JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Junichi Ikeda, Takayuki Fujii, Satoyuki Nakano and Tomoaki Kitaguchi, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
2. Product Liability 2.1 Product Liability Causes of Action and Sources of Law The main causes of action for product liability are tort and contract. Tort The general principle of tort is provided in Article 709 of the Civil Code – namely, that a person who intentionally or negligently infringes anoth - er person’s right or legally protected interest is liable to compensate them for any loss or dam - age caused by that infringement. The tort liability under Article 709 of the Civil Code requires the following conditions to be met: • the violation of the plaintiff’s right or legally protected interest by the defendant; • an intentional or negligent act on the part of the defendant; • the occurrence of damage; and • a causal relationship between the violation and the damage. In addition, a special rule related to the general principle of tort is added by Article 3 of the Prod - uct Liability Act. The special rule is that a per - son who is injured as a result of the defects of a product can demand compensation from the manufacturer and other involved parties with - out having to prove intent or negligence. Product liability under Article 3 of the Product Liability Act requires the following conditions to be met. • The defendant is: (a) any person who manufactured, pro - cessed or imported the product as a business; (b) any person who indicates their name, trade name, trade mark or other indica - tion (hereinafter referred to as “represen-
tation of name, etc” ) on the product as the manufacturer of the product, or any person who indicates the representation of name, etc, on the product such that others misunderstand that they are the manufacturer; or (c) except for the cases outlined in the previ - ous two bullet points, any person who indicates any representation of name, etc, on the product that, in terms of the manufacturing, processing, importing or selling of the product, and other circum - stances, is recognised as its substantial manufacturer (hereinafter, any persons corresponding to these three bullet points are collectively referred to as “manufac- turer, etc” ). • Damage being caused by the product that, at the time of delivery by the defendant, was manufactured or processed and was a mov - able product. • A defect in the product at the time of delivery by the defendant. • Infringement of the injured party’s right or legally protected interest. • The occurrence of damage. • A causal relationship between the defect and the damage. Contract • Delivery of the movable product by the defendant. Buyers of defective products may, in accordance with contract law under the Civil Code, make a claim against the seller for compensation for damages, the repair of a defect or the delivery of a substitute for the product. Contractual liability requires the following condi - tions to be met: • the conclusion of the contract;
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