Japanese legal terms explained

法令用語の解説（ほうれいようごのかいせつ）

What the words Japanese laws use without defining them mean, for readers who are not lawyers: the kinds of law and their parts, the bodies and offices the laws name, and the legal ideas they rely on. On a law page each word opens its explanation where you meet it. The terms a law defines for itself are in the glossary. 142 words.

Laws and how to read them

What kind of law a law is, how it is numbered and dated, its parts, and how this site gives its English.

Act
法律（ほうりつ）
A law passed by both Houses of the National Diet, Japan's parliament.
Constitution
憲法（けんぽう）
The highest law in Japan.
Cabinet Order
政令（せいれい）
Rules made by the Cabinet to carry out the Constitution and Acts.
Order with the force of an Act
法律としての効力を有する命令（ほうりつとしてのこうりょくをゆうするめいれい）
Some rules made during the Allied occupation were issued as Cabinet Orders, as orders implementing Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, and an Act passed in 1952 gave them the force of an Act.
Ministerial Order
省令（しょうれい）
Rules issued by a minister, to carry out an Act or Cabinet Order or under a delegation from one.
Law number
法令番号（ほうれいばんごう）
The official identifier a law receives when it is published: the year, the kind of law, and a serial number within that year.
Japanese era year
元号（げんごう）
Japanese law counts years by imperial era: 令和 (Reiwa) began in 2019, 平成 (Heisei) in 1989 and 昭和 (Shōwa) in 1926. 令和8年 (Reiwa 8) is 2026, the eighth year of that era.
Promulgation
公布（こうふ）
The official publication of a law or amendment once it has been made, in the Official Gazette (官報), so that anyone can know what it says.
Coming into force
施行（しこう）
The day a law or an amendment starts to apply.
Amendment
改正（かいせい）
A change to a law's text.
Not yet in force
未施行（みしこう）
A law or amendment that has been promulgated but whose enforcement date has not arrived.
Supplementary Provisions
附則（ふそく）
The part after a law's main provisions (本則) that deals with matters incidental to them: when the law takes effect, how the change from old rules to new ones is handled, and sometimes temporary exceptions to the main text.
Preamble
前文（ぜんぶん）
An opening passage, before the first article, saying what the law is for and what it rests on.
Enacting Statement
制定文（せいていぶん）
A sentence at the very top of a law, before its first article, saying what enacting it does.
Appended Table
別表（べっぴょう）
A table or list placed at the end of a law and referred to from its articles — the list of industries in Appended Table 1 of the Labor Standards Act (労働基準法別表第一), for example.
Form
様式（ようしき）
A prescribed form — the notification or application someone actually has to submit.
Article
条（じょう）
The basic numbered unit of a law: 第三十六条 is Article 36.
Paragraph
項（こう）
A subdivision of an article, begun on a new line.
Item
号（ごう）
One entry in a numbered list inside an article or paragraph, printed 一, 二, 三.
Deleted
削除（さくじょ）
An article that has been repealed.
Renumbered article
繰下げ・繰上げ（くりさげ・くりあげ）
An amending law usually leaves every article's number alone: a new article takes a branch number such as Article 32-2, and a repealed one leaves 削除 (Deleted) at its number.
Ministry of Justice translation
法務省の英訳（ほうむしょうのえいやく）
English from the Japanese Law Translation Database System, run by Japan's Ministry of Justice: the ministry in charge of a law drafts the translation and the Ministry of Justice has it checked.
Machine translation
機械翻訳（きかいほんやく）
English written for this site by an AI model where the Ministry of Justice has not translated a provision.
Defined term
定義（ていぎ）
A word the law gives its own exact meaning, in a sentence like 「労働者」とは…をいう — "Worker" means….
Short name
略称規定（りゃくしょうきてい）
A shorthand the law introduces so it does not have to repeat a long phrase — （以下「新法」という）, "hereinafter referred to as the new Act".
Where a definition applies
定義の範囲（ていぎのはんい）
Some definitions hold throughout the law (この法律で, この法律において); others only inside one article, paragraph or item (以下この条において).
Common abbreviation
略称（りゃくしょう）
The short form people use for a law's title — 労基法 (Rōki-hō) for the Labor Standards Act, 労働基準法.
