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.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all the participants at the conference, “The Past, Present, and Future of Law & Economics in Asia” held at Cornell Law School for their helpful feedback, with special thanks to the organizer, Yun-chien Chang, and the session moderator, Dawn Chutkow.
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© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Introduction to the Symposium “Past, Present, and Future of Law and Economics in Asia”
- Articles
- The Development of Law and Economics Scholarship in Hong Kong
- The Evolution of Law and Economics in Korea
- The Development (or Lack Thereof) of Law and Economics in Singapore
- Empirical Law and Economics in Taiwan: A Thirty-Year Review
- Law and Economics in Japan’s Courts: Emerging Trends and Developments
- Economic Analysis of Private Law in Taiwan: A Return to the Private Autonomy Principle
- Law and Economics Scholarship in Malaysia
- Current Status and Development of Economic Analysis in Corporate Law and Securities Regulations in Taiwan
- Research Article
- The Evolution of Economics and Law in Vietnam
- Article
- Economic Reasoning in Adjudication of Commercial Contractual Disputes in India
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Introduction to the Symposium “Past, Present, and Future of Law and Economics in Asia”
- Articles
- The Development of Law and Economics Scholarship in Hong Kong
- The Evolution of Law and Economics in Korea
- The Development (or Lack Thereof) of Law and Economics in Singapore
- Empirical Law and Economics in Taiwan: A Thirty-Year Review
- Law and Economics in Japan’s Courts: Emerging Trends and Developments
- Economic Analysis of Private Law in Taiwan: A Return to the Private Autonomy Principle
- Law and Economics Scholarship in Malaysia
- Current Status and Development of Economic Analysis in Corporate Law and Securities Regulations in Taiwan
- Research Article
- The Evolution of Economics and Law in Vietnam
- Article
- Economic Reasoning in Adjudication of Commercial Contractual Disputes in India