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Erschienen in:
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2024 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

Autonomous Driving and Civil Liability in Japan

verfasst von : Antonios Karaiskos

Erschienen in: Autonomous Vehicles and Civil Liability in a Global Perspective

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

In Japan, no legislation specifically regulating the issue of civil liability for autonomous driving exists. Therefore, this issue is dealt within the framework of the currently existing legislation applying to conventional driving. The basic pieces of legislation applying are the Civil Code (mainly its provisions on torts, and secondarily its provisions on contractual liability), the Act on Securing Compensation for Automobile Accidents and the Product Liability Act. In most cases, damage will be covered within the framework of the Act on Securing Compensation for Automobile Accidents by an insurance. Therefore, the Product Liability Act will be of limited use, and tort liability (as well as contractual liability) will be of secondary importance in practice. Since the currently existing legal framework is not structured to specifically deal with issues resulting from autonomous driving, various problems and discussions arise, and future legislative developments are anticipated.

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Vorheriges Kapitel Autonomous Driving in China
Nächstes Kapitel En-Route to a Driverless City-State: Examining the Current Legal Landscape for Autonomous Vehicles in Singapore
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Fußnoten
1
Kanmin ITS-Koso Rodomappu 2018 [Public-Private ITS Concept/Roadmap 2018] drafted by the IT Comprehensive Strategy Headquarters in June 2018.
 
2
The Road Transport Vehicle Act (Act No. 185 of 1951) dealing with registration of vehicles and securities standards for them has also been amended to cope with level 3 autonomous driving. Details of this amendment will not be treated in this chapter.
 
3
SAE International J3016 (September 2016).
 
4
Kanmin ITS-Koso Rodomappu 2018 [Public-Private ITS Concept/Roadmap 2018].
 
5
Act No. 89 of April 27, 1896. The provisions related to the law of obligations were largely amended in 2017, and the new content came into effect as of April 1, 2020. Regarding this recent amendment, see among others Wrbka (2014); Karaiskos (2018); Kihara (2012), pp. 72–84.
 
6
In case the owner of the automobile incurs damage due to the autonomous driving system, the owner would also be able to pursue, as a purchaser, contractual liability of the seller for non-performance based on non-conformity or breach of the duty to explain. These possibilities will not be treated in this paper.
 
7
For an overall analysis and presentation of the Japanese tort law system, see Yamamoto (2019), Oda (2021), pp. 191–211; Kihara (2015).
 
8
The English translations of Japanese law provisions in this paper are based on the unofficial English translations in the website “Japanese Law Translation” (http://​www.​japaneselawtrans​lation.​go.​jp/​?​re=​01) by the Japanese Ministry of Justice, with minor adjustments when considered necessary.
 
9
From a tort law point of view, there is no meaning in drawing a line between intention and negligence as a requirement for torts, since the legal effects do not differ depending on whether there is intention or negligence on behalf of the person who committed the tort.
 
10
There are no provisions setting any kind of limits to the liability (extent of damages) of a person who has committed a tort.
 
11
For the content of objective fault, as well as the concept of subjective fault which suggests a different conception of fault, see Yamamoto (2019), p. 104 ff.
 
12
Supreme Court decision of July 1, 1988, Mishu, Vol. 42, No. 6, p. 451 ff.
 
13
Supreme Court decision of April 30, 1958, Minshu Vo. 11, No. 4, p. 646 ff. For details about these perceptions of this liability, see Oda (2021), p. 193 ff.; Nomi and Kato (2019b), p. 407 ff.
 
14
Regarding court practice and theoretical debate related to this issue, see Oda (2021), p. 199 ff.
 
15
Kurita (2018), p. 28.
 
16
For the discussions related to ODD, see Lee et al. (2020), pp. 1317–1322.
 
17
As a recent analysis of TOR, see DeGuzman et al. (2021).
 
18
Kurita (2018), p. 28.
 
19
Ibid. Kurita suggests that the existence of foreseeability should be admitted, only in cases where the relevant incident could be foreseen by the driver, had the driver paid the level of attention required so as to notice a TOR.
 
20
Fujita (2018a), p. 117.
 
21
Konnai (2016), p. 1610. Kurita (2018), p. 28 notes that if negligence of the driver is to be admitted even exceptionally, the criteria for admitting so need to be clarified.
 
22
Idem: p. 29.
 
23
The seller might also bear contractual liability against the purchaser.
 
24
Kurita (2018), p. 29.
 
25
Itagaki (2018), p. 5.
 
26
Kubota (2020), p. 21.
 
27
Act No. 97 of 1955.
 
28
For details, see Nomi and Kato (2019a), p. 144 ff. [by Oshima Sh].
 
29
For details of this notion and the liability borne by it, see Fujita (2018a).
 
30
Hanreijiho, No. 539, p. 40 ff.
 
31
Urakawa (2018), p. 132.
 
32
Regarding damage incurred by the driver in cases of levels 4 and 5, Yamaguchi (2019), p. 57 asserts that apart from tort or PLA claims, claims against the owner etc. as the person who puts the automobile into operational use for that person’s own benefit might also be possible, since the driver could be characterized more a passenger rather than an actual driver of the automobile.
 
