This article considers the growing trend for Japanese entities to select international arbitration as the primary means for resolving international business disputes. In particular, this paper focuses on the following four factors which it identifies as being significant drivers behind this trend: (1) increasing maturity of Japanese parties in terms of their arbitration experience; (2) a growth in awareness of arbitration associated the rapid expansion of Japan’s investment treaty programme; (3) the establishment of a locally based arbitration talent pool, and (4) improvements in the domestic legal, educational and physical infrastructure for arbitrations seated in Japan.