Law and Economics in Japan’s Courts: Emerging Trends and Developments

Saito Hiroharu ()
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Saito Hiroharu: Associate Professor of Law and Society, The Institute of Social Science , The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Asian Journal of Law and Economics, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 63-85

Abstract: This article briefly reviews the emerging trends of incorporating law and economics perspectives within the Japanese judiciary. In the first part, I review opinions of Justice Koichi Kusano, the first justice in the history of the Supreme Court to adopt law and economics approaches. In particular, I discuss his two key approaches: the maximization of well-being and the use of quantitative empirical analysis. In the second part, I explore the broader judiciary context, including transformations in the Supreme Court’s majority opinions and the practices of lower courts and lawyers. Specifically, I highlight the Supreme Court’s growing emphasis on empirical data, particularly concerning social circumstances and public attitudes. Additionally, I analyze the subsequent shift in lawyers’ practices, which increasingly include the submission of survey data and statistical evidence. I also present emerging trends in the annual number of court decisions that reference regression analysis.

Keywords: Japan; Supreme Court; Justice Kusano; Gini index; regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1515/ajle-2025-2001

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