JapanInsolvencyAs of 15 February 2021, the government has not made any changes to insolvencylegislation.Has thegovernment madeany changesto insolvencylegislation?ContractualIssuesExecution of Contracts•It is common in Japan for companies to execute contracts by signing and/or affixing acompany stamp on paper documents. In many cases, even before Covid-19, contractparties sometimes (i) executed agreements separately and then exchanged PDFcopies on the contract date, and then (ii) sent the originals to be combined as a singleagreement. This approach is legally effective and would be helpful in the Covid-19situation.•On 19 June 2020, the government issued a Q&A about contracts without a stamp onpaper documents, which suggests that certain approaches including (i) keeping emailexchange records, (ii) keeping a counterparty’s KYC information (if it is a newcounterparty) and (iii) using electronic signatures or electronic authorisation serviceswould be helpful as evidence of the execution of contracts.•An electronic contract with electronic signatures without any paper-based documentsis also permitted under Japanese law, save for certain exceptions, such as individualguarantees for a third-party business. The Covid-19 pandemic should encourage thegreater use of electronic contracts by Japanese companies. On 17 July 2020, thegovernment issued a Q&A about electronic signatures to facilitate the use ofelectronic contracts.What measureshave been takento reinforcecontracts?Force Majeure•For a summary of issues on force majeure and frustration in the context Covid-19,please visit our website here.Subcontractors84•On 10 March 2020, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (“METI”) announced ithad requested companies to take special care in transactions with mid- or small-sizesubcontractors (see more here), including (i) refraining from actions delaying suppliesto them, (ii) bearing appropriate increased costs derived from price increases in rawmaterials and/or extra work of subcontractors, (iii) making payments on their due date,and (iv) refraining from cancelling or changing purchase orders.•The Antimonopoly Act and Subcontractors Act also prohibit certain unfair tradepractices and would still apply anyhow.Government measures in key jurisdictions
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