On May 26 2017, an amendment to the Civil Code was enacted and will be enforced within three years from the promulgation date of June 2 2017. The aim of this Amendment is to comprehensively reform the law in respect of obligations in the Japanese Civil Code. Although many of the provisions were revised based on existing case law and commonly accepted theories in Japan, this Amendment will have a significant effect on Japanese legal practice because: (i) it covers a broad range of legal issues, which include statutory interest rates, statutes of limitations, default, cancellation of contracts, damages, assignments of claims, set-offs and guarantee obligations; and, (ii) it introduces some new rules. This article covers some of the new rules introduced by the Amendment.
December 11, 2017