Japanese Courts Reduce Paperwork, Ushering in Full-Fledged Era of Electronic Civil Litigation

Electronic Filing Now Mandatory for Attorneys and Legal Representatives
System Upgrades to Supplement Delayed Development
Korea Adopted Electronic Civil Litigation in 2011
Japan Lags Behind Other Major Countries in Judicial IT Adoption

Even in Japan, where there is a pronounced attachment to "paper documents" in judicial procedures, a full-fledged digital transition is now underway. The Japanese civil litigation process, which has long depended on paper documents for major procedures such as complaints, preparatory briefs, and judgments, will shift to an electronic litigation system allowing everything from filing a lawsuit to serving a judgment to be handled online.

On May 20, Yonhap News, citing sources such as the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, reported that the amended Civil Procedure Act, which enables the online processing of civil litigation procedures, will take effect starting May 21. As a result, for civil cases filed after the effective date, the entire process—including filing complaints, submitting preparatory briefs, viewing and copying litigation records, and delivering judgments—can be conducted electronically.

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Previously, it was common to file lawsuits or submit documents by physically delivering paper documents to the court or sending them by mail. Moving forward, relevant documents can be submitted online via the court's electronic submission system, and parties and their representatives will be able to view case records or download necessary materials on their computers.

For litigation representatives such as attorneys, the use of electronic procedures will, in effect, become mandatory. Ordinary parties may also use the online system, and when the court uploads judgments or other trial-related documents to the system, these can be delivered electronically for parties to check. The payment process will also change. Traditionally, revenue stamps were affixed to complaints, or service fees were prepaid separately. Under the electronic litigation system, the regime will be revised to allow fees and related costs to be paid online. Submission of evidence will also be possible in the form of electronic records, such as scanned files of paper documents, videos, audio, or images.

Since 2020, Japan has gradually promoted the IT transformation of civil trials, such as online submission of preparatory briefs and web-based pretrial proceedings. The implementation of this amended law extends online procedures, which had previously been introduced only in part, to the entire civil litigation process. However, it is known that the development of a new system for full digitalization has been delayed compared to the original plan. As a result, for the time being, Japanese courts will operate by upgrading the existing system and sequentially supplementing electronic submission and record-viewing functions. In the initial phase, key challenges are expected to include system stability, accessibility for the elderly and non-experts, and the management of personal data protection and security.

Meanwhile, Japan has long been regarded as relatively slow among major advanced countries in the IT adoption of judicial procedures. Just as the culture of paper documents and personal stamps persists in various fields such as administration, finance, and healthcare, court procedures have also remained paper-centered for an extended period.

Korea, by contrast, introduced an electronic litigation system for civil cases as early as 2011. Since then, the scope has expanded to include family, administrative, enforcement, and non-contentious cases, firmly establishing systems for electronic submissions, electronic service, and online record viewing. In contrast, Japan's transition to electronic civil litigation comes approximately 15 years later than Korea's. With the implementation of this new system, Japanese civil trials are expected to shift from paper-based to electronic record-based processes. However, considering Japanese society's long-standing "love of paper" and the courts' conservative work practices, it is anticipated that it may take some time before electronic litigation is fully established in practice.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.