Product Safety and Liability Law in Japan: From Minamata to Mad Cows

Since its economic stagnation in the 1990s, Japan has experienced considerable deregulation. Pressures to harmonize product safety standards prompted calls for a strengthening of Japan's product liability regime and added further avenues for compensation for harm suffered from defective goods, indirectly encouraging managers to promote product safety. Contesting the early culturalist view which depicted Japan in the thrall of weak legal consciousness, this book follows the evolution of the product liability regime, focusing specifically on the Product Liability Law of 1994. Japanese product liability, law and practice is reassessed here in a truly global context as Japan's system is compared with the European Union model, Australia and that in the US, allowing for a balanced appraisal of topical issues in Japan such as the outbreak of 'mad cow disease' and the government's commitment to improve access to courts. Developing insights from a number of disciplines and with a detailed analysis oflegislation, case law and academic theory, this work contributes significantly to the understanding of contemporary Japan, its consumers and its law. It is of practical use to all professionals exposed to product liability regime whether in Asia or the West.

Luke Nottage is a Senior Lecturer at Sydney University Law Faculty and founding Co-director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law.