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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 April 2015
This article argues that recent reforms to Japan's trust law regime have not fully exploited the potential of the trust in an ageing society. It argues that the commercial emphasis of the reforms has intangible ramifications for the concept of the trust in Japan that render the trust of questionable suitability for welfare oriented applications. The article also explores the potential of the courts to rescue the welfare role of the trust, in part by developing doctrine responsively to a given trust arrangement. It concludes that in an evolving social, political, and economic climate (including the Global Financial Crisis and its effect on the demand for financial products involving securitization), it is the role of the courts in developing doctrine that may bring balance to the competing demands placed upon the trust in an ageing society.
1 National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Population Statistics of Japan 2008 (2008), online: <http://www.ipss.go.jp/index-e.html>>Google ScholarPubMed.
2 The economic implications of demographic transition in Japan have been researched extensively in English and Japanese. See, for example, Campbell, John Creighton, “Population Aging: Hardly Japan's Biggest Problem” in Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Asia Program Special Report, The Demographic Dilemma: Japan's Aging Society (Washington: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2003)Google Scholar (hereafter The Demographic Dilemma: Japan's Aging Society); Paul Hewitt, “The Grey Roots of Japan's Crisis” in The Demographic Dilemma: Japan's Aging Society; Jones, Randall S., “The Economic Implications of Japan's Aging Population” (1988) 28(9) Asian Survey 958 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Kaneko, Yoshihiro, “Financing Social Security in a Low Birthrate Ageing Society (shôshi kôrei shakai to shakaihoshô zaisei)” (2005) 1282 Juristo 14Google Scholar; Komine, Takao & Kabe, Shigesaburo, Demographic Change and the Asian Economy: Long-term Forecast of Global Economy and Population 2006-2050 (2007), online: <http://www.jcer.or.jp/eng/pdf/2006long_contents.pdf>Google Scholar; MacKellar, L., Economic Impacts of Population Ageing in Japan (Northhampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004)Google Scholar; Matsutani, A., Shrinking-Population Economics: Lessons From Japan (Tokyo: International House of Japan, 2006)Google Scholar; Obuchi, Hiroshi, The Japanese Economy in an Age of Low Fertility (shôshika jidai no nihon keizai) (Tokyo: Nihon Hoso Shuppan Kyokai, 1997)Google Scholar; Schulz, James H., Economics of Population Aging: the “Graying” of Australia, Japan, and the United States (New York: Auburn House, 1991)Google Scholar; Chikako Usui, “Japan's Aging Dilemma?” in The Demographic Dilemma: Japan's Aging Society; Yamada, Atsuhiro, “The Effect of The Low Birth Rate and Ageing Society on the Economy (shôshikôreika no keizai e no eikyô)” (2005) 1282 Juristo 34Google Scholar.
3 See Traphagan, John W. & Knight, John, eds., Demographic Change and the Family in Japan's Aging Society (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003)Google Scholar.
4 National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Population Statistics of Japan 2008.
5 Trust Business Act (shintaku gyouhou), Act no. 154 of 2004; Trust Act (shintakuhou), Act no. 108 of 2006.
6 Teramoto, Masahiro, “Outline of the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no gaiyou)” (2007) 1335 Juristo 2 at 2 Google Scholar.
7 Economic Legal Research Institute of Japan, The Practice of the Reformed Trust Act (kaisei shintakuhou no jitsumu) (Tokyo: ELRI, 2007) at 5 Google Scholar.
8 National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Population Statistics of Japan 2008.
9 Trust Act, s. 2(1).
10 Pont, G.E. Dal, Equity and Trusts: Commentary and Materials (North Ryde: LBC, 1997) at 399 Google Scholar.
11 See, e.g., Foster, Frances J., “American Trust Law in a Chinese Mirror” (2010) 94 Minn. L. Rev. 602 Google Scholar; Ho, Lusina, “The Reception of Trust in Asia: Emerging Asian Principles of Trust?” (2004) Sing. J.L.S. 287 Google Scholar.
12 Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition, 1 July 1985, HCCH 30 (entered into force 1 January 1992).
13 Graziadei, Michele, “Transplants and Receptions” in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) at 469 Google Scholar.