Group name
総称（そうしょう）
A name for several laws taken together.
Former name
旧題名（きゅうだいめい）
The title (題名) a law had before an amending Act renamed it.
Reading
読み（よみ）
How the Japanese is pronounced, in hiragana above the kanji.

Institutions, offices and documents

Bodies, offices and documents the laws name without defining them. A law page explains each one where the law uses it.

Emperor
天皇（てんのう）
The symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, holding that position by the will of the people (Article 1). Used in 5 laws
The Diet
国会（こっかい）
Japan's parliament, and under Article 41 the only body that can make an Act (法律). Used in 23 laws
House of Representatives
衆議院（しゅうぎいん）
The lower of the Diet's two chambers (Article 42). Used in 10 laws
House of Councillors
参議院（さんぎいん）
The upper of the Diet's two chambers (Article 42). Used in 7 laws
The Cabinet
内閣（ないかく）
The body that holds executive power: the Prime Minister and the other Ministers of State (Articles 65 and 66). Used in 15 laws
Prime Minister
内閣総理大臣（ないかくそうりだいじん）
The head of the Cabinet. Used in 40 laws
Minister of State
国務大臣（こくむだいじん）
A member of the Cabinet other than the Prime Minister (Article 66, paragraph (1)). Used in 2 laws
Supreme Court
最高裁判所（さいこうさいばんしょ）
The highest court, and the court of last resort on whether any law, order, regulation or official act conforms to the Constitution (Article 76, paragraph (1), and Article 81). Used in 7 laws
Articles of incorporation
定款（ていかん）
A company's own basic rules, written by its founders when it is formed: at least its purpose, its trade name, where its head office is, the value of the property contributed at incorporation and who the founders are (Companies Act, Article 27). Used in 25 laws
Company auditor
監査役（かんさやく）
An officer of a stock company, elected by the shareholders meeting (Companies Act, Article 329, paragraph (1)), whose job is to audit how the directors carry out their duties and to write an audit report on it (Article 381, paragraph (1)). Used in 10 laws
Shareholders meeting
株主総会（かぶぬしそうかい）
The meeting of a stock company's shareholders, and the body through which they decide the company's basic matters. Used in 10 laws
Director
取締役（とりしまりやく）
An officer of a stock company, elected by the shareholders meeting (Companies Act, Article 329, paragraph (1)). Used in 26 laws
Board of directors
取締役会（とりしまりやくかい）
The body made up of all of a stock company's directors (Companies Act, Article 362, paragraph (1)). Used in 8 laws
District director
税務署長（ぜいむしょちょう）
The head of a tax office (税務署), the local office of the National Tax Agency that deals with taxpayers in its district (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Finance, Article 24). Used in 15 laws
Regional commissioner
国税局長（こくぜいきょくちょう）
The head of a regional taxation bureau (国税局), the National Tax Agency's regional office, which oversees the tax offices of its region (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Finance, Articles 23 and 24). Used in 11 laws
Commissioner of the National Tax Agency
国税庁長官（こくぜいちょうちょうかん）
The head of the National Tax Agency (国税庁), the agency within the Ministry of Finance that assesses and collects national taxes (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Finance, Articles 18 and 19). Used in 15 laws
National Tax Tribunal
国税不服審判所（こくぜいふふくしんぱんしょ）
The body within the National Tax Agency that decides requests for review (審査請求) of tax decisions (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Finance, Article 22; Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 78, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Director-general of a customs house
税関長（ぜいかんちょう）
The head of a customs house (税関), a local office of the Ministry of Finance (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Finance, Article 12, paragraph (1)). Used in 8 laws
Information Disclosure and Personal Information Protection Review Board
情報公開・個人情報保護審査会（じょうほうこうかい・こじんじょうほうほごしんさかい）
A board set up in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省) to examine a request for review (審査請求) when the body that must decide it consults the board under the Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs, the Act on Access to Information Held by Incorporated Administrative Agencies or the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Act for Establishment of the Information Disclosure and Personal Information Protection Review Board, Article 2). Used in 2 laws
Administrative Complaint Review Board
行政不服審査会（ぎょうせいふふくしんさかい）
A board set up in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省) to deal with the matters the Administrative Complaint Review Act puts in its charge (Administrative Complaint Review Act, Article 67). Used in 6 laws
Notarial deed
公正証書（こうせいしょうしょ）
