Japan will fully digitalize civil litigation procedures May 21, allowing litigants to resolve their disputes online without ever having to attend court in person.

¡°This is a change that has a great impact and is the centerpiece of the digitalization of civil lawsuits that has been implemented in stages,¡± the Supreme Court said.

In the past, the standard method was to physically submit or mail paper documents containing complaints and allegations to court. The plaintiff and the defendant then attended and exchanged documents on the date of oral arguments held in court. This system created problems, including the time and financial burden of traveling to distant courts, and hearings often dragged on.

To help resolve such problems, Japan enacted a revision of the Code of Civil Procedure in 2022. In March 2024, the revision made it possible to participate in oral arguments from lawyers¡¯ offices through video feeds, making it unnecessary to appear in court in person.

From May 21 this year, it will become possible to submit complaints and allegations via electronic PDF files.?The data will be managed by the Japanese courts¡¯ ¡°mints¡± system, which allows litigants to view documents and evidence online and receive judgments.

Upon court approval, it will be possible to attend witness-questioning sessions through web conferences.

When a third party wants to view a case record, the party will be able to check the record using dedicated terminals.

The full digitalization will start with cases filed on or after May 21. Lawyers representing the lawsuits will be obliged to submit documents online.

According to the Supreme Court and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, about 30,000 lawyers are believed to have registered to use the new system.

In cases in which the plaintiff is not represented, it will remain possible to submit paper documents as before.

¡°We¡¯ll continue to consider ways to realize better litigation procedures after the revision (fully) comes into effect,¡± a Supreme Court official said.

As part of judicial digitalization, a database will be created to store judgment documents, a criminal law revision to digitize arrest and search warrants will take effect by March 2027 and online filings for bankruptcy and domestic affairs cases are expected to begin by June 2028