THE RESOLUTION AND COLLECTION CORPORATION v TSUNEJI KAWABE & 6 Ors

[2023] SGHC 100 High Court (General Division) 17 April 2023 HC/S 716/2021 ( HC/SUM 334/2023 ) 7 min read

1 cases cited Cited by 2 cases

Outcome

Application dismissed

I thus dismiss the application of the Specific Defendants.

Source: [2023] SGHC 100, High Court (General Division), decided 17 April 2023. Read directly from the judgment.

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	17 April 2023
Judge	Choo Han Teck
Charges / claim	Civil Procedure
Outcome	Application dismissed
Counsel	Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, Focus Law Asia LLC, Joyce A. Tan & Partners LLC, Daniel Lim Ying Sin, Ng Yuen Siang, Shem Khoo Ching Shin, Veronica Teo Jia Hui

Source: [2023] SGHC 100, High Court (General Division), decided 17 April 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Civil Procedure — Trial — Bifurcation

Practice Areas

Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

Choo Han Teck Delivered

Counsel (7)

Eugene Thuraisingam LLP Firm Focus Law Asia LLC Firm Joyce A. Tan & Partners LLC Firm Daniel Lim Ying Sin Counsel Plaintiff Ng Yuen Siang Counsel 2nd Defendant Shem Khoo Ching Shin Counsel 4th, 6th And 7th Defendants Veronica Teo Jia Hui Counsel 4th, 6th And 7th Defendants

Parties (8)

Cloud Bliss Limited Defendant Dwell Pte Ltd Defendant Kawabe Bussan Co Ltd Defendant The Resolution and Collection Corporation (formerly known as Housing Loan Administration Corporation) Plaintiff Michiyo Kawabe Defendant Natamon Protpakorn Defendant Tsuneji Kawabe Defendant Yoshiko Kawabe Defendant

Case Significance

THE RESOLUTION AND COLLECTION CORPORATION v TSUNEJI KAWABE & 6 Ors [2023] SGHC 100 was decided by Choo Han Teck J in the General Division of the High Court on 17 April 2023 in Suit No 716 of 2021 (Summons No 334 of 2023). The plaintiff, a Japanese-incorporated company wholly owned by the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan, sought recovery connected to two Osaka District Court judgments obtained on 26 and 27 July 2001 against the late Mr Tsuneji Kawabe and Kawabe Bussan Co Ltd, carrying a judgment debt of JPY 17,483,893,290 excluding interest. The summons concerned the bifurcation of the trial involving the plaintiff and seven defendants.

[2023] SGHC 100 explained

THE RESOLUTION AND COLLECTION CORPORATION v TSUNEJI KAWABE & 6 Ors ([2023] SGHC 100) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 17 April 2023. It is categorised under Civil Procedure. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 2 other reported Singapore judgments, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 100 about?

THE RESOLUTION AND COLLECTION CORPORATION v TSUNEJI KAWABE & 6 Ors ([2023] SGHC 100) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Civil Procedure — Trial — Bifurcation”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 100?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 100 has been cited by 2 later reported Singapore judgments. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

The Resolution and Collection Corporation, a Japanese company recovering loan receivables, sought to enforce Osaka District Court judgments worth about JPY 17.48 billion against the estate and relatives of the late Tsuneji Kawabe and related parties. Certain defendants applied to bifurcate the trial so that preliminary issues on the foreign judgments would be tried first. Choo Han Teck J held that bifurcation would not be just and convenient because the issues overlapped with the knowing receipt and unjust enrichment claims, and dismissed the application.

What was The Resolution and Collection Corporation v Tsuneji Kawabe [2023] SGHC 100 about?

Decided by Choo Han Teck J on 17 April 2023, Summons No 334 of 2023 in Suit No 716 of 2021 concerned bifurcation of the trial. The plaintiff, owned by the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan, pursued recovery tied to Osaka District Court judgments.

How large was the Japanese judgment debt in The Resolution and Collection Corporation v Kawabe ([2023] SGHC 100)?

The plaintiff relied on two Osaka District Court judgments obtained on 26 and 27 July 2001 against Tsuneji Kawabe and Kawabe Bussan Co Ltd, carrying a judgment debt of JPY 17,483,893,290 excluding accruing interest.