A document drawn up by a notary (公証人), a public officer appointed by the Minister of Justice, at the request of the people concerned (Notary Act, Articles 1 and 11). Used in 9 laws
Health center
保健所（ほけんじょ）
An office set up by a prefecture (都道府県), by one of the cities named by Cabinet Order (政令), which include every designated city (指定都市) and core city (中核市), or by a special ward (特別区) (Community Health Act, Article 5, paragraph (1)), to look after the health of the people of its area (Article 6, paragraph (1), item (xiv)). Used in 6 laws
Public prosecutor
検察官（けんさつかん）
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). Used in 20 laws
Official depository
供託所（きょうたくじょ）
The office that holds money and securities deposited (供託) under a provision of an Act or other statute: a Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) or District Legal Affairs Bureau (地方法務局), one of their branch bureaus, or a local office of theirs the Minister of Justice designates (Deposit Act, Article 1). Used in 9 laws
Special ward
特別区（とくべつく）
A ward (区) of a metropolis (都) (Local Autonomy Act, Article 281, paragraph (1)). Used in 38 laws
Family register
戸籍（こせき）
The public record of who a person is related to by birth, marriage and adoption. Used in 28 laws
Summary court
簡易裁判所（かんいさいばんしょ）
One of the four kinds of lower court (下級裁判所) beneath the Supreme Court, with the high courts (高等裁判所), the district courts (地方裁判所) and the family courts (家庭裁判所) (Courts Act, Article 1, and Article 2, paragraph (1)). Used in 13 laws
Labor tribunal
労働審判委員会（ろうどうしんぱんいいんかい）
The panel through which a district court (地方裁判所) conducts labor tribunal proceedings (労働審判手続): one labor tribunal judge (労働審判官) and two labor tribunal members (労働審判員) (Labor Tribunal Act, Articles 2 and 7). Used in 1 law
Labor tribunal judge
労働審判官（ろうどうしんぱんかん）
The judge who sits on a labor tribunal (労働審判委員会) beside its two labor tribunal members (労働審判員), designated by the district court (地方裁判所) from among its own judges (Labor Tribunal Act, Articles 7 and 8). Used in 1 law
Labor tribunal member
労働審判員（ろうどうしんぱんいん）
One of the two members of a labor tribunal (労働審判委員会) who sit beside its judge (Labor Tribunal Act, Article 7): a part-time member appointed from among people with expert knowledge and experience of labor relations (Article 9, paragraphs (2) and (3)), who takes part in the proceedings from a neutral and impartial position (Article 9, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Fair Trade Commission
公正取引委員会（こうせいとりひきいいんかい）
The body the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade (独占禁止法, the Antimonopoly Act) sets up to achieve that Act's purpose — among other things, to promote fair and free competition by banning private monopolization, unreasonable restraint of trade and unfair trade practices, and so to protect the interests of general consumers and the democratic and sound development of the national economy (Antimonopoly Act, Articles 1 and 27, paragraph (1)). Used in 4 laws
Commissioner of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency
中小企業庁長官（ちゅうしょうきぎょうちょうちょうかん）
The head of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (中小企業庁), which the Act for Establishment of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (中小企業庁設置法) sets up as an external agency (外局) of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry — an agency attached to the Ministry, with a head of its own (Article 2). Used in 2 laws
Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency
金融庁長官（きんゆうちょうちょうかん）
The head of the Financial Services Agency (金融庁), which the Act for Establishment of the Financial Services Agency (金融庁設置法) sets up as an external agency (外局) of the Cabinet Office — an agency attached to it, with a head of its own (Article 2). Used in 11 laws
National Public Safety Commission
国家公安委員会（こっかこうあんいいんかい）
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)). Used in 10 laws
Prefectural Public Safety Commission
都道府県公安委員会（とどうふけんこうあんいいんかい）
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)). Used in 7 laws
District Public Safety Commission
方面公安委員会（ほうめんこうあんいいんかい）
A commission the Police Act (警察法) sets up in Hokkaido (道). Used in 6 laws
Chief of a District Headquarters
方面本部長（ほうめんほんぶちょう）
The head of a district headquarters (方面本部) of the Hokkaido police. Used in 3 laws
Chief of a police station
警察署長（けいさつしょちょう）
The head of a police station (警察署). Used in 6 laws
Consumer Commission
消費者委員会（しょうひしゃいいんかい）
A commission placed in the Cabinet Office (内閣府) (Act for Establishment of the Consumer Affairs Agency and the Consumer Commission, Article 6, paragraph (1)), of no more than ten members whom the Prime Minister appoints and who exercise their authority independently (Articles 7, 9, paragraph (1), and 10, paragraph (1)). Used in 3 laws
Director of a labor standards inspection office
労働基準監督署長（ろうどうきじゅんかんとくしょちょう）
