Bengo4.com LIBRARY Now Has over 2500 Books Available Via the Cited Precedent Link Function

Bengo4.com, Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Taichiro Motoe, Representative Director, President and CEO, Lawyer; hereinafter the “Company”) announces that more than 2500 books are available via the cited precedent link function of Bengo4.com LIBRARY, the Company’s legal publication subscription service.*

This allows users to directly access the legal precedents in over 90% of the law books that include precedents that are available on Bengo4.com LIBRARY. The accessible books include Shinpan Chushaku Minpo (Japanese Civil Law Annotated, YUHIKAKU PUBLISHING CO., LTD), Wagatsuma-Ariizumi Kommentar Minpo (Commentary on Civil Law by Wagatsuma and Ariizumi, NIPPON HYORON SHA CO., LTD.), Yoken Jijitsu Manual (Ultimate Fact Manual, GYOSEI CORPORATION), and many other major books that are routinely referenced.

This is expected to be an innovative change in the way that lawyers conduct research.

*As of July 2025

■ Background

Research using law books and precedent data is an indispensable part of the everyday work of lawyers. Retrieving data about individual cases based on citation information to research applicable precedents is time and labor-intensive. Therefore, after establishing a system for integrating the two core pillars of its products, book data and precedent data, the Company began offering the cited precedent link function. This integration improves the accuracy of data and the speed of linkages, enabling the Company to provide a more practical research experience.

■ Cited precedent link function

The cited precedent link function associates the huge volume of precedent data covered by Hanreihisho with the approximately 460,000 precedents cited in law books that can be viewed on Bengo4.com LIBRARY to enable users to reach the precedents from the books. This function has opened the way for efficient research for books and precedents and has helped substantially shorten the time involved in legal research. In addition, it prevents search errors caused by differences in style of notation or descriptions of precedents, which vary from book to book. This means that users can enjoy greater precision in their legal research.

* Viewing details of precedents requires a subscription to Hanreihisho.

■ What is Bengo4.com LIBRARY?: https://library.bengo4.com/about

It is a legal research service that enables users to search approx. 3,500 law books and journals (as of July 2025) using keywords and AI-based natural language processing technology and view the books they wish to. The service saves lawyers the time they would otherwise spend searching for information in very thick law books, enabling them to complete tasks such as considering the best course of action for dealing with a case and preparing the necessary documents more efficiently.

■ About LIC Co., Ltd. and Hanreihisho: https://www.hanreihisho.com/

LIC Co., Ltd. provides the Hanreihisho database of precedents and other services and holds an overwhelming market share. Since its establishment in 1996, it has made a significant contribution to the digitalization of the legal community, earning strong trust and an excellent brand reputation. In October 2023, it joined the group led by Bengo4.com Inc.

A feature of Hanreihisho is that it not only offers a mere precedent search function, but allows users to quickly view information related to precedents. This is supported by the fact that it covers not only precedents but also commentaries, academic papers, articles and other related information, as well as by the information tracking function. In addition, it offers a wealth of functions that deliver convenience for users. They include the cloud-based Electronic Archive, which organizes and stores important data discoveries, the Archive of Current Laws and Regulations, which enables users to view provisions of laws and regulations by designating the month and the year, and the Hanreihisho Journal, Japan’s first full-scale juridical journal.