Story and photography by Lucille M.
Craft / justice for deadbeats
justice for deadbeats
Streamlined, cheap and easy procedures
make it worthwhile to pursue small claims.
I
tried phone calls, e-mails, faxes
and even a surprise visit, but in
the end weeks of pestering,
cajoling and pleading proved
useless. When I finally caught up
with the president of the small
company that owed me several
months of fees, he had nothing
to offer but contempt. “We’re
not paying,” he smirked. What he
didn’t say came through loud and
clear: “...and there’s nothing you
can do about it.”
Friends commiserated, but
urged moving on. For small com-
panies and the self-employed, it
seemed, doing business is
32 / accj journal / july 2004
strangely like running a grocery
store. A certain level of pilferage
goes with the territory.
Perhaps. But standing by while
this particular company – let’s call
it Slimetech – swaggered away,
was out of the question. It was
obviously expert at dodging obli-
gations as a regular business tactic.
But how to fight back? A mere
hour or two in the company of
one of Japan’s fantastically com-
pensated attorneys would suck
up every last yen I was owed, and
then some. A few inquiries
turned up the surprising sugges-
tion of trying the Tokyo Summary
Court. “They’re extremely user-
friendly,” a Tokyo Women’s
Union representative insisted,
“and it’s cheap!”
The fight begins
What – me file a lawsuit? By
myself? Litigating in any language
seemed daunting, but this had to
be done in Japanese. With equal
parts curiosity and dread, I found
my way to the high-rise building,
one of 438 branches of the lower
court nationwide, overlooking
Tokyo’s Hibiya Park, to fill out a
brief questionnaire at the consul-
tation counter. Besides the usual
Government Building No. 6, home to
the Family Court and the Summary
Court of Tokyo.
personal information, I was asked
to select the type of civil dispute:
Real Estate, Compensation for
Damages, Labor, Pollution, or
Other Financial Transactions. I
circled Labor, took a number and
looked for a seat in the crowded
waiting room. A video monitor
caught my eye, and I became
engrossed in the continuous-play
enactment of a trial involving
two drivers tussling over a
fender bender. I anxiously
studied every detail, from the
claimant’s testimony to ques-
tioning from the judge.
After 20 minutes or so, I was
called to one of 10 consultation
booths. A friendly law clerk, who
carefully avoided offering legal
advice while helping me to fill
out applications, asked if I pre-
ferred to try mediation. Negoti-
ating a compromise with the
help of a mediator (retired
bankers, auditors, realtors and
others volunteer their services)
costs roughly half as much as liti-
gation, but offers no guarantee
of a resolution. Last year, the
conciliation committee of Tokyo
Summary Court handled 51,383
cases, well over double the
20,315 heard three years earlier.
The overwhelming share of cases
involve consumers who have
maxed out their credit cards or
can’t pay back their loans and
need help negotiating easier pay-
ment terms. These are cases, in
other words, where the debtor is
highly motivated to cooperate in
a settlement.
With Slimetech, it seemed that
going into mediation would be a
waste of time. But there was one
more decision that had to be
taken: regular litigation, or small
claims? The small-claims award
ceiling is relatively low. (As of
April 2004, the cap has been
raised to ¥600,000 for small
claims and ¥1.4 million for regu-
lar suits.) But if swift, inexpensive
justice is what you are looking for
nothing beats small claims. An
application can be completed and
submitted in only an hour or two,
for fees starting at ¥1,000, roughly
comparable to filing costs in
Texas or California. Cases are
tried about one month after the
application is lodged, with judg-
ments usually delivered on the
spot at a single, brief hearing.
Swiftness is just
“Satisfaction with small claims is
high,” says Koji Okahisa, who is
both chief judge of the Tokyo
Summary Court and deputy chief
judge of Tokyo District Court. The
people’s court has an 80-year his-
tory, he says, but until the filing
process was streamlined in 1996,
most citizens with grievances
“simply gave up because the pro-
cess was too time-consuming.”
Judge Koji Okahisa prefers a
(relatively) relaxed courtroom
atmosphere.
july 2004 / accj journal / 33
 justice for deadbeats

An application can be completed and submitted in an hour or two. Until the filing process was streamlined in 1996,
most citizens with grievances “simply gave up.”