The head of a labor standards inspection office (労働基準監督署), one of the offices under each prefectural labor bureau (都道府県労働局) that carry out the Labor Standards Act (Labor Standards Act, Article 97, paragraph (1), and Article 99, paragraph (2)). Used in 5 laws
Labor standards inspector
労働基準監督官（ろうどうきじゅんかんとくかん）
An official who carries out the Labor Standards Act, stationed in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Labor Standards Management Bureau (労働基準主管局), in the prefectural labor bureaus and in the labor standards inspection offices (労働基準監督署) (Labor Standards Act, Article 97, paragraph (1)). Used in 6 laws
Prefectural labor bureau
都道府県労働局（とどうふけんろうどうきょく）
A local branch (地方支分部局) of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省), a national ministry, so it is part of the national government and not of the prefecture, despite its name (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Articles 2 and 17; National Government Organization Act, Article 9). Used in 9 laws
Labour Relations Commission
労働委員会（ろうどういいんかい）
A commission made up of equal numbers of members representing employers, members representing workers and members representing the public interest (Labor Union Act, Article 19, paragraph (1)). Used in 8 laws
Director of a prefectural labor bureau
都道府県労働局長（とどうふけんろうどうきょくちょう）
The head of a prefectural labor bureau (都道府県労働局), a local branch (地方支分部局) of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, so part of the national government rather than of the prefecture (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 17; National Government Organization Act, Article 9). Used in 21 laws
General safety and health manager
総括安全衛生管理者（そうかつあんぜんえいせいかんりしゃ）
The person an employer (事業者) must appoint at each workplace of the size a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, to direct the safety managers (安全管理者), the health managers (衛生管理者) and certain others, and to be in overall charge of the workplace's safety and health work (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 10, paragraph (1)): the measures that keep workers from danger and from harm to their health, safety and health education for workers, medical checkups (健康診断) and other measures to maintain and improve workers' health, investigating the causes of industrial accidents (労働災害) and preventing them from happening again, and other work an Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省令) adds to prevent industrial accidents (Article 10, paragraph (1), items (i) to (v)). Used in 2 laws
Safety manager
安全管理者（あんぜんかんりしゃ）
A person an employer (事業者) must appoint at each workplace in the industries and of the size a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, from among people with the qualifications an Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省令) sets, to manage the technical matters of safety in the work listed in Article 10, paragraph (1) — the measures against danger and harm to health, safety and health education, medical checkups, investigating industrial accidents, and the like (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 11, paragraph (1), and Article 10, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Health manager
衛生管理者（えいせいかんりしゃ）
A person an employer (事業者) must appoint at each workplace of the size a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, according to the kinds of work done there, from among people licensed by the director of the prefectural labor bureau (都道府県労働局長) or with other qualifications an Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省令) sets, to manage the technical matters of health (衛生) in the work listed in Article 10, paragraph (1) — the measures against danger and harm to health, safety and health education, medical checkups, investigating industrial accidents, and the like (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 12, paragraph (1), and Article 10, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Industrial physician
産業医（さんぎょうい）
A physician an employer (事業者) must appoint at each workplace of the size a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, to look after workers' health and carry out the other duties an Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省令) sets (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 13, paragraph (1)). Used in 3 laws
Operations supervisor
作業主任者（さぎょうしゅにんしゃ）
A person an employer (事業者) must appoint, for each class of work, where the work needs controls to prevent industrial accidents (労働災害) — work in high-pressure chambers (高圧室内作業) and the other work a Cabinet Order (政令) lists — to direct the workers doing that work and to do the other things an Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省令) sets (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 14). Used in 1 law
Safety committee
安全委員会（あんぜんいいんかい）
