LibGuides: Japanese Law Research Guide: Lexis, Westlaw & Bloomberg

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Lexis - Research Basics

Lexis: Articles, News and Business Sources

Lexis has three main types of resources that might be of use for anyone research legal issues in Japan: 1) News, 2) Articles, 3) Business Guides. Lexis does not have a lot of resources covering non-business related legal issues in Japan.

There are Japanese news sources and a limited number of Japanese secondary law sources available on Lexis. They can be found by following these paths:

Lexis+ > International tab > View All Countries > Japan
Lexis+ > Content tab > News > International By Country > Japan
Lexis+ > International Tab > Global Regulations > Japan
Lexis+ > Practical Guidance > Select "Browse By Country" > Japan

NEWS:

Legal News - Includes U.S. & international legal news.

Japan News - Includes most of the Lexis news sources covering Japan.

Some of the best Lexis news sources on Japan include:

ARTICLES:

Lexis Law Reviews & Journals - Search all Lexis journals or select a subject to search
Use Advanced Search to focus and limit your search.

BUSINESS RELATED SOURCES:

Doing Business in Japan: by Prof. Zentaro Kitagawa, Kyoto Comparative Law Center is a useful guide for understanding Japanese business dealings.
Intellectual Property Protection in Asia: Includes a chapter on Japan.
Japan Company Handbook
Doing Business in Japan
Intellectual Property Protection in Asia - Chapter 5: International Property Regime in Japan

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Westlaw - Research Basics

Westlaw - News, Articles, and Business Resources:

Westlaw has sources available to help you locate: 1) news, 2) journal articles, 3) legal analysis, and 4) law related business information about Japan.

NEWS:

News - U.S. & international news sources will include information about legal issues in Japan. Includes newspapers, broadcast transcripts, journals, magazines, newsletters, & blogs.

Legal Newspapers & Newsletters

Japan Newspapers and Newswires including:

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Westlaw Law Reviews & Journals - Search all Westlaw journals or select a topic to search

International Journals

Japan Journals, Magazines & Newsletters

LEGAL ANALYSIS:

The best resources with legal analysis of Japanese law in Westlaw will be located by selecting:

Westlaw Precision > Content Types tab > International Materials > Treatises > and then Multi-National

These subject-based multi-national treatises include analysis arranged by country. Examples include:

Comparative Environmental Law and Regulation [Chapter 43: Environmental Law of Japan]
Digest of Commercial Laws of the World [Chapter 30A: Japan]
International Family Law Practice [There are several chapters covering Japan]
Transnational Litigation: A Practitioner's Guide [Chapter 18: Japan]

BUSINESS RELATED SOURCES:

The Practical Law resources on Westlaw offer a rich collection of up-to-date in-depth content including Practice Notes, Standard Documents and Clauses, Checklists, Toolkits, Legal Updates, Country-by-Country Legal Research Guidance, Country Comparison Tools, and Subject Specific Practice Resources.

There are several ways to locate Japanese legal resources in Westlaw & Practical Law. You can search all of Westlaw, or all of the Westlaw Practical Law resources, or you can select specific topics to browse and search. Below I've listed several ways to navigate Practical Law to find various topics:

Westlaw Practical law (U.S.) >Select Resource Type > Global Guides and Cross-Border Topics >
- > then search all of the Global Guides -or-
- > then select one of the Global Guide subjects and filter to limit to Japan (for example: Family Law in Japan) -or-
- > then select Cross-Border Topics > then filter to limit to Japan -or-
- > then select Country Q&A Comparison Tool (start comparing countries) -or-
- > then select Cross-Border Topics > then filter to limit to Japan.
Westlaw Practical law (U.S.) > Select Practice Areas > Arbitration > Countries > Japan.
Westlaw Practical law (U.S.) > Doing Business in Japan (2021) by Kenichi Sekiguchi, Yohsuke Higashi, and Hiroshi Oyama is available on Westlaw Practical Law. It covers foreign investment, corporate structure, employment law, taxes, competition, IP, etc. …
Change the region to Practical Law Global Home >
- > then select one of the Global Practice Areas (such as Data Privacy & Cybersecurity) -or-
- > then select Country Q&A Comparison Tool -or-
- > then select Japan > then select Country Q&A Comparison Tool -or-
- > then select Japan > then select Practice Areas -or-
- > then select Japan > then select Resources

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Bloomberg Law - Research Basics

Bloomberg Law & Bloomberg BNA:

Bloomberg Law contains a limited amount of legal analysis of Japanese legal issues. Bloomberg Law provides good news sources.

Some of the best Bloomberg Law resources covering law in Japan include:

International Labor and Employment Laws [Part 4: Japan]
Business Operations in Japan [Country Portfolios: Portfolio 7200-1st]
Japan Privacy Profile (BNA Manual)
Japan Trade Profile: Export Guide (BNA Manual)
Japan Import Requirements: Export Guide (BNA Manual)