The pursuit of medical malpractice in the courts is gaining momentum in Japan just as it has been in the United States, and consequently, the number of medical lawsuits is tending to increase year by year.
 However, the problem with medical lawsuits is that the trial period is too long, which places an excessive burden on the plaintiff, and obstructs the justice of the medical lawsuit. In a medical lawsuit in particular, these three processes: 1) claim scheduling period, 2) taking of evidence procedure, and 3) appraisal, cause prolongation of iawsuits. The Japan Supreme Court and District Courts all over the country are instaling various changes in order to eliminate problems in each of these processes, which are causing prolangation in order to facilitate the progress of swift and appropriate medical lawsuits. The ideas of the Medical Affairs Lawsuit Committee of the Japan Supreme Court and the Department of Medical Affairs of the Tokyo District Court are introduced. Finally, subjects that should be ameliorated from the justice side and the medical treatment side will be considered.

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