A committee an employer (事業者) must set up at each workplace in the industries and of the size a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, to investigate and deliberate on the basic measures to keep workers from danger, on the causes of industrial accidents (労働災害) and the measures to keep them from happening again so far as they concern safety, and on other important matters of keeping workers from danger, and to give the employer its opinion (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 17, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Health committee
衛生委員会（えいせいいいんかい）
A committee an employer (事業者) must set up at each workplace of the size a Cabinet Order (政令) sets, to investigate and deliberate on the basic measures to prevent harm to workers' health and to maintain and improve it, on the causes of industrial accidents (労働災害) and the measures to keep them from happening again so far as they concern health, and on other important matters of workers' health, and to give the employer its opinion (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 18, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Safety and health committee
安全衛生委員会（あんぜんえいせいいいんかい）
A single committee that an employer (事業者) required to set up both a safety committee (安全委員会) and a health committee (衛生委員会) may set up in place of the two (Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 19, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
Motor vehicle inspection certificate
自動車検査証（じどうしゃけんさしょう）
The certificate issued for a motor vehicle that has passed the inspection the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (国土交通大臣) carries out: a card on which the chassis number, the user's name and other particulars a Ministerial Order (国土交通省令) sets are written, and on which those particulars, the certificate's period of validity and other particulars a Ministerial Order sets are also recorded electronically (Road Transport Vehicle Act, Article 58, paragraph (2)). Used in 6 laws
Special permanent resident certificate
特別永住者証明書（とくべつえいじゅうしゃしょうめいしょ）
The certificate the Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁長官) issues to every special permanent resident (特別永住者) (Special Act on the Immigration Control of, inter alia, those who have lost Japanese Nationality pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan, Article 7, paragraph (1)). Used in 12 laws
Director of a District Transport Bureau
地方運輸局長（ちほううんゆきょくちょう）
The head of a district transport bureau (地方運輸局), a local branch (地方支分部局) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (国土交通省), a national ministry (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Articles 2, paragraph (1), and 30; National Government Organization Act, Articles 3, paragraph (2), and 9). Used in 16 laws
Industrial accident compensation insurance examiner
労働者災害補償保険審査官（ろうどうしゃさいがいほしょうほけんしんさかん）
One of the two kinds of labor insurance examiner (労働保険審査官) (Act on Labor Insurance Examiners and the Labor Insurance Appeal Committee, Article 1): placed in each prefectural labor bureau (都道府県労働局) and appointed by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働大臣), the examiner hears requests for review (審査請求) under Article 38, paragraph (1) of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, and must deal with them fairly and promptly (Articles 2, 2-2, 3 and 4). Used in 3 laws
Public employment security office
公共職業安定所（こうきょうしょくぎょうあんていじょ）
A national government office that does job placement (職業紹介) between job seekers and employers, vocational guidance and employment insurance (雇用保険) work, and other work the Employment Security Act needs to achieve its aims, and serves the public free of charge (Employment Security Act, Article 8, paragraph (1); Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 23, paragraph (1)). Used in 15 laws
Labor Policy Council
労働政策審議会（ろうどうせいさくしんぎかい）
A council (審議会) attached to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 6, paragraph (1)). Used in 15 laws
Employment insurance examiner
雇用保険審査官（こようほけんしんさかん）
An official who decides requests for review (審査請求) under the Employment Insurance Act: of a confirmation that someone became or stopped being an insured person, of a decision on its benefits, or of an order to pay back benefits obtained by deception or other wrongdoing, or to pay a further sum on top of them (Act on Labor Insurance Examiners and the Labor Insurance Appeal Committee, Article 2, paragraph (2); Employment Insurance Act, Article 69, paragraph (1)). Used in 2 laws
Legal Affairs Bureau
法務局（ほうむきょく）
A local office of the Ministry of Justice (法務省). Used in 4 laws
Rules of the Personal Information Protection Commission
個人情報保護委員会規則（こじんじょうほうほごいいんかいきそく）
Rules the Personal Information Protection Commission (個人情報保護委員会) makes on the matters in its charge, to carry out an Act or a Cabinet Order (政令) or under a special delegation from one (Act on the Protection of Personal Information, Article 145). Used in 2 laws
