On December 4, the Trade Consortium (Secretariat: Tradewaltz) submitted a request to Minister of Justice Hiroshi Hiraguchi calling for the early implementation of amendments to the Commercial Code concerning the electronic processing of bills of lading, etc.
The request aims to accelerate the digitalization of Japan's trade practices and encourage the development of essential legal frameworks to strengthen its international competitiveness.
Current commercial law assumes that bills of lading are paper documents, and the legal status of electronic bills of lading (electronic B/L) remains unclear, raising concerns about their use by traders.
This issue is recognized internationally, and there is a global trend of UNCITRAL and the ICC recommending the adoption of model legislation, as well as progress in legal reforms in G7 countries. However, domestically, while a draft outline has been submitted, the submission of the bill has been delayed.
In response to the request, Justice Minister Hiraguchi reportedly stated that he would like to submit the bill to the Diet as soon as possible and realize the amendment to the Commercial Code.
The trade consortium is managed by TradeWaltz, which operates the trade information sharing platform "TradeWaltz," and has approximately 250 member companies from various industries related to trade operations, including trading companies, manufacturers, banks, logistics companies, and IT vendors.
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