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Supreme Court of Japan generative-AI demonstration for civil trials (FY2027 budget request)

Supreme Court of Japan

last revised 2026-08-28last verified 2026-09-041 versioncountry page →

PolicyProposedProhibitionConfidentiality

map categories:Courts' own AI deploymentJudges' use of AIAI barred from deciding cases

Unverified: we have not yet opened the official document at the linked address. The record is listed for completeness and excluded from search indexes until confirmed.

The Supreme Court of Japan announced on 28 August 2026 a budget request for the 2027 financial year to build and test a generative-AI system on records of settled civil cases. AI would draft record summaries and issue lists to reduce judges' workload, with leak prevention for personal data; AI is excluded from judges' decision-making.

Applies to
judges, court-staff
Effective
See version history
Current version
Budget request announcement · 28 Aug 2026
Last verified
04 Sept 2026
Official text
news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/nd-20260828de46923

What the document requires

  • Demonstration limited to summarising records and organising issues, not decision-making.
  • Security controls to prevent leakage of party data and trade secrets.
  • Follows a January-February 2026 study by six judges using mock records, and full digitisation of civil procedure in May 2026.

Version history

VersionDateWhat changedSource
Budget request announcementcurrent2026-08-28Announced FY2027 budget request for system development and a demonstration using settled-case records.official

Sources

Cite this record

SafeLegalAI Legal AI Regulation Tracker, "Supreme Court of Japan generative-AI demonstration for civil trials (FY2027 budget request)" (Supreme Court of Japan, Budget request announcement, 2026-08-28), safelegalai.com/regulation/other/jp-supreme-court-civil-trial-ai-pilot-2026 (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.

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