[April Dream] Dreaming of the Day We Stand in Civil Law Courts Worldwide: AILEX, Japan's AI Legal OS, and its Global Vision.
AILEX LLC announces its dream to deliver "AILEX," an AI legal OS, to civil law legal firms worldwide, leveraging its experience in Japan.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 14:50
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 2, 2026 at 12:58 (1486h 8m after Published)
Our company endorses April Dream, a project that aims to make April 1st a day for companies to announce their dreams. This press release is AILEX LLC's dream.
AILEX LLC (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Partner: Tokatsu Uemura), which develops and operates "AILEX," an AI legal SaaS for lawyers, announces its dream of delivering AILEX as a "verifiable AI legal OS" to law firms in civil law jurisdictions around the world.
https://ailex.co.jp
https://users.ailex.co.jp
## Our Dream — To Deliver AILEX to All Civil Law Countries
Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, France. Many countries around the world operate under "civil law," where laws are primarily based on codes. Lawyers in civil law jurisdictions have been engaged for centuries in the practice of interpreting statutes, preparing vast amounts of documents, and constructing each argument.
However, the tools supporting this endeavor are still paper, fax, and human effort.
AILEX wants to change this situation. Our dream is that AILEX, which started in a small law firm in Japan, will one day be present on the desktops of lawyers in Taipei, on the tablets of legal professionals in Berlin, and on the smartphones of lawyers in Seoul.
## Why AI Thrives in Code-Based Countries
In common law countries, precedents form the core of the law, but in civil law countries, codified statutes are the foundation of legal practice. Japan's Civil Code, Germany's BGB, Taiwan's Civil Code — all start from systematically compiled codes.
This structure is highly compatible with AI. By starting with statutes, referring to precedents, and constructing arguments tailored to specific cases, AI can support this workflow, allowing lawyers to focus on "making judgments for their clients."
AILEX has already implemented over 70 types of AI document templates across 16 legal categories, 20 AI agents, and e-Gov legal API integration in Japan. We will connect this system to the legal codes of various countries and deliver "statute-driven AI legal support" to the world.
## The "Three Pains" Shared by Lawyers in Civil Law Jurisdictions
The challenges AILEX has addressed in Japan are common to civil law jurisdictions.
First, the sheer volume of documents. In Japan, the use of mints (Civil Court Document Electronic Submission System) will become mandatory on May 21, 2026, yet a survey shows that 65.5% of lawyers have no experience using mints. In South Korea, the utilization rate of electronic litigation exceeds 80% in civil cases, and in Germany, electronic submission by lawyers became mandatory in 2022. The "transition from paper to digital" is a structural challenge common to civil law jurisdictions.
Second, the isolation of small firms. Approximately 93.5% of law firms in Japan have 5 or fewer lawyers. They lack IT staff and have limited investment capacity. The situation is similar in Taiwan and Germany, where there is a demand for AI tools that small firms can use immediately.
Third, concerns about AI reliability. Worries such as "Is it okay to submit AI-generated documents to court?" and "Will client information be learned by AI?" are common across borders. In civil law jurisdictions, where confidentiality is strict, technical assurance of reliability is essential.
## The "May 2026 Cliff" — The Reality Japanese Lawyers Face Now
Before AILEX can dream of the world, there is a reality in Japan that must be overcome.
On May 21, 2026, the revised Code of Civil Procedure will be fully enforced, making online submission of civil court documents by lawyers a legal obligation. Electronic filing via mints (Civil Court Document Electronic Submission System) will become mandatory, and paper submission of documents will, in principle, be treated as a procedural violation — inadmissible.
The impact of this institutional change is eloquently told by the numbers. According to a survey by Bengoshi.com (conducted in 2024, n=316), 65.5% of lawyers responded that they "have never used mints in actual court cases." Only 8.9% have used it five times or more. With the mandatory deadline approaching, the majority of lawyers have no practical experience.
Even more serious is the structural issue that lawyers' work habits are rooted in paper. 98.1% of lawyers use FAX in some form. 57.6% of lawyers prioritize paper case records. For many lawyers, complaints, preparatory documents, and evidence are still "created on paper, submitted on paper, and read on paper."
As of October 2025, out of approximately 47,000 lawyers nationwide, about 30,000 (about 64%) had registered for a mints account. Even after the Japan Federation of Bar Associations sent postcards to all members to provide an opportunity for mass registration, about 17,000 remained unregistered. There are concerns that the fact that paper submission will no longer be possible is not sufficiently understood.
In addition, TreeeS (Next-Generation Civil Court Procedure System), which was initially developed as the "mainstay of court IT modernization," has faced difficulties in development due to defects in the testing phase, and its introduction has been postponed until fiscal year 2027 or later. The full enforcement in May 2026 will be met with a provisional system that has modified the existing mints. Among lawyers, anxiety is spreading about "facing the real thing with a transitional system."