14 Nishizawa, Munehide, “The Status of the Trust under Japanese Law” (1990)(1) I.B.L.J. 7 at 26 Google Scholar.
15 Forti, Valerio, “Comparing American Trust and French Fiducie” (2011) 17(28) Colum. J. Eur. L., online: <http://www.cjel.net/online/17_2-forti>Google Scholar.
16 Arai, Makoto, “Japan” in Kaplan, Alon ed., Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions, 3rd ed. (London: Globe Law and Business, 2010) at 236 Google Scholar.
17 Nishizawa, “The Status of the Trust under Japanese Law”, supra note 14 at 8.
18 Indeed, Ho notes that “Asian trusts” may actually be closer to the prototypical common law trust than many purists would believe: Ho, “The Reception of Trust in Asia: Emerging Asian Principles of Trust?”, supra note 11 at 302.
19 Ibid. at 293.
20 Oda, H., Japanese Law, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) at 27 Google Scholar.
21 Rights to collateral could be entrusted under the Secured Bond Trust Act (tanpo tsuki shaken shintakuhou), Act no. 52 of 1905, obviating the need upon default for individual beneficiaries to claim that collateral directly: Dogauchi, Hiroto, “Theoretical Outlook and Issues of the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou riron no tenbou to kadai) ” (2007) 1261 Kinyuu Shouji Hanrei 6 at 6 Google Scholar.
22 Trust Companies Association of Japan website, online: <http://www.shintaku-kyokai.or.jp/trust/trust01_07_05.html>
23 Trusts, it was thought, required protection from the cut-throat world of loans and investment brokering through special rules such as principal guarantees: Sato, Tsutomu, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi) ” (2005) 641(21) Ginkou houmu 50 at 50 Google Scholar.
24 Ibid. at 50.
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.
27 Dogauchi, “Theoretical Outlook and Issues of the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou riron no tenbou to kadai)”, supra note 21 at 6.
28 Sato, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi)”, supra note 23 at 50.
29 Ibid.
30 Allen, G. C., A Short Economic History of Modern Japan, 3rd ed. (London: Unwin, 1972) at 170 Google Scholar.
31 Act on the Concurrent Operation of Standard Banking and Trust Business (Concurrent Operation Act) (futsuu ginkoutou no chokinginkou gyoumu mata wa shintaku gyoumu no renei to uni kan suru houritsu ((ren'eihou)), Act no. 43 of 1943.
32 In 1948, the seven surviving trust companies became “trust banks” (shintaku ginkou). Their “cash trust” business model had been destroyed by rapid inflation in the immediate post-war environment caused by scarcity of goods and the end of wartime price controls: Kurihara, Kenneth K., “Post-War Inflation and Fiscal-Monetary Policy in Japan” (1946) 36(5) The American Economic Review 843 at 843 Google Scholar; Sato, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi)”, supra note 23 at 50.
33 Sato, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi)”, supra note 23 at 52.
34 The formal term was “individually operated designated money trust” (tandoku unyou shitei kinsen shintaku).
35 The Ministry also regarded the returns offered by these cash trusts as inconsistent with its low interest rate policy introduced to combat rampant inflation.
36 Sato, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi)”, supra note 23 at 52.
37 Loan Trust Act (kashitsuke shintaku hou), Act no. 195 of 1952.
38 Sato, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi)”, supra note 23 at 52. These were Mitsubishi Trust Bank, Sumitomo Trust Bank, Yasuda Trust Bank, Mitsui Trust Bank, and the Trust Bank of Japan. From 1951 to 1955, as stability and the demand for long term finance returned, trust deposits as a percentage of these banks' finances grew from 30% to 70%. In contrast, the banks outside this favoured group struggled to attract trust business and mainly serviced small scale agricultural cooperatives. These banks surrendered the trust licences that had been granted pursuant to the Concurrent Operation Act in exchange for favourable regulation (such as premise approvals) in the traditional banking sector.
39 Sato, “Trust Seminar: the History of Trusts (4) (shintakuhou kouza 4: shintaku no rekishi)”, supra note 23 at 53.
40 The investors thus receive a constant income stream and, depending on the terms of the trust, the original trust property on reversion. Incidentally, a prototype emerged in the early post-War period of the trust as a vehicle for securitisation and capital raising. On this model, private railcar manufacturers, unable to raise capital using their products as security because of (sole use) hire-purchase agreements with the government, entrusted the railcars to trust banks. Then, as beneficiaries, the manufacturers were able to sell their beneficiary rights to investors.