Personal Information Protection Commission
個人情報保護委員会（こじんじょうほうほごいいんかい）
The commission the Act on the Protection of Personal Information sets up under Article 49, paragraph (3) of the Act for Establishment of the Cabinet Office (内閣府設置法), under the Prime Minister's jurisdiction (Act on the Protection of Personal Information, Article 130). Used in 2 laws
Medical Ethics Council
医道審議会（いどうしんぎかい）
A council (審議会) set up in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 6, paragraph (1)) to deal with the matters that eleven Acts on health care — among them the Medical Care Act, the Medical Practitioners' Act and the Dental Practitioners' Act — place in its hands (Article 10, paragraph (1)); it gives its opinion, and the Minister decides. Used in 2 laws
Register of medical practitioners
医籍（いせき）
The register of physicians kept at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which records the date of each registration, any reprimand, suspension or revocation of a licence, and the other matters of each physician's licence (Medical Practitioners' Act, Article 5). Used in 1 law
Health insurance society
健康保険組合（けんこうほけんくみあい）
A corporation that runs the health insurance of the insured persons who are its members; it and the Japan Health Insurance Association (全国健康保険協会) are the two insurers of health insurance (Health Insurance Act, Articles 4, 6 and 9). Used in 13 laws
Social insurance examiner
社会保険審査官（しゃかいほけんしんさかん）
An official of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare whom the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare appoints, placed in each Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare (地方厚生局), to decide requests for administrative review (審査請求) under the social insurance Acts — mainly against decisions (処分) on whether a person is insured, on standard remuneration and on benefits (Act on Social Insurance Examiners and the Social Insurance Examination Committee (社会保険審査官及び社会保険審査会法), Articles 1 and 2; Health Insurance Act, Article 189, paragraph (1); Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Article 90, paragraph (1)). Used in 4 laws
Social Insurance Examination Committee
社会保険審査会（しゃかいほけんしんさかい）
A committee under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare that hears requests for re-examination (再審査請求) against the decisions of social insurance examiners (社会保険審査官), and the requests for administrative review (審査請求) that certain Acts bring to it directly, such as those against dispositions on premiums (Act on Social Insurance Examiners and the Social Insurance Examination Committee (社会保険審査官及び社会保険審査会法), Article 19; Health Insurance Act, Article 190; Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Article 91, paragraph (1)). Used in 3 laws
Government Pension Investment Fund
年金積立金管理運用独立行政法人（ねんきんつみたてきんかんりうんようどくりつぎょうせいほうじん）
An incorporated administrative agency (独立行政法人) that manages and invests the reserves of the Employees' Pension Insurance and the National Pension that the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare entrusts to it under the Employees' Pension Insurance Act and the National Pension Act, and pays the returns into the national treasury, so that both pension schemes run on a stable footing (Act on the Government Pension Investment Fund, Incorporated Administrative Agency (年金積立金管理運用独立行政法人法), Articles 2 and 3). Used in 2 laws
Social Security Council
社会保障審議会（しゃかいほしょうしんぎかい）
A council (審議会) attached to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Article 6, paragraph (1)). Used in 6 laws
Spousal violence counseling and support center
配偶者暴力相談支援センター（はいぐうしゃぼうりょくそうだんしえんせんたー）
Not a building of its own but a role: each prefecture (都道府県) has its women's counseling and support center (女性相談支援センター) or another suitable facility it sets up serve as one, and a city, town or village (市町村) is to endeavor to have a suitable facility of its own do so (Act on the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims, Article 3, paragraphs (1) and (2)). Used in 1 law
Women's counseling and support center
女性相談支援センター（じょせいそうだんしえんせんたー）
A center every prefecture (都道府県) must set up, and a designated city (指定都市, one of the large cities a Cabinet Order designates under the Local Autonomy Act) may, under the Act on Support for Women Facing Difficult Problems (Article 9, paragraphs (1) and (2)). Used in 2 laws
Prefectural or Municipal Ordinance
条例（じょうれい）
A rule a local government makes for itself: a prefecture (都道府県), a city, town or village (市町村), or one of Tokyo's special wards (特別区) (Local Autonomy Act, Articles 1-3, 281 and 283). Used in 40 laws

Rights, roles and legal effects

Ideas of civil, criminal and procedural law the laws rely on — what a lease is, what makes an act void. A law page explains each one where the law uses it in this sense.

