Statistics
Caseloads
Among the 70 arbitration cases filed with the JCAA from 2019 to 2023, 88% were international cases involving one or more non-Japanese companies or Japan-based foreign subsidiaries.
From 2019 to 2023, 1 arbitration case was filed under the Interactive Arbitration Rules. During the same period, 5 applications for emergency arbitration were filed with the JCAA, and 22 cases were conducted under the expedited arbitration procedures.
| Year | Number of Cases |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 18 |
| 2021 | 15 |
| 2022 | 19 |
| 2023 | 9 |
Nationality of Parties
From 2019 to 2023, parties to JCAA arbitrations represented 22 countries and regions. The top five jurisdictions from which international parties to JCAA arbitrations originated were China, South Korea, USA, Taiwan and Vietnam.
| Claimant | Respondent | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | ||||
| 1 | British Virgin Islands | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Chile | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | USA | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Asia & Pacific | ||||
| 4 | China* | 9 | 14 | 23 |
| 5 | India | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Indonesia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Japan | 46 | 41 | 87 |
| 8 | Lebanon | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Singapore | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | South Korea | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| 12 | Taiwan | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 13 | Thailand | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | United Arab Emirates | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Vietnam | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Europe | ||||
| 16 | Cyprus | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Germany | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Italy | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Luxembourg | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | United Kingdom | 0 | 2 | 2 |
*13 (Claimant: 4, Respondent: 9) in Mainland China, 10 (Claimant: 5, Respondent: 5) in Hong Kong
Nationality of Arbitrators and Emergency Arbitrators
Out of 88 arbitrators appointed in JCAA-administered international arbitrations from 2019 to 2023, 43% were non-Japanese nationals from, inter alia:
USA, Singapore, Australia, Austria, United Kingdom, China, France, India, Canada, South Korea, Germany and Philippines (12 countries)
All 4 emergency arbitrators appointed for international cases from 2019 to 2023 were all non-Japanese (Australia, United Kingdom and Taiwan).
Languages
51% of cases filed with JCAA from 2019 to 2023 were conducted in English. JCAA also handles arbitration conducted in Chinese.
A typical scenario where a party selects Japanese as the language of procedure for international cases is when the contract is written in Japanese.
Amounts in Dispute
JCAA handles a very wide range of disputes. Out of the arbitration cases concluded between 2014 and 2023, 54% cases were with amount in dispute of less than USD 2 million (JPY 300 million), and 24% were with amount in dispute of less than USD 333,333 (JPY 50 million).The lowest dispute amount was USD 11,333 (JPY 1,7 million).
On the other hand, JCAA has handled many complex cases with dispute amounts exceeding USD 7.7 million (JPY 10 billion), including the highest dispute amount of around USD 5.3 billion(JPY 800 billion).
*At a currency exchange rate of JPY 150 per USD 1.
Duration
The average length of JCAA proceedings concluded from 2014 to 2023 was 12 months (from the constitution date of arbitral tribunal to the rendering of final award).
In 37% of cases concluded from 2019 to 2023, the cases were withdrawn on the grounds of settlement between the parties or any other reasons. In 11% of these cases, the tribunal issued consent awards based on the parties’ settlement agreement.
Recognition and Enforcement of JCAA arbitral awards
As far as the JCAA recognizes, 90% of disputes have been resolved in accordance with arbitral awards. Since 2010, JCAA has not acknowledged any cases where a foreign court has issued a final and binding decision refusing to enforce a JCAA arbitration award.
Using Online technology
Hearings and conferences in JCAA arbitration cases frequently utilize online technology. In 2023, the full remote or hybrid approach still accounted for more than 50% of proceedings.
