Administrative Complaint Review Act

An administrative agency with which a request for review has been filed pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, or the provisions of other laws or Prefectural or Municipal Ordinance (including an administrative agency that has taken over the relevant documents and objects pursuant to the provisions of Article 14; referred to as a "reviewing agency" below) must nominate a person who conducts the procedures for proceedings prescribed in Section 3 (including procedures prescribed in this Section) from among the employees that belong to the reviewing agency (when a name list prescribed in Article 17 has been prepared, persons stated in that name list), and notify that fact to the requestor for review and the administrative agency, etc. reaching the disposition (limited to the administrative agency, etc. reaching the disposition other than the reviewing agency); provided, however, that this does not apply when any of the agencies stated in the following items fall under the reviewing agency or there are specific provisions in the Prefectural or Municipal Ordinance for dispositions based on the Ordinance, or when the request for review is dismissed pursuant to the provisions of Article 24:

committees prescribed in Article 49, paragraph (1) or (2) of the Act for Establishment of the Cabinet Office or Article 3, paragraph (2) of the National Government Organization Act;

organs prescribed in Article 37 or Article 54 of the Act for Establishment of the Cabinet Office or Article 8 of the National Government Organization Act;

committees or committee members prescribed in Article 138-4, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947), or organs prescribed in paragraph (3) of that Article.

A person to be nominated by the reviewing agency pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph must be a person other than those stated in the following items:

a person who has been involved in the disposition related to a request for review or in the decision for a request for re-investigation for the disposition, or a person who has been involved or is to be involved in the disposition for an inaction related to a request for review;

a requestor for review;

the spouse, a relative within the fourth degree of kinship of a requestor for review, or a relative living together with a requestor for review;

the agent of a requestor for review;

a person who was a person stated in any of the preceding two items;

an interested person prescribed in Article 13, paragraph (1).

When the reviewing agency is one of the agencies stated in the items of paragraph (1) or when there are specific provisions in the proviso to that paragraph, for applying the provisions stated in the left-hand column of the Appended Table 1, the terms in those provisions stated in the middle column of that Table are to be replaced with the terms stated in the right-hand column of that Table, and the provisions of Article 17, Article 40, Article 42, and Article 50, paragraph (2) do not apply.

In the case prescribed in the preceding paragraph, if it is found necessary, the reviewing agency may have its employees (limited to persons other than those stated in the items of paragraph (2) (for members of the organs stated in the items of paragraph (1), excluding item (i))) hear opinions of the requestor for review prescribed in Article 31, paragraph (1) as applied pursuant to the preceding paragraph following the deemed replacement of terms or the intervenor prescribed in Article 13, paragraph (4), hear opinions of the witness under the provisions of Article 34 as applied pursuant to the preceding paragraph following the deemed replacement of terms, conduct a verification under the provisions of Article 35, paragraph (1) as applied pursuant to the preceding paragraph following the deemed replacement of terms, ask questions to the persons concerned with proceedings prescribed in Article 28 under the provisions of Article 36 as applied pursuant to the preceding paragraph following the deemed replacement of terms, or hold a hearing of opinions under the provisions of Article 37, paragraph (1) or (2) as applied pursuant to the preceding paragraph following the deemed replacement of terms.

An unincorporated association or foundation that has designated a representative or administrator may file a request for review in the name of the association or foundation.

When a large number of persons intend to jointly file a request for review, they may elect up to three representative members from among themselves.

When the joint requestors for review do not elect representative members from among themselves and it is found necessary, a person who has been nominated pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (1) (referred to as "review officer" below) may order the joint requestors for review to elect representative members from among themselves.

Each of the representative members may conduct all acts related to the request for review, except for the withdrawal of the request on behalf of other joint requestors for review.

When representative members have been appointed, joint requestors for review may conduct the acts referred to in the preceding paragraph only through the representative members.

Even if two or more representative members have been appointed, it is sufficient for the notice to be given or other acts to be performed by an administrative agency to be given to one of the representative members.

Joint requestors for review may dismiss a representative member if they find it necessary.

The agent for a requestor for review may file a request for review.

Each of the agent referred to in the preceding paragraph may perform all acts related to the request for review on behalf of the requestor for review; provided, however, that the agent may conduct procedures for the withdrawal of the request for review only when they have been specially entrusted by the requestor.

An interested person (meaning a person other than a requestor for review who is found to have an interest in the disposition related to the request for review or the disposition related to the inaction, in light of the provisions of laws and regulations that serve as the grounds for the disposition; the same applies below) may participate in the request for review by obtaining permission from a review officer.

