VJ Home: Archive: Abstract Article (2000) 4 VJ 2, 132-146 Practical and Theoretical Implications of the Lex Mercatoria for Japan: CENTRAL's Empirical Study on the Use of Transnational Law Luke Nottage* CENTRAL's work should be praised as a major contribution to uncovering more about a key aspect of this process in commercial relations among private actors, and indeed sometimes states, over recent decades. It adds a much more solid quantitative basis on which to determine the usage of Transnational Law or the new lex mercatoria, and complements more qualitative studies touching more briefly on this problem. CENTRAL's study suggests that the new lex mercatoria remains alive and well, and relevant also to countries like Japan. In particular, it demonstrates that this topic deserves ongoing scrutiny. Hopefully, experts in Japan will be prompted to keep building on pioneering research on the lex mercatoria going back several decades. * Jean Monnet Fellow, European University Institute Law Department; Barrister of the High Court of New Zealand; Arbitrator, formerly Associate Professor of Transnational Law, Kyushu University (Japan).