Statutes
Act on Environmental Impact Assessment
The Act on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA Act) requires environmental impact assessments for large-scale public and private projects that may have significant environmental effects. Enacted in …
Act on General Rules for Employment (Rōdōsha Haken Hō)
The Act on General Rules for Employment (commonly known as the Worker Dispatch Act) regulates the practice of worker dispatching (temporary agency work) in Japan. Originally enacted in 1985, the Act …
Act on Special Measures for Child Rearing Allowance
The Act on Special Measures for Child Rearing Allowance established a new system of financial support for families raising children. Enacted in 2022 as part of Japan’s efforts to address …
Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI)
The Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) is Japan’s comprehensive data protection legislation. Originally enacted in 2003 and substantially amended in 2020, the APPI regulates …
Antimonopoly Act (Dokusen Kinshi Hō)
The Antimonopoly Act (Dokusen Kinshi Hō) is Japan’s primary competition law statute. Enacted in 1947 during the Allied occupation, the Act prohibits monopolisation, unreasonable restraint of …
Attorney Act (Bengoshi Hō)
The Attorney Act (Bengoshi Hō) governs the profession of attorneys (bengoshi) in Japan. Enacted in 1949, the Act establishes the qualifications, licensing, duties, and regulatory framework for …
Banking Act (Ginkōhō)
The Banking Act (Ginkōhō) governs the regulation and supervision of banking institutions in Japan. Enacted in 1981, the Act establishes the licensing requirements for banks, the scope of banking …
Bankruptcy Act (Hasanshō Hō)
The Bankruptcy Act (Hasanshō Hō) governs corporate and personal bankruptcy proceedings in Japan. Enacted in 2004 to replace the 1922 law, the modern Bankruptcy Act introduced new procedures for …
Basic Environment Act (Kankyō Kihon Hō)
The Basic Environment Act (Kankyō Kihon Hō) is Japan’s framework environmental legislation. Enacted in 1993, the Act establishes the basic principles of environmental policy, the …
Child Welfare Act (Jidō Fukushi Hō)
The Child Welfare Act (Jidō Fukushi Hō) establishes the framework for child welfare and protection in Japan. Enacted in 1947, the Act defines the rights of children, the duties of parents, and the …
Civil Rehabilitation Act (Minji Saisei Hō)
The Civil Rehabilitation Act (Minji Saisei Hō) provides a debtor in possession restructuring procedure for small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan. Enacted in 2000, the Act was designed to provide …
Code of Civil Procedure (Minji Soshō Hō)
The Code of Civil Procedure (Minji Soshō Hō) governs civil litigation in Japan. Originally enacted in 1890 based on German models, the Code was comprehensively revised in 1996 to modernise …
Commercial Code (Shōhō)
The Commercial Code (Shōhō) was enacted in 1899 as one of the foundational statutes of Japan’s modern legal system. Modelled on the German Commercial Code, it governed commercial transactions, …
Constitution of Japan (Nihonkoku Kenpō)
The Constitution of Japan, enacted on 3 May 1948, is the supreme law of Japan. Drafted during the Allied occupation, it replaced the Meiji Constitution of 1889. The Constitution is notable for its …
Consumption Tax Act (Shōhizei Hō)
The Consumption Tax Act (Shōhizei Hō) introduced Japan’s value-added tax system in 1989. The consumption tax is a broad-based indirect tax levied on the transfer of goods and provision of …
Copyright Act (Chosakukenhō)
The Copyright Act (Chosakukenhō) governs copyright and related rights in Japan. Enacted in 1970, the Act provides protection for original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, as well as …
Corporation Tax Act (Hōjinzei Hō)
The Corporation Tax Act (Hōjinzei Hō) governs the taxation of corporations in Japan. Enacted in 1965, the Act establishes the framework for calculating corporate taxable income, tax rates, and various …
Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA)
The Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) governs the regulation of securities markets and financial instruments in Japan. Enacted in 2006, the FIEA consolidated and modernised previous …