Last year 3,347 small-claims I stopped first at the Tokyo Legal fruitless efforts to gain payment. worded, line-by-line rebuttal. I black jurist robes, swept in and table at the center of the room. I
suits were filed in Tokyo, which Affairs Bureau across town to Less than 48 hours after Slimetech pointed out that I had previously immediately began reading out sat stage right, with Slimetech’s
accounts for roughly one-sixth of meet one additional requirment: had shown me the door, Case No. performed and been paid for two the results of someone else’s president opposite.
all cases nationally. The caseload obtaining a certified copy of 249, Craft vs. Slimetech, was sched- months’ work, and that the defen- hearing. I was dismayed. This The judge, a man in his fifties,
has almost doubled in the last Slimetech’s commercial registration uled for a hearing. dant had not seen fit to complain wasn’t at all the casual, friendly asked whether Slimetech would
three years. Further improve- record (shogyo tokibo-tohon). About a quarter of all small about my work until conveniently setup portrayed in the video submit to a mediated settlement. It
ments are on the way. Of the 30 This document yielded some claims are settled without going long after the contract ended and downstairs, where a judge in depends, Slimetech replied. Then,
judges who today process a grab- interesting and disturbing to court, and I held a sliver of the bills were due. I asked a plain clothes sat between plain- the grilling began. How did the
bag of about 40 civil summary nuggets about the fly-by-night hope that the suit would encour- Japanese friend to check my gram- tiff and defendant at a round company hire me? Why was a con-
cases daily, six jurists will be outfit that had caused me so age Slimetech to save us both the mar, and, shortly after midnight conference table. tract drawn up at all? Who wrote
deployed this fiscal year to spe- much grief. Slimetech, as it time and hassle of going before on the last business day before it? Why did the actual job veer so
cialize in small claims. In fiscal turned out, had been in business the judge. It was not to be. Just trial, I faxed it to the court. Calming environment far from the job description?
2005, the summary court will only about a year. The president, two days before trial, the court Finally, the day of the trial. I “The roundtable relaxes people The questioning was not hard
become a one-stop shop for civil a feckless man in his thirties, was forwarded me a copy of the arrived 20 minutes early for my and encourages them to negoti- to follow, but still, as a non-
procedures, also handling the identified by name; even his home defendant’s rambling, bellicose 1:15 p.m. hearing in Courtroom ate,” says Judge Okahisa. native speaker it was hard not to
paperwork related to collecting address was listed. Missing from response, which accused me of 401, four floors above the consul- Later I would learn that small feel handicapped. Submitting in
on claims that remain unpaid the record was any trace of the everything from speaking bad tation center where the process claims suits are usually sent to such advance a detailed rebuttal,
even after court rulings. At pre- kingpin who actually ran the com- Japanese to shutting down busi- had begun. Five minutes later, low-key hearing rooms. But only which the judge referred to occa-
sent, plaintiffs pursuing scofflaws pany and called himself chairman. ness for an hour. Not only did the lock clicked open and I ner- two of the summary court’s six sionally, turned out to have been
(the most common method is to they most certainly not owe me vously drifted inside, to a near- hearing chambers are “roundtable a sound tactic.
garnishee wages) must file papers Craft vs. Slimetech any money, Slimetech huffed, just replica of the criminal courtroom courtrooms,” and my case was With the disapproving air of a
at a separate office in Meguro. After paying for copying and for being such a pain I should seen so often on TV. deployed to a hybrid version that law-school professor, the judge
The application forms for small filing fees and postage, I was out a compensate them! With little warning, a judge included the standard imposing stopped his interrogation to
claims were as simple as adver- grand total of ¥8,910. I appended There was no obligation to and a young law clerk, both in raised dais, with a conference remonstrate. This is a case study,
tised, but to be on the safe side a copy of my work contract and a respond, but, anxious to take no
I took them home for perusal. brief paragraph summarizing my chances, I agonized over a carefully
at the first (and usually the only) hearing, so
Just the Facts append any documents such as work contracts to
simplified lawsuits for lesser amounts, known as the application.
The work of the small claims, usually conclude after one hearing, To file a civil suit, first visit the consultation center on Witnesses may be called. If they are not able to
Tokyo Summary Court which can wrap up in an hour or less. These claims the first floor of the Tokyo Summary Court, 1-1-2 appear in person, they are permitted to testify via
must not exceed ¥600,000. Kasumigaseki (Tel: 03-3581-5411 – open 9-11:45 a.m. speakerphone during the hearing.