And the most difficult to reach are small firms with 1 to 5 lawyers, which account for over 80% of all law firms. They lack IT-savvy staff. They have no one to consult. They have to read manuals in between tasks and deal with the system alone. They are about to be swallowed by the wave of digitalization, still burdened by mountains of paper, which we describe as "law firms renting warehouses."
AILEX was born as a tool to overcome this "May 2026 Cliff." Automatic PDF generation required for mints submission, AI-assisted evidence explanation creation, pre-submission error checking, and packaging of mints-compliant files — AILEX aims to be integrated into the daily operations of small firms as a tool that "stands next to mints." Although direct integration is not possible as there is no external API for mints, AILEX reduces the burden on lawyers by thoroughly streamlining the workflow before uploading to mints.
This experience is not just "a track record in the Japanese market" for us.
In the digitalization of court procedures progressing in various civil law countries — South Korea's electronic litigation, Germany's beA (Lawyer Electronic Communication System), Taiwan's electronic litigation service — the experience of "supporting lawyers in the midst of institutional change and delivering easy-to-use tools" directly becomes a blueprint for overseas expansion.
## Three Technological Foundations for Global Competition
To ensure this dream doesn't remain a mere wish, AILEX has three weapons.
- "PIIMasker (Personal Information Automatic Masking Technology)" automatically replaces client names, addresses, case numbers, etc., with placeholders before sending to external AI, and restores them upon receiving a response. The fact that lawyers do not need to explain consent to clients every time they use AI is a decisive differentiating factor in civil law jurisdictions where confidentiality is strict.
- "AI Fact Check" is a function that automatically verifies the content of AI-generated documents using an external AI search engine. AI's "plausible lies" are fatal in legal documents, and integrating generation and verification provides a foundation of trust.
- And "IETF Internet-Draft." AILEX has formulated "VAP Framework" to cryptographically verify the provenance and transformation process of AI-generated content, and "LAP" specialized for legal AI, and submitted them to the international standardization organization IETF. A survey by five independent organizations evaluated this as the world's first IETF Internet-Draft specialized in legal tech AI.
## From Shibuya to the World's Courts
AILEX is operated by a company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Compared to major legal tech companies, our scale and financial resources are limited.
However, we are confident.
What lawyers in civil law jurisdictions need is not a giant system, but a reliable AI partner that can immediately ease the burden of document creation.
Our experience of running alongside small firms amidst the historical institutional change of mints mandatory use in the Japanese legal community. Our experience of bridging an industry with over 98% FAX dependency to digital, one firm at a time. This accumulation of experience is our greatest asset for overseas expansion.
First, we will build a track record in Japan, then move to Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and then Germany.
## The View AILEX Sees in 2030
Lawyers in Tokyo are drafting complaints with AILEX.
Lawyers in Taipei are drafting statements in the Traditional Chinese version.
Lawyers in Seoul are running AI Fact Check in the Korean version.
Lawyers in Berlin are drafting Schriftsatz in the German version.
**Behind every screen, PIIMasker protects client information, and the VAP Framework records the AI's decision provenance.**
Not "AI generated it," but "the lawyer verified it." A world where that proof is valid across borders.
Not the convenience of AI, but the verifiability of AI.
With this philosophy, a small company in Shibuya aims for the civil law courts of the world.
## About "April Dream"
"April Dream" is a project by PR TIMES where companies announce their dreams for the future on April 1st. We endorse this activity and are announcing AILEX's dream.
## About AILEX
AILEX is an AI legal SaaS for lawyers, based on the concept of a "verifiable AI legal OS," providing integrated functions necessary for litigation practice, such as AI document generation, AI fact-checking, case management, and mints submission support.
Official HP: https://ailex.co.jp
SaaS: https://users.ailex.co.jp
iOS App: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6760126068
IETF Internet-Draft: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ailex-vap-legal-ai-provenance/
Official LINE: https://lin.ee/P9JAWZp
* AILEX is a tool to support lawyers' work efficiency and does not perform legal services based on Article 72 of the Lawyers Act.
AI-generated content is for reference only, and final confirmation, correction, and judgment must be made by a lawyer.