41 Ibid. It did this by allowing a corporation to separate securities purchased with trust moneys from securities owned by the corporation itself for the purpose of the corporation's asset valuation (and therefore tax assessments).
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid. Under this model, a settlor-beneficiary entrusts land to a trust bank, which develops the property and to that end secures funds and manages tenants. The beneficiary then receives income in the form of distributions from the trust.
44 Financial Products Transaction Act (kinyuu shouhin torihiki hou), Act no. 25 of 1948.
45 Economic Legal Research Institute of Japan, The Practice of the Reformed Trust Act (kaisei shintakuhou no jitsumu), supra note 7 at 6.
46 Kansaku, Hiroyuki, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai) ” (2010) 242 Shintaku 6 at 7 Google Scholar.
47 Trust Act, s. 3(iii). But a trustee who is also a beneficiary cannot transfer his or her beneficial interest of one year because of concerns that it would be abused to evade creditors: s. 163(1).
48 Dogauchi, “Theoretical Outlook and Issues of the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou riron no tenbou to kadai)”, supra note 21 at 8.
49 Trust Act, Chapter 9.
50 Dogauchi, “Theoretical Outlook and Issues of the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou riron no tenbou to kadai)”, supra note 21 at 8.
51 Trust Act, Chapter 8.
52 Ibid., Chapter 6.
53 Ibid., Chapter 7.
54 Ibid., ss. 93-98.
55 Ibid., ss.105-122.
56 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 14.
57 Ibid.
58 Ibid.
59 Trust Act, s. 58(1).
60 Ibid., s. 44.
61 Ibid., s. 37.
62 Ibid., s. 30: “A trustee shall administer trust affairs and conduct any other acts faithfully on behalf of the beneficiary.”
63 Ibid., s. 30. This was not clear under the previous Act.
64 Ibid., ss. 31-32.
65 Civil Code (minpou), Act no. 89 of 1896, s. 90.
66 Ibid., s. 1(1).
67 Ibid., s. 1(2).
68 Ibid., s. 1(3).
69 Taylor, Veronica L., “Continuing Transactions and Persistent Myths: Contracts in Contemporary Japan” (1993) 19 Melbourne U.L. Review 371 at 378 Google Scholar; Foote, Daniel H., “Judicial Creation of Norms in Japanese Labor Law: Activism in the Service of – Stability?” (1996) 43 UCLA L. Rev. 635 at 637–638 Google Scholar; Nottage, Luke, “Changing Contract Lenses: Renegotiations in English, New Zealand, Japanese, US and International Sales Law And Practice” (2006), online: <http://www.law.usyd.edu.au/anjel/documents/ResearchPublications/NottageCLPE2006paper.pdf> at 15 Google Scholar.
70 Trust Act, ss. 165, 166.
71 Ibid., ss. 56, 62.
72 Ibid., s. 46.
73 Ibid., s. 64.
74 Ibid., ss. 103,104.
75 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 13.
76 Ibid. at 14.
77 Ibid.
78 Akanuma, Yasuhiro, “The Potential for Development of the Civil Trust (minjishintaku no hatten kanousei) ” (2010) 35 Shintakuho Kenkyu, online: <http://www.shintakuhogakkai.jp/activity/pdf/vol35_report04.pdf> at 1 Google Scholar.
79 Supreme Court Judgment 2002.1.17, 56(1) Minshuu 20.
80 Dogauchi, “Theoretical Outlook and Issues of the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou riron no tenbou to kadai)”, supra note 21 at 7.
81 Many Japanese hope that their surviving relatives will undertake Buddhist or Shinto memorial services for them.
82 Other relevant applications are land trusts, real estate management trusts, and trusts for the disposition of real estate relating to reverse mortgage type loans: Kobayashi, Toru, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei) ” in Arai, Makoto ed., Fundamentals and Practice of Trust Law (shintakuhou no kiso to unyou) (Tokyo: Nihon Hyouronsha, 2007) at 160 Google Scholar.
