Il Giappone nel diritto comparato. Un'analisi socio-legale attraverso la percezione del contenzioso

The theme of Japan's approach to litigation has been the subject of wide debates among scholars. However, this academic discussion is usually restricted to a number of specialists in the field, while the gen- eral public of comparative lawyers still clings to the very well-known stereotype about the myth of Japanese reluctance to litigate. The aim of this paper is to explain the peculiar position of Japan in comparative law through the mirror of litigation. The combined reading of available quantitative data, scholarly opinions and legislative devel- opments paint a complex and not univocal picture, leaving comparative lawyers with the challenge of finding out how much of the quasi-myth- ical Japanese approach to litigation is real. In addressing these issues, the paper will also refer to a research conducted in 2011-2012 on the social perception of litigation in Japan.