A review officer may request an interested persons to participate in the request for review when it is found necessary.

The participation in the request for review may be entrusted to an agent.

Each of the agent referred to in the preceding paragraph may perform all acts concerning participation in the request for review on behalf of the person who participates in the request for review pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) or (2) (referred to as an "intervenor" below); provided, however, that the agent may conduct procedures to withdraw the participation in the request for review only when they have been specially entrusted by the requestor.

When an administrative agency ceases to have the authority to make an administrative determination on a request to review due to the amendment or repeal of laws and regulations after receiving the request to review, the administrative agency must hand over the written request for review prescribed in Article 19 or the written statement concerning the request for review prescribed in Article 21, paragraph (2), the related documents, and other objects to the administrative agency that is newly vested with the authority to make an administrative determination on the request for review. In such a case, the administrative agency that has been handed over those documents and objects must promptly give a notice of that fact to the requestor for review and the intervenors.

When a requestor for review dies, an heir or other persons who have succeeded to the right related to the disposition for which the request for review has been filed pursuant to laws and regulations are to succeed to the status of the requestor for review.

When a requestor for review has undergone a merger or split (limited to a merger or split for having the requestor succeed to the right related to the disposition for which the request for review has been filed), a corporation or other associations or foundations surviving the merger, a corporation or other associations or foundations established by the merger, or a corporation that has succeeded to the right through the split is to succeed to the status of the requestor for review.

In the cases referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, the heir or other persons, or the corporation or other associations or foundations, which have succeeded to the status of the requestor for review must notify the reviewing agency of that fact in writing. In such a case, a document certifying the fact of the succession of the right due to death or split, or the fact of the merger, must be attached to the written notification.

In the case referred to in paragraph (1) or (2), if, before the notification under the preceding paragraph is given, a notice addressed to the deceased, the corporation, or other associations or foundations before the merger or the corporation that has been split reaches the heir or other persons that have succeeded to the status of the requestor for review, or the corporation or other associations or foundations, after the merger or the corporation that has succeeded to the status of the requestor for review through the split, the notice is to have the effect as a notice addressed to those persons.

In the case referred to in paragraph (1), when there are two or more heirs or other persons that have succeeded to the status of the requestor for review, a notice or other acts given to or performed for one of them is deemed to have been given to or performed for all of them.

A person who has received the transfer of the right related to the disposition for which the request for review has been filed, may succeed to the status of the requestor for review by obtaining permission from the reviewing agency.

The administrative agency that is to become the reviewing agency pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 or the provisions of other laws or Prefectural or Municipal Ordinance (referred to as "administrative agency that is to become the reviewing agency" below) must endeavor to decide a standard period normally necessary between the time when a request for review arrives at their offices and the time when an administrative determination is to be made, and when the standard period has been decided, publicize the standard period by keeping it at the offices of the administrative agency that is to become the reviewing agency and the related administrative agency reaching the disposition (meaning an administrative agency vested with the authority to render a disposition subject to the request for review other than the administrative agency that is to become the reviewing agency; the same applies in the following Article) or by other appropriate methods.

The administrative agency that is to become the reviewing agency must endeavor to prepare a name list of the persons that are to become review officers, and when the name list has been prepared, publicize the list by keeping it at the offices of the administrative agency that is to become the reviewing agency and the related administrative agency reaching the disposition or by other appropriate methods.

A request for review of a disposition may not be filed when three months have passed from the day following the day on which the relevant person has come to know that the disposition was rendered (if a request for re-investigation has been filed for the disposition, when one month has passed from the day following the day on which the relevant person has come to know that the decision was made for the request for re-investigation); provided, however, that this does not apply when there are legitimate grounds.

A request for review of a disposition may not be filed when one year has passed from the day following the day on which the disposition was rendered (if a request for re-investigation has been filed for the disposition, decision on the request for re-investigation); provided, however, that this does not apply when there are legitimate grounds.

When a written request for review prescribed in the following Article has been submitted by mail or corresponding delivery as defined in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Correspondence Delivery by Private Business Operators (Act No. 99 of 2002) conducted by a general correspondence delivery operator as defined in paragraph (6) of that Article or a specified letter delivery operator as defined in paragraph (9) of that Article, the number of days required for the delivery is not to be included in the calculation of the period prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs (referred to as "period for filing a request for review" below).