ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of the 20th century, starting in the 1920s, there has always been a strong interest in domestic continuing trade relationships (keizokuteki torihiki)1 among legal scholars and practitioners in Japan. In the first 20 years there had been much influence of German legal doctrine upon these scholars.2 During that period the labour and lease contract were the main representatives of continuing contracts. Yet, their interest was not so much based on practical cases. It was not focused on the actual condition of these relationships, but rather on general theory. There was mostly a theoretical interest in continuing trade relationships.3
