SOCIAL‐CULTURAL AND STRUCTURAL INFLUENCES ON THE USE OF JAPANESE LAWYERS Available to Purchase

Social‐cultural and structural arguments have been used to explain why Japan's legal culture is different than other industrialized nations; however, both arguments lack data about client usage. This paper examines the use of Japanese lawyers by businesses in Japan. Senior executives from 572 Japanese and foreign businesses responded to a survey about their use of legal services. Japanese businesses are found to retain lawyers more frequently for legal action and corporate procedural matters, but foreign businesses are more likely to retain lawyers for government compliance activities. While both theoretical arguments help to explain Japan's legal culture, the common denominator is the small number of Japanese lawyers.