Civil Law Discovery in Japan: A Comparison of Japanese and U.S. Methods of Evidence Collection in Civil Litigation

Although the form and extent are very different from the U.S., Japanese attorneys do "discover" evidence. This article focuses on: 1) What methods of evidence procurement exist in Japan; 2) Why evidence collection in Japan differs from U.S. pre-trial discovery; and 3) How Japan's restrictive discovery system affects transnational litigation.