83 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 152.
84 Ibid.
85 Data from Central Council for Financial Services Information website, online: <http://www.shiruporuto.jp/finance/chosa/index.html>.
86 Arai, “Japan”, supra note 16 at 248.
87 Data from Central Council for Financial Services Information website. online: <http://www.shiruporuto.jp/finance/chosa/index.html>.
88 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 159.
89 For a discussion of attempts to regulate unscrupulous consumer credit lenders in Japan, see Nottage, Luke R. & Kozuka, Souichirou, “Lessons from Product Safety Regulation for Reforming Consumer Credit Markets in Japan and Beyond: Empirically-Informed Normativism” (2012) 34(10) Sydney L. Rev. 129 Google Scholar.
90 Ibid.
91 “Con artists calling” The Japan Times (8 September 2008)Google Scholar. In 2011, about US$11 million was lost in this manner: National Police Agency website, online: <http://www.npa.go.jp/safetylife/seianki31/higaijoukyou.html>.
92 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 162.
93 Trust Act, s. 90.
94 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 165.
95 Inheritance Tax Act (souzokuzeihou), Act no. 73 of 1950, s. 21-4.
96 Ibid.
97 Inheritance Tax Regulations (souzokuzeihoushikourei), Reg 71 of 1950, reg. 4-10. Although in the case of real estate, it must be either the residence of the beneficiary or capable of securing a reasonable income.
98 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 166. A testamentary gift is specific property left to a specific person in a will.
99 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 160.
100 Ibid.
101 Kobayashi, Akihiko & Otaka, Ichiro, Understanding the New Adult Guardianship System (wakariyasui shin seinen kouken seido) (Tokyo: Yuhikaku, 2000) at 26 Google Scholar.
102 Yasuhiro Akanuma, “The Potential for Development of the Civil Trust (minjishintaku no hatten kanousei)”, supra note 78 at 5.
103 Judicial scriveners have seen the largest increase in the share of guardianship appointees, reaching 10.5% in 2007: Supreme Court of Japan, Summary of Adult Guardianship Related Cases (seinen kouken kankei jiken no gaikyou).
104 Arai, “Japan”, supra note 16 at 236.
105 For an early proponent of this view, see Haley, John Owen, Authority Without Power: Law and the Japanese Paradox (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991)Google Scholar.
106 See Pekkanen, Robert, Japan's Dual Civil Society: Members Without Advocates (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006)Google Scholar.
107 See Takagi, Sachiko, “Support Programs for Use of the Adult Guardianship System and Applications by Municipality Heads: View from the Front Line (seinen kouken seido o riyou shien jigyou to shichou sonchou no moushitate: genba no shiten kara) ” (2005) 58(6) Houritsu no hiroba Google Scholar; Shirai, Noriko, “Use of the adult guardianship system for contracts for nursing insurance (kaigo hoken keiyaku ni okeru seinen kouken seido no riyou) ” (2005) 58(6) Houritsu no hiroba Google Scholar; Akanuma, Yasuhiro, “Issues regarding the adult guardianship system and the role of lawyers (seinen kouken seido no kadai to bengoshi no yakuwari) ” (2005) 58(6) Houritsu no hiroba Google Scholar; Onuki, Masao, “The achievements of ‘legal support’ and the role of judicial scriveners (riigaru sapooto niokeru jisseki to shihou shoshi no yakuwari) ” (2005) 58(6) Houritsu no hiroba Google Scholar; Furui, Keiji, “Issues regarding the role and work borne by social welfare officers (shakai fukushishi ga ninatte kita yakuwari to jitsumujou no kadai) ” (2005) 58(6) Houritsu no hiroba Google Scholar.
108 By regarding the property as an encumbered bequest terminating upon the first beneficiary's death.
109 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 166.
110 Ibid. at 166-167.
111 Ibid. at 167.
112 Ibid.
113 Ibid.
114 No new transfer to a successive beneficiary is possible after 30 years from the establishment of the trust: Trust Act, s. 91.
115 Inheritance Tax Act (souzokuzeihou), Act no. 73 of 1950, s. 9-2. Inheritance tax is imposed at the time on the first beneficiary obtains a present entitlement. Further beneficiaries are deemed recipients of testamentary gifts from the preceding beneficiary for tax purposes.