33
Hanreijiho no. 539, p. 40 ff.
 
34
Hanreijiho no. 600, p. 89 ff.
 
35
Hanreijiho no. 2021, p. 38 ff.
 
36
Kurita (2018), p. 31.
 
37
According to Shiomi (2017), p. 239, defects as a reason for exemption, do not include “warning/instruction defects”, which are included in the notion of “defects” under the PLA, as is mentioned below.
 
38
Urakawa (2018), p. 136.
 
39
Yamaguchi (2019), p. 54. Otherwise, the victims would bear the burden to select the most proper person against whom and legal ground based on which they would claim for compensation.
 
40
Itagaki (2018), p. 11.
 
41
According to the Order for Enforcement of the Act on Securing Compensation for Automobile Accidents (Cabinet Order No. 286 of October 18, 1955), the maximum compensation covered by compulsory insurance is 30 million yen in case of death, and 40 million yen for grave severe residual disabilities.
 
42
Kubota (2020), p. 20.
 
43
Fujita (2018a), p. 134.
 
44
Minshu, vol. 27, no. 11, p. 1611.
 
45
Kurita (2018), p. 30.
 
46
Act No. 85 of 1994.
 
47
For details of the Japanese product liability law system, see Nottage (2012), as well as Nagano and Karaiskos (2018), pp. 59–74, where recent case law relevant to the PLA is also presented.
 
48
The word “etc.” is mentioned in the relevant provisions of the PLA, since the notion “manufacturer, etc.” does not include only manufacturers, but other persons such as importers too, as will be explained later in this chapter.
 
49
Nomi and Kato (2019b), p. 179 [by Asami Y].
 
50
Urakawa (2017), p. 33. Kurita (2018), p. 32 questions the conformity of this practice, where accidents caused by defects of an intangible autonomous driving system are treated within the framework of the PLA, the structure of which requires a defect in a movable.
 
51
Kurita (2018), p. 32. Fujita (2018a), p. 205. According to Fujita, the main reasons for this are that in most cases the reason for the accident lies with the driver, that it is difficult to prove existence of defect and causal relationship with the accident, that the person who puts the automobile into operation for that person’s own benefit does not incur economic loss thanks to insurance coverage, and that the insurance companies do not exercise their rights to reimbursement taking into consideration the load and cost for this.
 
52
Shohishacho Shohishaanzenka [Consumer Affairs Agency, Consumer Safety Division] (2018). This categorization is influenced by the relevant one in the USA.
 
53
Yamaguchi (2019), p. 54.
 
54
According to Urakawa (2017), p. 34, the criterion for this should be an “average human driver”. Kurita (2018), p. 32, criticizes this, since there might be cases where although autonomous driving is statistically far safer than driving of an average human driver, comparisons regarding specific aspects might lead to the affirmation of existence of a defect in the system. Kurita further questions the properness of using a PL system designed for tangibles, to intangible autonomous driving systems.
 
55
Yamaguchi (2019), p. 54.
 
56
Kubota (2020), p. 21; Nomura (1969) p. 131.
 
57
For details of the automobile insurance structure in Japan and the influences brought to it by autonomous driving, see Ikeda (2018).
 
58
Act No. 105 of 1960.
 
59
For details of such concerns, see Urakawa (2018), p. 139.
 
60
As already mentioned, the Road Transport Vehicle Act has also been amended to cope with level 3 autonomous driving.
 
61
For details of the amended Road Traffic Act and Road Transport Vehicle Act, see Sato (2019), pp. 4–11; Imai (2019).
 
62
Details of the respective provisions are not treated in this paper, since, this Act, same as the Road Vehicles Act, is not directly related to civil liability, but rather aims at preventing automobile accidents ex ante. 
 
63
Fujita (2018b), p. 284 ff. Regarding case (ii), Fujita suggests that if the manufacturer refuses to provide such information and civil liability of the person that puts an automobile into operational use for that person’s own benefit is admitted, the manufacturer should not be able to use the existence of a defect as a defense against reimbursement claims by the person that puts an automobile into operational use.
 
64
Idem, p. 281 ff., p. 287 ff. See also Kubota (2018), p. 188 ff. who refers to future perspectives related to reimbursement claims.
 
65
Daira (2019), p. 80 ff. also emphasizes the necessity to ensure accurate information about the reasons causing an accident by means of drive recorders or event data recorders (EDR).
 
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Metadaten
Titel
Autonomous Driving and Civil Liability in Japan
verfasst von
Antonios Karaiskos
Copyright-Jahr
2024
Buch
Autonomous Vehicles and Civil Liability in a Global Perspective

Print ISBN: 978-3-031-41991-1

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-41992-8

Copyright-Jahr: 2024

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41992-8_7