Tokyo Bar Association's 'Shunju-kai' Holds Legal Tech Seminar Addressing Changes in Legal Practice in the 'mints' Era, Featuring Legalscape COO Tsuganesawa

Legalscape, Inc. (HQ: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Itsuki Yagita) announced that its Director and COO, Yoshiyuki Tsuganesawa, delivered a lecture on legal practice in the era of generative AI and the utilization of domain-specific AI at the 'Legal Tech Training Seminar for the Mints Era' hosted by the 'Shunju-kai' group of the Tokyo Bar Association on March 17, 2026.

■ Background of the Seminar
With the upcoming full enforcement of the revised Code of Civil Procedure on May 21, 2026 (Phase 3), adapting to the digitalization of court procedures has become an urgent issue for legal practice. The use of IT tools in daily tasks, such as online filings via the court system 'mints' and document submissions using PDF data, is expected to increase significantly. Against this backdrop, the Shunju-kai organized this training seminar, with support from the Legal Practice Digitalization Promotion Association (LPDX), to learn both practical responses to the revised code and the latest trends in legal tech.

■ Content of Legalscape's Lecture
Tsuganesawa explained how to use legal-specific AI in practice during the generative AI era, accompanied by product demonstrations. Key points included:
- The Necessity of Specialized Legal AI: Emphasized that legal practice requires citing sources, and AI summaries without citations cannot be used directly. Also noted that much of Japanese legal information is not available on the open web, thus not included in general AI training data.
- Introduction to Legal Research AI: Demonstrated the legal research AI, powered by proprietary AI technology matching the level of the Japanese bar exam, which provides summaries and cited literature upon inputting questions.
- Trusted Content Infrastructure: Introduced a database integrated with over 4,400 books and magazines, approximately 8,000 laws, 3,000 guidelines, and judicial precedents, built through partnerships with 43 publishers.
- The Structure of What AI Cannot Replace: Argued that the core value chain of law—'legal information (primary sources)' and 'professional judgment'—cannot be replaced by AI, and that the value of trusted legal information and professional legal expertise is increasing in the AI era.
- Practical Perspectives on Using AI: Explained the importance of using high-reliability, legal-specific AI for research on legal issues while using general-purpose AI for routine administrative tasks.

■ Speaker Profile
Yoshiyuki Tsuganesawa, Director and COO, Legalscape, Inc.
Completed Master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Tokyo. Engaged in management consulting and business turnaround at Industrial Growth Platform, Inc. (IGPI) before joining Legalscape in 2019.

■ Comment
'In an era where generative AI is evolving rapidly, the question of how legal professionals should engage with AI is becoming increasingly important. At the Shunju-kai seminar, we conveyed the unique strengths of domain-specific legal AI and methods for legal research using actual demos. I am confident that as AI evolves, the need and importance of trusted legal information foundations and responsible judgments by lawyers will grow. Legalscape will continue to evolve as a platform that supports the intellectual production of legal professionals.'

■ About the Legal Research Platform 'Legalscape'
'Legalscape' is a legal research platform launched in June 2021. It uses AI to instantly summarize necessary legal information for rapid access. In September 2023, it introduced Japan's first AI research function combining generative AI with proprietary natural language processing technology.