116 The reforms also provided the machinery needed to reconcile these areas of law when a simple prioritisation is not possible because of the passage of time. It can be difficult to calculate such a claim when the property is divided both in nature and over time. In such cases, an appraisor is appointed by a family court: Civil Code, s. 1029(2).
117 Trust Act, s. 259.
118 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 162.
119 Charitable Trust Act (kooueki shintaku ni kan suru houritsu), Act No. 62 of 1922.
120 Japan Trust Association website, online: <http://www.shintaku-kyokai.or.jp/news/news230613.html>.
121 See Legal Support website, online: <www.legal-support.or.jp/public/month_report_doc/201102.pdf>. Of course, educational and welfare purposes can overlap, such as charitable trusts established to assist school-aged children affected by disasters (see, for example, the JCB East Japan Disaster Charitable Trust administered by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank, online: <http://www.kodomo-ouenkikin.jp/ext/kikin.html>.
122 Based on 2007 figures: Japan Trust Association website, online: <http://www.shintaku-kyokai.or.jp/news/news230613.html>.
123 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 163.
124 Act on Charitable Trusts (kouekishintaku ni kan suru houritsu), Act no. 62 of 1936; Trust Act, supplementary provisions 3, 4.
125 Act on Authorization of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Incorporated Foundations (kouekishadanhoujin oyobi koueizaidanhoujin no ninteitou ni kan suru houritsu), Act no. 49 of 2006.
126 Cabinet Administrative Reform Office website, online: <http://www.gyoukaku.go.jp/siryou/koueki/pdf/pamphlet02.pdf>.
127 Cabinet Administrative Reform Office website, online: <http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/central_government/frame.html>.
128 This includes contribution to the welfare of the elderly.
129 Trust Act, supplementary provisions 3, 4.
130 Ibid.
131 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 163.
132 Japan Trust Association website, online: <http://www.shintaku-kyokai.or.jp/news/news230613.html>.
133 Japan Trust Association website, online: <http://www.shintaku-kyokai.or.jp/news/pdf/NR230613-6.pdf>.
134 See National Diet Library Survey and Legislation Consideration Bureau, Declining Fertility, Aging and Countermeasures (shôshika·kôreika to sono taisaku) (Tokyo: National Diet Library, 2005)Google Scholar.
135 Uchida, Takashi, “Privatization and Contract: an Exploration of Institutional Contract Theory (mineika to keiyaku: seidoteki keiyaku ron no kokoromi) ” (2006) 1305-1311 Juristo (1308) at 95-97, (1309) at 51–53 Google Scholar; Katou, Tomoyuki et al., Social Security Law (shakai hoshou hou), 3rd ed. (Tokyo: Yuhikaku, 2007) at 109 Google Scholar.
136 Akihiko Kobayashi & Ichiro Otaka, Understanding the New Adult Guardianship System (wakariyasui shin seinen kouken seido), supra note 101at 50-3.
137 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 156. Notarised wills do not need to pass through probate.
138 See Supreme Court of Japan, Summary of adult guardianship related cases (seinen kouken kankei jiken no gaikyou), online: <http://www.courts.go.jp/about/siryo/kouken.html>.
139 For a good summary of “theories of Japanese law”, see Feldman, Eric, “Law, Culture, and Conflict: Dispute Resolution in Postwar Japan” in Foote, Daniel H., ed., Law in Japan: A Turning Point (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007)Google Scholar.
140 Kobayashi, “The Potential of the Civil Trust in an Ageing Society (koureishakai to minjishintaku no kanousei)”, supra note 82 at 155.
141 Recommendations of the Justice System Reform Council, “For a Justice System to Support Japan in the 21st Century” (12 June 2001), online: <http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/judiciary/2001/0612report.html>>Google Scholar.
142 There are over 50 registered NPOs in Japan that list the promotion of will-making as a purpose: see Cabinet Office website, online: <https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/portalsite.html>.
143 See Frankel, Tamar & Higuchi, Norio, “Trust Model and Contract Model: American Law and Japanese Law (shintaku moderu to keiyaku moderu: amerika hou to nihonhou) ” (1998) 115(2) Hougaku kyoukai Zasshi 1 Google Scholar.