Superficies
地上権（ちじょうけん）
A right to use another person's land in order to own buildings or other structures, or trees or bamboo, on it (Civil Code, Article 265). Used in 11 laws
Right of lease
賃借権（ちんしゃくけん）
The right a lessee (賃借人) has under a lease (賃貸借): to use the leased thing and take what it yields, in return for paying rent (Civil Code, Article 601). Used in 6 laws
Lease
賃貸借（ちんたいしゃく）
A contract in which one party, the lessor (賃貸人), agrees to let the other use a thing and take what it yields, and the other party, the lessee (賃借人), agrees to pay rent for it and to return it when the contract ends (Civil Code, Article 601). Used in 5 laws
Lessor
賃貸人（ちんたいにん）
The party to a lease (賃貸借) who lets the other party use a thing, such as land or a building, in return for rent; in everyday words, the landlord (Civil Code, Article 601). Used in 2 laws
Lessee
賃借人（ちんしゃくにん）
The party to a lease (賃貸借) who uses a thing, such as land or a building, pays rent for it and must return it when the contract ends; in everyday words, the tenant (Civil Code, Article 601). Used in 5 laws
Sublessee
転借人（てんしゃくにん）
A person who leases a thing from its lessee (賃借人) rather than from the lessor (賃貸人): a subtenant. Used in 2 laws
Sublease
転貸（てんたい）
A lessee (賃借人) letting a third party use the thing the lessee leases: subletting. Used in 2 laws
Registration
登記（とうき）
Entry in a public register kept by a registry office (登記所) — a Legal Affairs Bureau or one of its branch offices — so that the matter is made public (Real Property Registration Act, Articles 1 and 6, paragraph (1)). Used in 21 laws
Statutory lien
先取特権（さきどりとっけん）
A right the law itself gives certain creditors to be paid out of the debtor's property ahead of other creditors (Civil Code, Article 303). Used in 15 laws
Rescission
取消し（とりけし）
Undoing a legal act, such as an offer or acceptance of a contract (意思表示, a manifestation of intention), that the law says may be rescinded: for example one made through an important mistake, though a mistake about the circumstances behind the act only if it had been made clear that they were its basis, and as a rule not where the person was grossly careless (Civil Code, Article 95), or one made under fraud or duress, though fraud by a third party only if the other party knew of it or could have known (Article 96), or one a minor made without the consent of their legal representative (Article 5, paragraph (2)). Used in 9 laws
Void
無効（むこう）
Having no legal effect from the start. Used in 13 laws
Damages
損害賠償（そんがいばいしょう）
Compensation for loss one person has caused another. Used in 25 laws
Assert against
対抗（たいこう）
To be able to rely on a right, or on a fact about it, against someone who is not a party to it. Used in 15 laws
Cancellation
解除（かいじょ）
Ending a contract by one party's notice to the other, where the contract or the law gives that party a right to cancel (Civil Code, Article 540, paragraph (1)). Used in 19 laws
Juridical act
法律行為（ほうりつこうい）
An act by which a person, by manifesting their intention (意思表示), brings about the legal effect they intend, such as making a contract or buying everyday goods (Civil Code, Articles 3-2, 9, paragraph (1), and 91; Act on General Rules for Application of Laws, Article 10, paragraphs (1) and (4)). Used in 4 laws
Manifestation of intention
意思表示（いしひょうじ）
A person's expression of an intention to which the law gives a legal effect, such as an offer to conclude a contract, which shows its terms and forms the contract once the other party accepts it (Civil Code, Article 522, paragraph (1)), the acceptance itself (Article 527), or the notice to the other party by which a party rescinds (取消し) an act or cancels (解除) a contract (Articles 123 and 540, paragraph (1)). Used in 9 laws
Judicial settlement
裁判上の和解（さいばんじょうのわかい）
A settlement (和解) is an agreement in which the parties each give way to end a dispute between them (Civil Code, Article 695). Used in 2 laws
Imprisonment
拘禁刑（こうきんけい）
The punishment of being held in a penal institution (刑事施設), for life or for a fixed term of one month to twenty years (Penal Code, Article 12, paragraphs (1) and (2)); a fixed term can be raised to thirty years where the punishment is aggravated, or cut below one month where it is reduced (Article 14, paragraph (2)). Used in 71 laws
