JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Junichi Ikeda, Takayuki Fujii, Satoyuki Nakano and Tomoaki Kitaguchi, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
resentative, does not exercise the right within three years from the time when they realised the damages and the identity of the perpetrator. In addition, the right will be extinguished when 20 years have elapsed from the time of the act of tort. Product Liability Act The right to claim damages provided under the Product Liability Act will be extinguished by the completion of prescription if the victim, or their legal representative, does not exercise the right within three years (if death or injury occur, the prescription term is extended to five years) from the time when they realised the damages and the person liable therefor. In addition, the right will be extinguished when ten years have elapsed from the time when the manufacturer, etc, deliv - ered the product. However, this ten-year period will start from the time of the occurrence of (i) damage caused by substances that become harmful to human health when they accumulate in the body; or (ii) symptoms that appear after a certain latent period. Contract Law If the buyer fails to notify the seller of the non- conformity with the terms of the contract within one year from the time the buyer became aware of the non-conformity, the buyer cannot make a claim against the seller unless the seller was aware of the existence of the non-conformity at the time of delivery, or was not aware of the existence of the non-conformity through gross negligence. Even if the notice is given within one year, the right to claim will be extinguished by prescription if it is not exercised within five years from the time when it becomes known that the right can be exercised, or if it is not exercised within ten years (in the case of a claim for dam - ages resulting from the death or injury to per -
sons, this period will be extended to 20 years) from the time it becomes exercisable. 2.4 Jurisdictional Requirements for Product Liability Claims The courts of Japan have jurisdiction over an action that is brought (i) against a corporation whose principal office or business office is locat - ed in Japan; and (ii) against a corporation whose representative or person principally in charge of its business is domiciled in Japan, if the corpo - ration does not have a business office or other office in Japan, or if the location of its business office or other office is unknown. In addition, the courts of Japan have jurisdiction in the following cases depending on the grounds of the claim. Tort The courts of Japan have jurisdiction if the place where the wrongful act was committed or the place where the consequences occurred are in Japan (excluding cases where the conse - quences of a wrongful act committed in a foreign country have occurred within Japan, but it would not ordinarily have been possible to predict that such consequences could occur within Japan). Product Liability Act In line with the principle applying to tort noted in the foregoing, the courts of Japan will have jurisdiction over the product liability case if the place where the wrongful act was committed or the place where the consequences occurred was within Japan. In relation to the product lia - bility case, “the place where the wrongful act was committed” is interpreted as the place of
manufacture. Contract Law
The courts of Japan will have jurisdiction if the place of performance of the obligation under the contract is within Japan, or if it is determined
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