144 Seddon, N. C. & Ellinghaus, M. F., Cheshire & Fifoot's Law of Contract, 9th ed. (Chatswood: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2008) at 1227 Google Scholar.
145 Ibid. at 1241.
146 Ibid. at 1251.
147 See Tanase, Takao, Community and the Law: a Critical Reassessment of American Liberalism and Japanese Modernity, trans. by Nottage, Luke & Wolff, Leon (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2010)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
148 Freeman, M., ed., Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence, 8th ed. (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2008) at 1411–1412 Google Scholar.
149 Frankel, Tamar, “Fiduciary Law in the Twenty-First Century” (2011) 91 B.U.L. Rev. 1289 at 1291–1292 Google Scholar.
150 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 10.
151 See Ingmanson, Sarah M., Corporate pension reform in Japan: big bang or big bust? (2004), online: <http://lauder.wharton.upenn.edu/pages/pdf/SarahIngmanson_Thesis.pdf> at 41, 83 Google Scholar.
152 Katou, Tomoyuki et al., Social Security Law (shakai hoshou hou), 3rd ed. (Tokyo: Yuhikaku, 2007) at 69 Google Scholar.
153 Ibid. at 13; See Goodman, Roger, “The ‘Japanese-Style Welfare State’ and the Delivery of Personal Social Services” in Goodman, Roger, White, Gordon & Kwon, Huck-ju, eds., The East Asian Welfare Model: Welfare Orientalism and the State (London: Routledge, 1998)Google Scholar.
154 Tomoyuki Katou et al., Social Security Law (shakai hoshou hou), supra note 152 at 18-19.
155 Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, General Outline for Japan's Defined Contribution Pension Law (kakutei kyoshutsu nenkin seido no gaiyou), online: <http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/0106/tp0628-5.html>.
156 Tomoyuki Katou et al., Social Security Law (shakai hoshou hou), supra note 152 at 109.
157 Ibid. at 19.
158 See Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 14.
159 Desai, Aakash, “Commercial Trusts and Securitisation: Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis” (2010) 28 Company and Securities Law Journal 10 at 10 Google Scholar.
160 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 12.
161 Hashimoto, Keiko, Natori, Katsuya & Roebuck, John, “Corporations” in McAlinn, Gerald, ed., Japanese Business Law (Alphen aan den Rijn: Wolters Kluwer, 2007) at 91 Google Scholar. See also Nottage, Luke, Wolff, Leon & Anderson, Kent, eds., Corporate Governance in the 21st Century: Japan's Gradual Transformation (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
162 Anderson, Kent & Ryan, Trevor, “Reorganization and Bankruptcy” in McAlinn, Gerald, ed., Japanese Business Law (Alphen aan den Rijn: Wolters Kluwer, 2007) at 596 Google Scholar.
163 Schwarcz, Steven, “Commercial Trusts as Business Organizations” 13 Duke J. Comp.& Int'l L. 321 at 335 Google Scholar.
164 Legislative Council website, online: <http://www.moj.go.jp/shingi1/shingikai_shintaku.html>. The influential roles of other groups such as the Trust Companies Association of Japan (shintaku kyoukai) and the broader-based Japan Association of the Law of Trust (shintakuhou gakkai) should also not be discounted.
165 Teikoku Databank survey, online: <http://www.tdb.co.jp/report/watching/press/p040903.html>.
166 Ibid.
167 Noumi, Yoshihisa, “Theoretical Issues Regarding the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no rirontekikadai) ” (2007) 1335 Juristo 8 at 14 Google Scholar.
168 Ibid. at 8.
169 Ibid. at 9.
170 Trust Act, s. 3(1).
171 Noumi, “Theoretical Issues Regarding the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no rirontekikadai)”, supra note 167 at 9.
172 Ibid.
173 Ibid.
174 Ibid. at 11.
175 Ibid.
176 Trust Act, s. 2(8).
177 Noumi, “Theoretical Issues Regarding the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no rirontekikadai)”, supra note 167 at 11.
178 Ibid.
179 Ibid.
180 Ibid. at 12.
181 Former Trust Act, s. 31.
182 Noumi, “Theoretical Issues Regarding the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no rirontekikadai)”, supra note 167 at 12.