## Company Profile
Company Name: AILEX LLC
Location: Shibuya Dogenzaka Tokyu Building, 1-10-8 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043
Representative Partner: Tokatsu Uemura
Business Manager: Shintaro Yamakawa
Advisory Law Firm: Esora Law Office
Phone Number: 03-6821-7462
Email Address: info@ailex.co.jp
Official HP: https://ailex.co.jp
AILEX LLC (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Partner: Tokatsu Uemura), which develops and operates "AILEX," an AI legal SaaS for lawyers, announces its dream of delivering AILEX as a "verifiable AI legal OS" to law firms in civil law jurisdictions around the world.
https://ailex.co.jp
https://users.ailex.co.jp
## Our Dream — To Deliver AILEX to All Civil Law Countries
Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, France. Many countries around the world operate under "civil law," where laws are primarily based on codes. Lawyers in civil law jurisdictions have been engaged for centuries in the practice of interpreting statutes, preparing vast amounts of documents, and constructing each argument.
However, the tools supporting this endeavor are still paper, fax, and human effort.
AILEX wants to change this situation. Our dream is that AILEX, which started in a small law firm in Japan, will one day be present on the desktops of lawyers in Taipei, on the tablets of legal professionals in Berlin, and on the smartphones of lawyers in Seoul.
## Why AI Thrives in Code-Based Countries
In common law countries, precedents form the core of the law, but in civil law countries, codified statutes are the foundation of legal practice. Japan's Civil Code, Germany's BGB, Taiwan's Civil Code — all start from systematically compiled codes.
This structure is highly compatible with AI. By starting with statutes, referring to precedents, and constructing arguments tailored to specific cases, AI can support this workflow, allowing lawyers to focus on "making judgments for their clients."
AILEX has already implemented over 70 types of AI document templates across 16 legal categories, 20 AI agents, and e-Gov legal API integration in Japan. We will connect this system to the legal codes of various countries and deliver "statute-driven AI legal support" to the world.
## The "Three Pains" Shared by Lawyers in Civil Law Jurisdictions
The challenges AILEX has addressed in Japan are common to civil law jurisdictions.
First, the sheer volume of documents. In Japan, the use of mints (Civil Court Document Electronic Submission System) will become mandatory on May 21, 2026, yet a survey shows that 65.5% of lawyers have no experience using mints. In South Korea, the utilization rate of electronic litigation exceeds 80% in civil cases, and in Germany, electronic submission by lawyers became mandatory in 2022. The "transition from paper to digital" is a structural challenge common to civil law jurisdictions.
Second, the isolation of small firms. Approximately 93.5% of law firms in Japan have 5 or fewer lawyers. They lack IT staff and have limited investment capacity. The situation is similar in Taiwan and Germany, where there is a demand for AI tools that small firms can use immediately.
Third, concerns about AI reliability. Worries such as "Is it okay to submit AI-generated documents to court?" and "Will client information be learned by AI?" are common across borders. In civil law jurisdictions, where confidentiality is strict, technical assurance of reliability is essential.
## The "May 2026 Cliff" — The Reality Japanese Lawyers Face Now
Before AILEX can dream of the world, there is a reality in Japan that must be overcome.
On May 21, 2026, the revised Code of Civil Procedure will be fully enforced, making online submission of civil court documents by lawyers a legal obligation. Electronic filing via mints (Civil Court Document Electronic Submission System) will become mandatory, and paper submission of documents will, in principle, be treated as a procedural violation — inadmissible.
The impact of this institutional change is eloquently told by the numbers. According to a survey by Bengoshi.com (conducted in 2024, n=316), 65.5% of lawyers responded that they "have never used mints in actual court cases." Only 8.9% have used it five times or more. With the mandatory deadline approaching, the majority of lawyers have no practical experience.
Even more serious is the structural issue that lawyers' work habits are rooted in paper. 98.1% of lawyers use FAX in some form. 57.6% of lawyers prioritize paper case records. For many lawyers, complaints, preparatory documents, and evidence are still "created on paper, submitted on paper, and read on paper."
As of October 2025, out of approximately 47,000 lawyers nationwide, about 30,000 (about 64%) had registered for a mints account. Even after the Japan Federation of Bar Associations sent postcards to all members to provide an opportunity for mass registration, about 17,000 remained unregistered. There are concerns that the fact that paper submission will no longer be possible is not sufficiently understood.
In addition, TreeeS (Next-Generation Civil Court Procedure System), which was initially developed as the "mainstay of court IT modernization," has faced difficulties in development due to defects in the testing phase, and its introduction has been postponed until fiscal year 2027 or later. The full enforcement in May 2026 will be met with a provisional system that has modified the existing mints. Among lawyers, anxiety is spreading about "facing the real thing with a transitional system."
And the most difficult to reach are small firms with 1 to 5 lawyers, which account for over 80% of all law firms. They lack IT-savvy staff. They have no one to consult. They have to read manuals in between tasks and deal with the system alone. They are about to be swallowed by the wave of digitalization, still burdened by mountains of paper, which we describe as "law firms renting warehouses."
