OUT-LAW ANALYSIS 2 min. read
Stability after reform and strategic growth ahead for arbitration in Japan
31 Mar 2026, 9:36 am
Japan’s arbitration landscape continued to evolve in 2025 through new international cooperation, steady growth and high enforcement rates.
In 2024, Japan enacted a major reform of the Arbitration Act, bringing it closer into line with international best practice. The amendments introduced court‑assisted enforcement of tribunal‑ordered interim measures, empowered courts to dispense with Japanese translations in enforcement proceedings, and expanded jurisdiction for arbitration‑related applications to both the Tokyo and Osaka District Courts. Building on this significant overhaul, no further legislative developments occurred in 2025, and the statutory framework remains stable.
The current Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCCA) Rules, which came into effect in 2021, reflect a modern and sophisticated arbitration framework. As arbitral practice continues to evolve internationally, it would be unsurprising to see the JCAA consider further updates in due course, alongside recent or upcoming rule revisions by institutions such as HKIAC (2024), SIAC (2025) and the ICC.
Recent statistics from the JCAA showed steady growth in use by international parties, particularly from China, and swift resolution using expedited procedure. A major positive for the arbitration landscape was the high enforcement rate and the ability for parties to access arbitration in both Japanese and English.
Japan’s ambitious energy investment plan is expected to generate more arbitration activity, particularly in renewables and infrastructure. With an aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Japan announced a US$1.34 billion investment to help companies using clean energy by providing subsidies covering up to half of their capital expenditure from 2026.
Despite being one of the world’s largest global capital exporters, Japanese investors initiated only six investment treaty arbitration cases, according to the most recent investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) statistics (11-page / 292KB PDF). Furthermore, in March 2025, Japan opted out of the modernised Energy Charter Treaty. This reflects a cautious approach to ISDS, although Japan was successful in the resolution of all its ISDS claims which went forward.
An increasingly visible trend in 2025 was the growing uptake of third party funding (TPF) by Japanese parties. The latest investment arbitration brought by Japanese investors against Switzerland, where both cases are reportedly funded, confirms that Japanese claimants are beginning to use TPF in meaningful ways. Although Japan has yet to enact legislation governing litigation or arbitration funding, and the JCAA Rules still contain no TPF framework, the practice remains tacitly permitted, with no statutory prohibition and no adverse judicial treatment to date. As Japanese companies increasingly prioritise cost management and enforcement strategy, TPF is expected to play a larger role in enabling claims that might otherwise not be pursued.
Japan continued to serve as an active centre for arbitration in 2025, hosting a wide range of conferences, seminars, and networking events for the international dispute resolution community.
The ICC held its third Japan arbitration day in Tokyo in April 2025 and SIAC organised a joint event in July with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and the Japan International Mediation Centre (JIMC).
The Japan International Arbitration Week was held from 25 - 29 November 2025 to promote internation arbitration. Featuring collaboration from institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan Association of Arbitrators (JAA) and the JCAA, as well as international arbitration institutions such as the Swiss Arbitration Association (SAA) and the SIAC, the event followed the success of the first International Arbitration Week in 2024. Previously held as a standalone event for the first time last year, 2025’s JCAA Arbitration Days featured an expanded two days of sessions in English, followed by one day of sessions in Japanese.
Finally, in 2025, Japan signed a memorandum with the UN to support the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, reinforcing its commitment to promoting international arbitration and mediation.
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