Fees

Dispute resolution here means litigation, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, other methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), enforcing international judgments and enforcing international arbitral awards.

Upon prior case evaluation, if we believe that our bespoke approach benefits your case where you have a claim, we normally offer our representation on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis or a ‘No Win, Less Fee’ basis for your consideration.

No Win, No Fee

A ‘no win, no fee’ agreement, also known as a contingency fee agreement, means that if we recover damages or debts for you, our fee is an agreed percentage of the recovered amount (we call this a ‘success fee’).

For example, if we recover ¥50 million and the percentage is set at 30% plus tax, our success fee is ¥15 million plus tax. However, if we don’t recover any, you don’t pay us any. As we risk receiving no fee, our fees under a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement can be considerably higher than under a ‘no win, less fee’ or hourly fee arrangement, assuming a successful outcome.

While we prefer to work on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis where our interests are aligned with yours, not every case can be handled on this basis. We offer these arrangements, including the applicable percentage, on a case-by-case basis. We must be satisfied that:

• You have good evidence to support your claim
• The amount claimed exceeds ¥30 million (approximately US$200,000)
• The opponent has the means to pay

No Win, Less Fee

This is the traditional fee structure for Japanese lawyers. This fee structure consists of an initial fixed fee (we call this a ‘retainer fee’) and a success fee. We charge a retainer fee at the start of the engagement with our clients and a success fee at the successful outcome of the case.

Below is our standard fee scale, which we use as a basis for determining the retainer fee and success fee on a case-by-case basis.

* The minimum retainer fee is ¥1,000,000.
* The 10% consumption tax is excluded.
* Disbursements and expenses (court fees, etc.) are excluded.

For example, if you claim ¥100 million, our retainer fee is ¥5.2 million (= ¥100 million × 4% + ¥1,200,000) plus tax. Then, if we recover ¥70 million for you, our success fee is ¥7.1 million (= ¥70 million × 8% + ¥1,500,000) plus tax.

Defence

If your case is a defence case (i.e., defending a claim made by someone), we work on a (i) retainer fee plus (ii) reverse contingency fee basis, in accordance with the ‘No Win, Less Fee’ schedule above. A reverse contingency fee is a success fee that is a percentage of the difference between the amount the opponent originally claims from you and the amount that you must pay the opponent (i.e., the amount of money that you saved), whether by settlement or judgment.

For example, if someone claims ¥10 million from you, our retainer fee is ¥1,000,000 (= the minimum retainer fee > ¥10 million × 6% = ¥600,000). Then, if we reach a settlement whereby you must pay ¥3 million instead of ¥10 million (i.e., we saved ¥7 million), our success fee is ¥910,000 (= ¥7 million × 13%).

Disbursements and Expenses

For dispute resolution, disbursements and expenses mainly consist of court fees, security for costs and arbitration costs.

Court fees

For litigation, the court filing fee is based on the amount claimed (the court filing fee schedule is available). For example, if you file a ¥30 million claim in a District Court, the court filing fee is ¥111,400.

For enforcement of international judgments, the court filing fee is half that amount. For example, if the judgment debt is equivalent to ¥30 million, the court filing fee is ¥55,700.

For enforcement of international arbitral awards, the court filing fee is only ¥4,000, regardless of the amount awarded, reflecting Japan’s pro-arbitration policy. A deposit for court postage of ¥6,000 is also required.

Security for costs

Depending on the circumstances, you are required to deposit a security to cover the defendant’s costs (see security for costs for more details).

Arbitration costs

Arbitration costs vary depending on the arbitral institution and arbitral tribunal. Even in cases of expedited procedures, arbitration costs can be much more expensive than Japan’s court fees.

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No Recovery, No Fee

We act on a ‘no recovery, no fee’ basis, consisting only of a success fee, to collect undisputed debts exceeding ¥5 million (approximately US$33,000). Our commission is 20% and covers the 3 stages of our debt recovery service, plus the most appropriate options based on the circumstances.

* The 10% consumption tax is excluded.
* Disbursements and expenses (court fees, etc.) are excluded.

However, if the debtor disputes the existence of the debt at any point, this will fall outside the scope of our debt recovery service (i.e. it will be deemed a dispute). We can still offer you our dispute resolution service.

Disbursements and Expenses

Court fees

For a payment order, the court filing fee is generally around half that for an ordinary civil action (see Court fees above). For example, if you apply for a payment order for ¥30 million in a summary court, the court filing fee is ¥57,500.

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Fixed Fees

The retainer fee under a ‘no win, less fee’ arrangement is a sort of fixed fee. We also charge fixed fees for standardised tasks if you additionally instruct us to do so in the course of our dispute resolution or debt recovery work. Such tasks include the following:

• Notarisation and apostille of declarations in relation to court documents, such as translations of judgments: ¥100,000 (excl. tax and disbursements).
• Obtaining a copy of a bankruptcy court file: ¥50,000 (excl. tax and disbursements).
• Attendance at creditors’ meetings: ¥100,000 (excl. tax and disbursements) per attendance.

Hourly Fees

This is the traditional fee structure for international lawyers and arbitrators. We prefer not to work on an hourly rate basis. In exceptional cases, however, such as when we work with foreign attorneys as part of a team that charges you on an hourly basis, we may have to charge on the same basis. Our attorney’s hourly rate is ¥30,000 (excl. tax).

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