Changes by (Act No. 39 of 2025)
A criminal complaint or an accusation must be filed with a public prosecutor or a judicial police officer in writing or orally.
告訴又は告発は、書面又は口頭で検察官又は司法警察員にこれをしなければならない。
Moves to paragraph (3) by (Act No. 39 of 2025)
A public prosecutor or judicial police officer must make a written statement when they have received an oral criminal complaint or accusation.
検察官又は司法警察員は、口頭による告訴又は告発を受けたときは調書を作らなければならない。
Read this with the articles around it
complaint
告訴
A crime's victim telling a public prosecutor or a judicial police officer (司法警察員) of the crime and asking that the offender be punished; the victim may file one (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 230 and 241, paragraph (1)). The victim's legal representative may also file one, and if the victim has died, their spouse, lineal relatives or siblings, though not against the victim's clearly stated wishes (Article 231). For some crimes — among them defamation and insult, and negligent injury — a prosecution cannot be brought without a complaint (Penal Code, Articles 209, paragraph (2), and 232, paragraph (1)); for those, a complaint must as a rule be filed within six months of learning who the offender is, though not one a foreign state's representative or a foreign envoy files over defamation or insult (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 235), and it may be withdrawn until a prosecution is brought, but not filed again (Article 237).
Written by AI using Code of Criminal Procedure, Arts. 230, 231, 235, 237, 241 and Penal Code, Arts. 209, 232 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.