AILEX was born as a tool to overcome this "May 2026 Cliff." Automatic PDF generation required for mints submission, AI-assisted evidence explanation creation, pre-submission error checking, and packaging of mints-compliant files — AILEX aims to be integrated into the daily operations of small firms as a tool that "stands next to mints." Although direct integration is not possible as there is no external API for mints, AILEX reduces the burden on lawyers by thoroughly streamlining the workflow before uploading to mints.
This experience is not just "a track record in the Japanese market" for us.
In the digitalization of court procedures progressing in various civil law countries — South Korea's electronic litigation, Germany's beA (Lawyer Electronic Communication System), Taiwan's electronic litigation service — the experience of "supporting lawyers in the midst of institutional change and delivering easy-to-use tools" directly becomes a blueprint for overseas expansion.
## Three Technological Foundations for Global Competition
To ensure this dream doesn't remain a mere wish, AILEX has three weapons.
- "PIIMasker (Personal Information Automatic Masking Technology)" automatically replaces client names, addresses, case numbers, etc., with placeholders before sending to external AI, and restores them upon receiving a response. The fact that lawyers do not need to explain consent to clients every time they use AI is a decisive differentiating factor in civil law jurisdictions where confidentiality is strict.
- "AI Fact Check" is a function that automatically verifies the content of AI-generated documents using an external AI search engine. AI's "plausible lies" are fatal in legal documents, and integrating generation and verification provides a foundation of trust.
- And "IETF Internet-Draft." AILEX has formulated "VAP Framework" to cryptographically verify the provenance and transformation process of AI-generated content, and "LAP" specialized for legal AI, and submitted them to the international standardization organization IETF. A survey by five independent organizations evaluated this as the world's first IETF Internet-Draft specialized in legal tech AI.
## From Shibuya to the World's Courts
AILEX is operated by a company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Compared to major legal tech companies, our scale and financial resources are limited.
However, we are confident.
What lawyers in civil law jurisdictions need is not a giant system, but a reliable AI partner that can immediately ease the burden of document creation.
Our experience of running alongside small firms amidst the historical institutional change of mints mandatory use in the Japanese legal community. Our experience of bridging an industry with over 98% FAX dependency to digital, one firm at a time. This accumulation of experience is our greatest asset for overseas expansion.
First, we will build a track record in Japan, then move to Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and then Germany.
## The View AILEX Sees in 2030
Lawyers in Tokyo are drafting complaints with AILEX.
Lawyers in Taipei are drafting statements in the Traditional Chinese version.
Lawyers in Seoul are running AI Fact Check in the Korean version.
Lawyers in Berlin are drafting Schriftsatz in the German version.
**Behind every screen, PIIMasker protects client information, and the VAP Framework records the AI's decision provenance.**
Not "AI generated it," but "the lawyer verified it." A world where that proof is valid across borders.
Not the convenience of AI, but the verifiability of AI.
With this philosophy, a small company in Shibuya aims for the civil law courts of the world.
## About "April Dream"
"April Dream" is a project by PR TIMES where companies announce their dreams for the future on April 1st. We endorse this activity and are announcing AILEX's dream.
## About AILEX
AILEX is an AI legal SaaS for lawyers, based on the concept of a "verifiable AI legal OS," providing integrated functions necessary for litigation practice, such as AI document generation, AI fact-checking, case management, and mints submission support.
Official HP: https://ailex.co.jp
SaaS: https://users.ailex.co.jp
iOS App: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6760126068
IETF Internet-Draft: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ailex-vap-legal-ai-provenance/
Official LINE: https://lin.ee/P9JAWZp
* AILEX is a tool to support lawyers' work efficiency and does not perform legal services based on Article 72 of the Lawyers Act.
AI-generated content is for reference only, and final confirmation, correction, and judgment must be made by a lawyer.
## Company Profile
Company Name: AILEX LLC
Location: Shibuya Dogenzaka Tokyu Building, 1-10-8 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0043
Representative Partner: Tokatsu Uemura
Business Manager: Shintaro Yamakawa
Advisory Law Firm: Esora Law Office
Phone Number: 03-6821-7462
Email Address: info@ailex.co.jp
Official HP: https://ailex.co.jp
FAQ
Which countries specifically constitute the "civil law jurisdictions" AILEX is targeting?
Countries like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, France, and Singapore are mentioned, referring to nations where laws are primarily based on codified statutes.
What is the "May 2026 Cliff"?
It refers to the institutional change in Japan where online submission of civil court documents becomes mandatory for lawyers from May 21, 2026, with many lawyers currently unprepared.
What does "verifiable AI" mean for AILEX?
It's a system that ensures AI reliability and transparency through personal information masking, fact-checking, and cryptographically verifiable provenance of AI-generated documents.