Abstract

This article addresses an ongoing dispute in the study of Japanese law, regarding the proper explanation for Japan's historically low litigation rates. Recent debate in this area has been dominated by the work of John Haley and Mark Ramseyer, who have presented strong evidence of the existence of substantial barriers to litigation in Japan. The article argues that an examination of the similarly low use of arbitration by Japanese corporations strongly undermines Haley and Ramseyer's argument. Arbitration in Japan suffers from none of the institutional obstacles ...