Ohara & Furukawa, Author at Ohara & Furukawa

December 22, 2017

What can the Japan Legal Support Center help with?

The goals of the Japan Legal Support Center (JLSC) extend beyond providing legal support to financially disadvantaged individuals. Another important goal of the JLSC is helping victims of crimes by providing support and acting as a referral agency to help victims and their families deal with the multitude of legal issues that they face. The JLSC can provide information regarding the criminal justice system and the potential for recovery of damages. If necessary, the JLSC can also refer crime victims to an attorney to help them with their case or potentially help the client by advancing legal fees if the […]

December 20, 2017

Who gets to appoint arbitrators in Japan?

Naturally, when contemplating arbitration, each party will want to nominate as many arbitrators to the panel as possible to increase their chances of obtaining a favorable outcome. If one side gets to pick all of the arbitrators to a dispute, it is more likely that the dispute will be resolved in their favor. However, arbitration agreements that grant too much power to only one party are invalid and therefore, clauses granting one party unilateral power to appoint arbitrators is invalid under Japanese law.

December 18, 2017

How are Japanese Supreme Court Justices picked?

The Supreme Court of Japan is composed of one Chief Justice and fourteen Justices who are appointed by the Cabinet and approved by the Emperor. Each of these Justices must stand for election after appointment and once every 10 years following, however no Justice has ever lost a reappointment election. Supreme Court Justices must retire at the age of 70.

December 13, 2017

What should be included in a Letter of Guarantee for a Japanese visa?

A letter of guarantee required by some Japanese visa applications is a relatively simple one page document. It should contain the relevant information of the foreign national and the guarantor but it should also describe their relationship, whether this be friends, relatives or coworkers. In the letter, the guarantor should promise to provide logistical support for the foreign national as well as transportation fee for the trip back to his or her home country. Finally, the guarantor must also swear that the foreign national will abide by Japanese law while staying in Japan.