Rent, security deposits, lease, property and other A less expensive alternative is mediation, brokered and 1-4:45 p.m. It serves about 100 people a day, Hearings and records are open to the public.
real estate disputes; personal or property damage by two or more experts, usually gray-haired veterans mostly in the afternoon, so it pays to arrive early. (However, thanks to an antique filing system, it’s
stemming from traffic accidents; medical mal- with business backgrounds. Unlike litigation, medi- Applicants must list names, phone/fax numbers impossible to run down companies by name alone;
practice; conflicts over salary, compensation, ation is held in closed session so the procedure has and mailing addresses for both themselves and clerks will produce records only if you provide very
working conditions, dismissal, retirement pay and the added virtue of confidentiality. Most cases are defendants; amount of payment sought; and a few specific details, such as case number and trial date.)
other labor issues; noise, water and other forms of settled after three sessions held over as many very brief details about the dispute. If a company is Needless to say, all procedures and paperwork
pollution; and purely financial transactions, such as months. Cases that remain unresolved – and about the target of the suit, a certified copy of the firm’s are in Japanese, and if you are not fluent, bring
personal loans and promissory notes. 30% do – may proceed to litigation. commercial registration must be obtained from the someone to interpret for you.
As of April 1, 2004, plaintiffs in civil cases in The Summary Court does not hear cases Tokyo Affairs Legal Bureau, 1-1-15 Kudanshita (Tel: Recorded information on how to apply for either
summary court can seek a maximum of ¥1.4 million involving divorce, inheritance, child support or 03-5213-1332); this costs ¥1,000 and usually takes litigation or mediation – or what to do if you are
in compensation. Regular civil suits usually involve related cases, which are handled across the hall at just a few minutes. the target of such action – is available 24/7 by
up to three hearings over six months. Speedy, the Family Court. In small claims, all evidence must be presented phone or fax, at 03-5251-1611.

34 / accj journal / july 2004 july 2004 / accj journal / 35


About a quarter of all small claims are settled
without going to court.
he admonished, of why sloppy,
vague contracts breed disputes.
Later, he made a point of lectur-
ing me briefly. “This is not
Europe or the U.S.,” he said.
“We Japanese prefer compro-
mise and mediation rather
than clear winners and losers.”
Was I, then, willing to accept a
compromise? I was.
In 2003, about a third of all
small-claims cases in Tokyo were
settled by a decision handed
down from the bench, usually
favoring the plaintiff in instances
advance & oak
where the defendant failed to
show up for trial. But these clear-
cut decisions tend to be Pyrrhic
victories, according to Judge
Okahisa. A no-show defendant
usually is just plain bust. Even if
associates associates
the defendant is present, an
imposed verdict may provoke an
ornery adversary into greater
resistance. Joining the one-third
of all cases that end up in court-
ordered mediation statistically
increased my chances of not
coming away empty-handed.
Slimetech was under pressure to
strike a conciliatory stance. If it
didn’t, the judge would be
obliged to issue his own ruling.
Spirit of compromise
Forty-five minutes after the
hearing started, the judge sent
us into mediation with a smiling,
elderly arbitrator who played
good cop to the judge’s bad,
radiating humility and friendli-
ness as he led us down the hall
to a tiny conference room. “My
name is Okuyasu. That’s O-ku-ya-
su,” he said, trying to lighten the
mood. He guided Slimetech’s
justice for deadbeats
president outside, inviting him
to have a cigarette while I con-
sidered a compromise; in a few
minutes, we would switch places.
Watching the mediator pay such
deference to a lowlife who had
caused me so much trouble was,
frankly, nauseating. But I finally
began to see that this overt,
even over-the-top effort at
neutrality was in my best inter-
est. In sharp contrast to the past
few weeks, the Slimetech presi-
dent’s attitude had begun to
shift perceptibly. He pleaded for
more time to think it over. In the
end, anxious for the process to
reach a conclusion, I agreed. One
week later, in a re-hearing that
lasted just a few minutes, we
agreed on a new figure and pay-
ment schedule.
As it turned out, Slimetech was
sleazy to the end. It ignored the
court order and never paid a
yen. Had it been a company that
cared about its reputation, or
had I been able to figure out in
which bank branch it kept its
account – information essential
for filing a seize-assets claim –
the story might have had a hap-
pier conclusion.
At the same time, the experi-
ence in court shows clearly that
if one does run into a deadbeat
like Slimetech, nobody can say,
“...and there’s nothing you can
do about it.”
Lucille M. Craft is a Tokyo-based
freelance writer who files regularly
for the Nightly Business Report on PBS
and The World on Public Radio
International.
july 2004 / accj journal / 37