement, divorce is established. The Family Court will make a written record of divorce mediation for you (so that you can bring it to the city office).

3）Divorce by decision of the family court (“Shinpan” in Japanese)

Seldom used.

4) Divorce by trial (“Saiban” in Japanese)

The third step is “divorce by trial”. In case a married couple does not consent to divorce by mediation, the divorce problem is brought to trial. In the trial, both party will stake their claim, and submit evidences to the Family Court. Finally, the judge will decide whether the divorce is admitted or not. Mediation must be conducted before the trial.

When somebody dies, and if he/she leaves debts behind, his/her heirs will have to take over the debts unless they give up their inheritance rights (“Renunciation of Inheritance”).

To give up the inheritance rights in Japan, the heir will have to go to the Family Court to make a statement (you will have to make the statement in Japanese language). There is a time limitation of 3 months, so the heir will have to investigate about the property during this period, and make a decision to renounce the inheritance or not.

3 months is definitely not a long period, so if you became somebody’s heir, you will have to move quickly. If you have any questions about Japanese law, you are suggested to consult an attorney (Bengoshi) as early as you can. Also, attorney (Bengoshi) can handle this procedure at the family court in place of you, if you need.

Civil Code
Article 915　An heir shall give unconditional or qualified acceptance, or renunciation, regarding inheritance within three months of the time he/she has knowledge that there has been a commencement of inheritance for him/her; provided that this period may be extended by the family court on the application of an interested party or a public prosecutor.
(2)　An heir may investigate inherited property before making an acceptance or renunciation of inheritance.

Article 938　A person who intends to renounce inheritance shall make a statement to that effect to the family court.

 

In United States, each state conducts its own bar exam. While in Japan, there is only one bar exam (Shihou Shiken), which is conducted by Japanese government (National Bar Examination Commission).

So, Japanese attorneys (Bengoshi) all have the same qualification and can handle all legal cases throughout Japan. For example, I am a member of Yokohama Bar Association (which is the bar association of Kanagawa prefecture), but I am able to handle the cases anywhere in Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

Of course it is better to consult an attorney in your own prefecture from the standpoint of travel expenses and time, but if you cannot find an attorney (lawyer) near you, don’t forget that you have an option to hire an attorney in different prefecture.

For non-native speakers who drive a car in Japan, it is a good practice to be prepared with “legal expense insurance” which covers the costs for legal action (attorney fee etc.).

Negotiation about car accident is very frustrating, even for native speakers. Both side may say different things (such as the color of the signal), and the agent of the insurance company are often impolite. If you are not a native speaker in that country, the stress of negotiating will be very very large.

So, you may want to hire an attorney to negotiate in place of you. But in that case, you will have to pay the attorney fee yourself, even if there is no fault on you. You may feel very unfair about this.

This is the reason why there are types of insurance such as “legal expense insurance”. If you are prepared with this type of insurance, the insurance company will pay the attorney fee for you. You can ask your own insurance company if they provide this type of insurance (maybe it is already included in your insurance policy).

Also, it is suggested to get covered with “vehicle insurance” for the damage of your own vehicle. This is because even if you go through a lawsuit and win at last, you cannot get anything if the other driver has no property at all.

Although I am a Japanese speaking attorney living in Japan, my car insurance policy is fully covered including legal expense. If I was living in a foreign country, I would surely like to be much more protected.

This is not only about car drivers. You (or your family) may be involved in an accident when you are walking or riding a bicycle. Insurance companies also provide legal expense cover for non-car damage insurance. If you are interested, I recommend you to check and see.