The parties may agree to choose any city outside Japan as the seat of arbitration under JCAA rules. However, consulting with legal experts might be required since arbitration laws of some countries might impose certain requirements on designating an arbitration institution locating outside that country if a local city is stated as the seat of arbitration.

No.

The parties may agree to apply non-Japanese laws under JCAA Rules. In fact, non-Japanese substantive laws were applied in 13% of the JCAA arbitration cases filed between 2017 and 2021.

The parties may agree on any language(s) to be used in the arbitral proceedings. If the parties cannot agree, the arbitrator will determine the language.

Please see Statistics | JCAA for more information.

The Request for Arbitration can be submitted by email. However, depending on the volume of documents, the Claimant may be asked to mail the necessary number of hard copies of the Request for Arbitration and evidence to the JCAA's Tokyo Head Office.　

[Email address]

JCAA Tokyo Head Office: arbitration@jcaa.or.jp

[Mailing Address]

Japan Commercial Arbitration Association
Arbitration & Mediation Department
3F, Hirose Bldg, 3-17, Kanda Nishiki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0054, Japan　TEL: +81-3-5280-5161

The number of copies is calculated by adding the number of arbitrators (or three if not specified), the number of the Respondents and one copy for the JCAA. However, for the power of attorney, one copy is sufficient.

Where the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules apply:

It is within 30 days from the Respondent’s receipt of the Notice of Request for Arbitration.

Where the Commercial Arbitration Rules or the Interactive Arbitration Rules apply:

It is within 4 weeks from the Respondent’s receipt of the Notice of Request for Arbitration.

The parties are free to choose the language.

In the absence of an agreement between the parties, the language of arbitration shall be determined by the arbitral tribunal. In determining the language, the tribunal shall consider the language of the contract containing the arbitration agreement, whether interpretation or translation will be required, the cost thereof and any other relevant circumstances.

Please kindly note the followings:

-    where a language other than English or Japanese is used, in order to understand the contents of the Request for Arbitration and the Answer, the JCAA may ask the  Claimant or the Respondent to provide explanations in English or Japanese, as necessary;

-    where the tribunal decides to use a language other than the language used by the Claimant or the Respondent, the Claimant or the Respondent will, if the tribunal so directs, need to resubmit the Request for Arbitration or the Answer in the language decided by the tribunal.

The administrative fee is a fee paid to the JCAA for case administration.

The administrative fee shall be paid by the Claimant in the case of request for arbitration, and it shall be paid by the Respondent in the case of counterclaim.

The amount of the administrative fee is calculated based on the amount or economic value of the claim. For more information, please refer to the "Costs Calculator" in the Costs section.

90% of the administrative fee will be refunded if the Claimant withdraws all of the claims on the Request for Arbitration within 30 days after the commencement of arbitration (i.e. the date of receipt of the Request for Arbitration by JCAA) and before the constitution of arbitral tribunal.

In expedited proceedings (where the amount in disputes is not more than JPY300,000,000), 90% of the administrative fee will be refunded if the Claimant withdraws all of the claims on the Request for Arbitration within 10 days after the commencement of arbitration (i.e. the date of receipt of the Request for Arbitration by JCAA) and before the constitution of arbitral tribunal.

The proportion of the administrative fee to be borne by the parties shall first be determined by agreement between the parties. If a settlement has been reached between the parties, such proportion is generally stated in the settlement agreement. In the absence of such an agreement, the JCAA will determine the proportion. In practice, the administrative fee with regard to the Request for Arbitration is borne by the Claimant.

The deposit paid by the parties as requested by the JCAA will be paid to the arbitrator after the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings.

Where the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules or the Commercial Arbitration Rules apply:

The initial demand for deposit is made at the time the Notice of the Request for Arbitration is sent to the parties. In principal, the deposit shall be paid within 3 weeks from the date of demand.

Regarding the estimated amount of the initial deposit, when the number of arbitrators is one as agreed by the parties or in the absence of agreement, the Claimant and the Respondent shall, in principle, each pay a deposit of JPY1,500,000. When the number of arbitrators is three, the Claimant and the Respondent shall, in principle, each pay a deposit of JPY3,000,000.

After the constitution of arbitral tribunal, additional deposit will be requested when there is a clear shortfall in the existing deposit. The JCAA will determine the amount of additional deposit, taking into account the previous and expected hours of arbitrator’s work (both based on time reports from the arbitrators).

Where the Interactive Arbitration Rules apply:

Since the arbitrator's remuneration is a fixed amount, the JCAA requests the parties to deposit an amount sufficient to cover this fixed amount in full at the time of the Notice of the Request for Arbitration. The time limit for the payment of deposit is generally within three weeks from the date of demand.

The parties are jointly and severally liable for the payment of deposit. If one party fails to pay the deposit and the other party refuses to pay the unpaid amount, the arbitral tribunal will decide, upon the request of the JCAA, to suspend or terminate the arbitral proceedings (the JCAA will decide to suspend or terminate the arbitral proceedings if the arbitral tribunal has not yet been constituted).

The proportion of costs borne by the parties will be determined by the arbitral tribunal in the arbitral award. Therefore, even if the Claimant pays the deposit on behalf of the Respondent, when the arbitral tribunal decides that the Claimant has paid a deposit of more than its share, the arbitral tribunal will order the Respondent to pay the Claimant for such excessive deposit in the arbitral award.

If the request for arbitration is withdrawn before the constitution of arbitral tribunal, the full amount of the deposit will be refunded to the parties where no expenses were paid from the deposit.

After the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the balance of the deposit will be refunded to the parties, after deducting the arbitrator’s remuneration, arbitrator’s expenses and other procedural costs already incurred.

Please see “Step 2 in Arbitration Proceedings”.

Generally speaking, a hearing consists of making oral arguments and conducting examination of witness.

The decision to hold a hearing will be made by the arbitral tribunal after consulting with the parties. However, the arbitral tribunal has to hold a hearing if either party requests so.

Expedited proceedings are, in principal, document only proceedings. A hearing will be held only when the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary.

Yes.

The arbitral tribunal shall select an appropriate method of holding the hearing, including videoconferencing and other methods (Article 50.3 of the Commercial Arbitration Rules and Interactive Arbitration Rules). Thus, if the arbitral tribunal deems it appropriate, a hearing may be held between two or more remote locations (so-called remote hearings).

If the parties have any concerns about the facilities and environment of holding the hearing online, please contact the JCAA for assistance. We will arrange the necessary meeting rooms and equipment.

Venue options include rental conference rooms and conference rooms in the JCAA Tokyo office building.

Typically, the parties will submit documents, such as written arguments and documentary evidence, by email, and the arbitrator will make an arbitral award based solely on these documents. Questions from the arbitrator to the parties will also be asked by email.