When there exists sufficient probable cause to suspect that an offense has been committed by a suspect, a public prosecutor, public prosecutor's assistant officer or judicial police official may arrest said person upon an arrest warrant being issued in advance by a judge; provided however, that with regard to offenses punishable with a fine of not more than 300,000 yen (20,000 yen for the time being for offenses other than those under the Penal Code, the Act on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others and the Act on Penal Provisions related to Economic Activities), penal detention or a petty fine, the suspect may only be arrested if the suspect has no fixed dwelling or if said suspect fails, without a justifiable reason, to make the appearance provided for in the preceding Article.
Changes by (Act No. 39 of 2025)
If a judge deems that there exists sufficient probable cause to suspect that the suspect has committed an offense, said judge issues the arrest warrant set forth in the preceding paragraph, upon the request of a public prosecutor or a judicial police officer (in the case of a judicial police officer who is a police official, only a person designated by the National Public Safety Commission or the Prefectural Public Safety Commission and who ranks as equal to or above chief inspector; the same applies in the following paragraph and Article 201-2, paragraph (1)); provided however, that this does not apply if the judge deems that it is clearly not necessary to arrest the suspect.
裁判官は、被疑者が罪を犯したことを疑うに足りる相当な理由があると認めるときは、検察官又は司法警察員(警察官たる司法警察員については、国家公安委員会又は都道府県公安委員会が指定する警部以上の者に限る。次項及び第二百一条の二第一項において同じ。)の請求により、前項の逮捕状を発する。ただし、明らかに逮捕の必要がないと認めるときは、この限りでない。
Moves to paragraph (4) by (Act No. 39 of 2025)
When asking for the arrest warrant set forth in paragraph (1), a public prosecutor or judicial police officer must inform the court of all requests or issuances of arrest warrants, if any, that have previously been made against the same suspect for the same offense.
検察官又は司法警察員は、第一項の逮捕状を請求する場合において、同一の犯罪事実についてその被疑者に対し前に逮捕状の請求又はその発付があつたときは、その旨を裁判所に通知しなければならない。
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judicial police officialmachine translation
「司法警察職員」
Judicial police officers (司法警察員) and judicial police constables (司法巡査) together.
Defined inArticle 39, paragraph (3)
fine
罰金
A criminal punishment of paying money to the state, of 10,000 yen or more, or less where it is reduced (Penal Code, Article 15). It ranks below imprisonment (拘禁刑) and above penal detention (拘留) and a petty fine (科料) (Articles 9 and 10, paragraph (1)). A person who cannot pay it in full is held in a workhouse (労役場) for one day to two years, or up to three years where fines are imposed together, a period set when the sentence is passed (Article 18, paragraphs (1), (3) and (4)); not within thirty days of the sentence becoming final without the person's consent (paragraph (5)). If it is not enforced for three years after the sentence becomes final, the person is released from it by prescription (Articles 31 and 32, item (v)); the three years do not run while its execution is suspended under law or the person is abroad, and an act of execution interrupts them (Articles 33 and 34, paragraph (2)).
Written by AI using Penal Code, Arts. 9, 10, 15, 18, 31 to 34 as a reference.
National Public Safety Commission
国家公安委員会
A commission placed under the Prime Minister's jurisdiction by the Police Act (警察法) (Police Act, Article 4, paragraph (1)), made up of a chairperson, who is a Minister of State (国務大臣), and five members (Article 4, paragraph (2), and Article 6, paragraph (1)). The Prime Minister appoints the members, with the consent of both Houses of the Diet, from people who have not been career public officials doing police or prosecution work in the five years before their appointment; where that consent cannot be obtained because the Diet is closed or the House of Representatives dissolved, the Prime Minister may appoint first and seek both Houses' approval afterwards (Article 7, paragraphs (1) to (3)). The National Police Agency (警察庁) is placed under it, and it administers that Agency in the matters Article 5, paragraph (4) lists (Article 5, paragraph (4), and Article 15). Where an Act, a Cabinet Order (政令) or an Order of the Cabinet Office (内閣府令) specially delegates a matter to it, it may make National Public Safety Commission Rules (国家公安委員会規則) (Article 12). Under the Secondhand Goods Business Act, it sets the standard a secondhand goods auction intermediary's methods must meet to be certified as helping prevent the sale of stolen goods and find them quickly, and it receives reports from the prefectural Public Safety Commissions (Secondhand Goods Business Act, Article 21-5, paragraph (1), and Article 27, paragraph (1)).
Written by AI using Police Act, Arts. 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15 and Secondhand Goods Business Act, Arts. 21-5, 27 as a reference.
penal detention
拘留
A short criminal punishment of being held in a penal institution (刑事施設) for one day to less than thirty days (Penal Code, Article 16, paragraph (1)). As with imprisonment (拘禁刑), the person may be made to do work or given guidance to help them reform (paragraph (2)). It ranks below a fine (罰金) and above a petty fine (科料) (Articles 9 and 10, paragraph (1)).
Written by AI using Penal Code, Arts. 9, 10, 16 as a reference.
petty fine
科料
The lightest criminal punishment: paying 1,000 yen or more but less than 10,000 yen (Penal Code, Articles 9, 10 and 17). A person who cannot pay it in full is held in a workhouse (労役場) for one day to thirty days (Article 18, paragraph (2)).
Written by AI using Penal Code, Arts. 9, 10, 17, 18 as a reference.
Prefectural Public Safety Commission
都道府県公安委員会
A commission the Police Act (警察法) places in each prefecture under the jurisdiction of its governor (都道府県知事) (Police Act, Article 38, paragraph (1)). It administers that prefecture's police (都道府県警察) (Article 38, paragraph (3)). It has five members in Tokyo (都), Hokkaido (道), Osaka and Kyoto (府) and in a prefecture that contains a city designated under the Local Autonomy Act (指定市), and three in any other prefecture (Article 38, paragraph (2)). The governor appoints the members, with the consent of the prefectural assembly, from people eligible to stand for that assembly who have not been career public officials doing police or prosecution work in the five years before their appointment; in Hokkaido, Osaka, Kyoto and a prefecture that contains a designated city (指定市), two of the members are people the mayor of that city recommends with the consent of the city assembly (Article 39, paragraph (1)). Under the Secondhand Goods Business Act, a person who intends to run a business buying, selling or exchanging secondhand goods — other than one that only sells them, or only buys back what it sold from the person it sold to — or to run a secondhand goods market must first obtain its permit; that Act calls it the Public Safety Commission (公安委員会) (Secondhand Goods Business Act, Article 2, paragraph (2), items (i) and (ii), and Article 3, paragraph (1)).
Written by AI using Police Act, Arts. 38, 39 and Secondhand Goods Business Act, Arts. 2, 3 as a reference.
public prosecutor
検察官
The official who brings a prosecution (公訴) for a crime before a court (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 247), and who may decide not to prosecute where, in view of the offender's character, age and circumstances, the gravity and circumstances of the offence and what happened after it, prosecution is not needed (Article 248). In criminal cases a public prosecutor asks the court to apply the law correctly and oversees the carrying out of its judgments; and, as the representative of the public interest, a public prosecutor also does the work other laws and regulations assign to a public prosecutor, which is not limited to criminal cases (Public Prosecutors Office Act, Article 4). A public prosecutor may investigate any crime (Article 6, paragraph (1)). Public prosecutors work through the public prosecutors offices (検察庁): the Supreme, High, District and Local Public Prosecutors Offices (Article 1).
Written by AI using Code of Criminal Procedure, Arts. 247, 248 and Public Prosecutors Office Act, Arts. 1, 4, 6 as a reference.