Ohara & Furukawa

December 7, 2017

What are an author’s moral rights?

Moral rights differ from normal rights to a copyright in that they serve to protect an author’s image even in cases where there is otherwise no infringement.  For example, an author’s moral rights might be violated when his or her work is used in a way that damages the author’s reputation, such as if a composer’s religious hymn is used as the background music for a pornographic movie.  Even if this behavior would otherwise not infringe on the author’s copyright, the author may claim that his or her moral rights have been infringed by use of the work.
December 5, 2017

What is the Saiban-in system?

In 2004 the Japanese government passed a law to create a jury-like system for Japanese criminal trials.  In 2008 that legislation was put into force as the saiban-in system.
December 4, 2017

What types of compulsory execution are there in Japan?

In Japan, compulsory execution is divided into two general categories, compulsory execution of a pecuniary claim and compulsory execution of a non-pecuniary claim. 
November 29, 2017

Are prenuptial agreements legal in Japan?

Japan’s Civil Code section regarding prenuptial agreements states that husbands and wives may enter into a contract before marriage that authorizes a different asset distribution from the normal statutory division used in a divorce.  This allows the husband and wife to enter into a prenuptial agreement regarding the division of their assets upon divorce.  However, there are some strict conditions on the use of this statute that couples should be aware of.