No.22   February 1, 2001   Cyber Rules:The Rules Governing E-Commerce and the Challenges Facing Japan   Takeshi SHINOHARA        As electronic commerce via the Internet ("e-commerce") has grown, so has the realization of the importance of the various rules governing e-commerce ("cyber rules"). Because most of the current commercial rules take no account of the specific nature of e-commerce, situations arise that the current system had never envisioned or in which the rules even impede the development of e-commerce.    By its very nature, e-commerce is a global phenomenon unrestricted by national boundaries. Therefore cyber rules must also be global. This paper considers the kind of cyber rules needed in nine different areas: (1) contract validity and digital certification; (2) consumer protection; (3) the protection of privacy; (4) security; (5) taxes and customs duties; (6) intellectual property rights; (7) business model patents; (8) Internet domain names; and (9) intermediary responsibility.    There is also the issue of who should be responsible for devising cyber rules and how they should be determined ("rule governance"). This paper analyzes the structure of governance from the following four points of view: (1) the kind of changes that are taking place in terms of self-regulation (voluntary regulation by industry), statutory regulation and the technological approach; (2) the changing roles of the private sector, government and international organizations; (3) the main features of the governance models used in the United States, Europe and Japan; and (4) the question of whether global cyber rules are going to converge as a single-rule model or interact as a multiple-rule model.    The paper assumes three possible scenarios for the changing structure of cyber rule governance: (1) increasing globalization; (2) a revival of the authority of the nation state; and (3) changes in the features of market capitalism. Inevitably, changing rules can be expected to lead to the emergence of numerous and diverse global platforms.    If Japan is to recover the ground it has lost in this area, it urgently needs more people capable of determining cyber rule policy and the markets in which it is applied. And because the private sector leads the way, political and administrative systems need to be reformed to allow the private sector to play a greater role. Contents I Cyber Rules in the Limelight 1 Cyber Rule Problems in the Past 2 Current Cyber Rule Problems II Cyber Rule Systems III Structure of Rule Governance 1 Self-Regulation, Government Regulation and the Technological Approach 2 Role of the Private Sector, Government and International Organizations 3 Regional Models of Governance in the US, Europe, and Japan 4 Are Cyber Rules Going to Converge As a Single-Rule Model? IV Issues Facing the Japanese Government and Japanese Companies GO to PDF