Health Insurance Act (Kenkō Hoken Hō)
The Health Insurance Act (Kenkō Hoken Hō) establishes the framework for employee health insurance in Japan. Originally enacted in 1922 and substantially revised multiple times, the Act provides health …
Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act governs the entry, stay, and departure of foreign nationals in Japan. Originally enacted in 1951, the Act has been amended numerous times to address …
Income Tax Act (Shotokuzei Hō)
The Income Tax Act (Shotokuzei Hō) governs the taxation of individual income in Japan. Enacted in 1965, the Act establishes the framework for calculating taxable income, tax rates, deductions, and …
Insurance Business Act (Hoken Gyōmu Hō)
The Insurance Business Act (Hoken Gyōmu Hō) governs the regulation of insurance companies in Japan. Enacted in 1995, the Act consolidates the regulation of life insurance and non-life insurance …
Judicial Scrivener Act (Shihō Shoshi Hō)
The Judicial Scrivener Act (Shihō Shoshi Hō) governs the profession of judicial scriveners (shihō shoshi) in Japan. Judicial scriveners are licensed legal professionals who specialise in real estate …
Labour Contracts Act (Rōdō Keiyaku Hō)
The Labour Contracts Act (Rōdō Keiyaku Hō) enacted in 2007 codified and modernised the law governing individual labour contracts in Japan. The Act consolidated and clarified rules on dismissal, …
Labour Standards Act (Rōdō Kijun Hō)
The Labour Standards Act (Rōdō Kijun Hō) is the foundational statute of Japanese labour law, establishing minimum standards for wages, working hours, rest periods, holidays, and working conditions. …
Labour Union Act (Rōdō Kumiai Hō)
The Labour Union Act (Rōdō Kumiai Hō) protects the right of workers to organise and engage in collective bargaining. Enacted in 1949, the Act guarantees the freedom to form and join labour unions, …
Long-term Care Insurance Act (Kaigo Hoken Hō)
The Long-term Care Insurance Act (Kaigo Hoken Hō) established Japan’s social insurance system for funding long-term care for the elderly and disabled. Enacted in 1997 and implemented in 2000, …
Medical Care Act (Iryō Hō)
The Medical Care Act (Iryō Hō) governs the provision of medical services in Japan. Enacted in 1948, the Act establishes the framework for hospitals, clinics, medical practitioners, and medical care …
Nationality Act (Kokuseki Hō)
The Nationality Act (Kokuseki Hō) governs the acquisition and loss of Japanese nationality. Enacted in 1950, the Act establishes the principles of jus sanguinis (citizenship by descent) as the primary …
Patent Act (Tokkyohō)
The Patent Act (Tokkyohō) governs the grant and protection of patents in Japan. Enacted in 1959, the Act establishes the requirements for patentability (novelty, inventive step, industrial …
The Civil Execution Act (Japan)
Introduction The Civil Execution Act (Minji Shikkō Hō, Act No. 4 of 1979, effective 1 October 1980) is Japan’s comprehensive statute governing the enforcement of civil judgments and other …
The Code of Criminal Procedure (Japan)
Introduction The Code of Criminal Procedure (Keiji Soshō Hō, Act No. 131 of 1948, effective 1 January 1949) is Japan’s primary procedural statute for the investigation, prosecution, trial, and …
The Companies Act of Japan — Overview
Introduction The Companies Act (Kaisha Hō, Act No. 86 of 2005, effective 1 May 2006) is Japan’s primary corporate statute. It consolidated and modernised the corporate provisions formerly …
The Japanese Civil Code — Overview
Introduction The Japanese Civil Code (Minpō, Act No. 89 of 1896; Act No. 9 of 1898) is the foundational instrument of Japanese private law. Modelled principally on the first draft of the German Civil …
The Japanese Penal Code — Overview
Introduction The Penal Code (Keihō, Act No. 45 of 1907, effective 1 October 1908) is Japan’s principal criminal statute. It replaced the “Old Penal Code” (Kyū Keihō) of 1880, which …
Trademark Act (Shōhyōhō)
The Trademark Act (Shōhyōhō) governs the registration and protection of trademarks in Japan. Enacted in 1959, the Act establishes the requirements for trademark registration, the procedures for …