Product liability problems in warnings, cautions and instructions caused by Japanese language structure

Abstract

Japan's Product Liability Law was introduced on 1 July 1995. Engineers in Japan tend to maintain a negative attitude towards product liability (PL) laws because of the extreme examples of PL litigation cases presented in the US courts. The 'concept of defect' is a crucial aspect in PL litigation. In this paper, the warning, caution, and instruction defect, a common defect encountered with Japanese products, is discussed using examples found in the marketplace, with emphasis on how the particular structure of Japanese grammar affects this type of defect. The model cases are revised to a more effective form so that the warnings and cautions serve their main purpose, which is to draw the user's attention to the potential dangers first and afterwards to describe the handling prohibitions.