183 Ibid.
184 The protection given to transactions over non-registrable property remains essentially unchanged.
185 Noumi, “Theoretical Issues Regarding the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no rirontekikadai)”, supra note 167 at 13.
186 Ibid.
187 Ibid.
188 Ibid. Third parties could directly enforce claims against the trust property: former Trust Act, s. 16.
189 Ibid.
190 Ibid.
191 Ibid.
192 “External Audits for Private Investment Trusts, New Duties Through Private Members Bill Considered by Liberal Democratic Party (shibotoushin ni gaibukensa, ginrippou de gimuka kentou, jimin) ” Wall Street Journal Japan (4 April 2012), online: <http://jp.wsj.com/Japan/Politics/node_419966>>Google Scholar.
193 Ibid.
194 “One-month suspension for AIJ by Financial Services Agency for large-scale pension fund losses (kinyuuchou, AIJ toushikomon ni gyoumuteishimeirei 1kagetsu kyogaku no nenkonshisan shoumatsu)” Nikkei.com (24 February 2012), online: <http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNNSE2INK01_U2A220C1000000/?df=2&dg=1>.
195 Ibid.
196 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 14.
197 Noumi, “Theoretical Issues Regarding the New Trust Act (atarashii shintakuhou no rirontekikadai)”, supra note 167 at 8.
198 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 14.
199 Arai, “Japan”, supra note 16 at 233-234.
200 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 14.
201 Ibid. at 11.
202 See Yokoyama, Toshikazu, Marketisation and Commercialisation of Social Security (shakai hoshou no shijouka-eirika) (Tokyo: Shin Nihon Shuppansha, 2003)Google Scholar.
203 Yamashita, A., Obata, J. & Hashimoto, H., Administrative law (gyousei hou), 2nd ed. (Tokyo: Yuhikaku Arma, 2005) at 159 Google Scholar.
204 See Ministry of Justice website, online: <http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/ccr/CCR_00001.html>.
205 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 10.
206 Ibid. at 14.
207 Ibid. at 8.
208 Schwarcz, “Commercial Trusts as Business Organizations”, supra note 163 at 326.
209 For example, by interceding between beneficiaries (or shareholders) and third parties. An early example in Japan was the Secured Debenture Trust Act 1905 (tampotsuki shaken shintaku), which permitted a trustee to manage a secured debenture for the debenture holder (beneficiary) and enforce the security interest in the event that the issuer (the settlor) defaulted: Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 13.
210 Ibid. at 10.
211 Ibid. at 8.
212 Ibid.; Civil Code (minpou), Act no. 89 of 1896, s. 90.
213 Five hundred million yen, rather than 1 billion yen for corporations and 20 billion yen for financial institutions: Trust Companies Association of Japan website, online: <http://www.shintaku-kyokai.or.jp/trust/trust03_01.html>
214 Trust Business Act, s. 2(3)(ii); The effect of the distinction is that management trusts require registration rather than a license, and lower mandatory levels of capital and business insurance.
215 Trust Business Act, s. 2-4; Trust Business Act Enforcement Rules (shikou kisoku) rule 30-2(1).
216 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 7.
217 Ibid. at 8. Even beneficial interests not intended for securitisation are now deemed a “second tier” tradable security by the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
218 Some trusts such as the security-issuing trust and the limited liability trust are of an inherently commercial nature. Some trusts also entail acts that clearly attract the Commercial Code's provisions on “commercial acts” (shoukouihou). Section 502(13) of the Commercial Code provides that becoming a trustee can be regarded as a commercial act if it is done in the course of business.
219 See Taylor, Veronica L., “Continuing Transactions and Persistent Myths: Contracts in Contemporary Japan” (1993) 19 Melbourne U.L. Rev. 371 Google Scholar.
220 Kansaku, “Recent Developments and Issues in Trust Law and Related Laws (shintakuhou, shintaku kanrenhou no kinji no tenkai to kadai)”, supra note 46 at 12.
221 Ibid. at 10.
222 FSA website, online: <http://www.fsa.go.jp/singi/singi_kinyu/toushi/gijiyousi/20120307.html> at 12.