Imprisonment with work
懲役（ちょうえき）
A punishment the Penal Code had until Act No. 67 of 2022 came into force: being held in a penal institution (刑事施設) and made to do prescribed work, for life or for a fixed term of one month to twenty years (Penal Code, former Article 12). Used in 4 laws
Imprisonment without work
禁錮（きんこ）
A punishment the Penal Code had until Act No. 67 of 2022 came into force: being held in a penal institution (刑事施設), for life or for a fixed term of one month to twenty years, without the prescribed work that imprisonment with work (懲役) carried (Penal Code, former Articles 12 and 13). Used in 2 laws
Fine
罰金（ばっきん）
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). Used in 79 laws
Penal detention
拘留（こうりゅう）
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)). Used in 2 laws
Petty fine
科料（かりょう）
The lightest criminal punishment: paying 1,000 yen or more but less than 10,000 yen (Penal Code, Articles 9, 10 and 17). Used in 3 laws
Confiscation
没収（ぼっしゅう）
A punishment that can only be added to a principal one (付加刑) (Penal Code, Article 9): a thing connected with the crime is confiscated. Used in 7 laws
Special permanent resident
特別永住者（とくべつえいじゅうしゃ）
A person who may live in Japan permanently under a status the Special Act on the Immigration Control of, inter alia, those who have lost Japanese Nationality pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan sets up for those who lost Japanese nationality under the Treaty of Peace with Japan (平和条約国籍離脱者) and for their descendants who were born in Japan and have lived there since, as each generation between them did (Articles 2 to 5). Used in 6 laws
Suspended sentence
執行猶予（しっこうゆうよ）
A court's decision, when it passes a sentence, to hold off carrying it out. Used in 2 laws
Complaint
告訴（こくそ）
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)). Used in 3 laws
Oral argument
口頭弁論（こうとうべんろん）
The hearing at which the parties to a civil lawsuit or another court proceeding put their case to the court by speaking: the parties must argue a lawsuit before the court in oral argument, though in a case to be concluded by a ruling (決定) the court decides whether to hold one (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 87, paragraph (1)), and the rule gives way where a provision says otherwise (paragraph (3)): the court may, for one, dismiss without oral argument an action that is unlawful and cannot be put right (Article 140). Used in 7 laws
Appeal to the court of second instance
控訴（こうそ）
An appeal against a final judgment that a district court (地方裁判所) gave at first instance, or against a summary court's (簡易裁判所) final judgment (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 281, paragraph (1)): a high court (高等裁判所) hears one against a district court's or a family court's (家庭裁判所) judgment, and a district court one against a summary court's judgment in a civil case (Courts Act, Article 16, item (i), and Article 24, item (iii)). Used in 3 laws
Final appeal
上告（じょうこく）
The appeal against a judgment of second instance, and against a high court's judgment at first instance: it goes to the Supreme Court (最高裁判所) against a final judgment a high court (高等裁判所) gives at second or first instance, and to a high court against one a district court (地方裁判所) gives at second instance (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 311, paragraph (1)); where, after the final judgment, both parties agreed not to appeal to the court of second instance (控訴) while keeping the right to a final appeal, it goes straight to the Supreme Court against a district court's judgment and to a high court against a summary court's (Article 311, paragraph (2), and Article 281, paragraph (1)). Used in 3 laws
Small claims action
少額訴訟（しょうがくそしょう）
A lawsuit in a summary court (簡易裁判所), heard and decided under rules of its own, on a claim to be paid money where the amount in dispute is 600,000 yen or less; the plaintiff asks for it when filing the action and declares how many times they have asked for one in that court that year, and no one may ask for one in the same summary court more times in a year than the Supreme Court's rules (最高裁判所規則) allow (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 368, paragraphs (1) to (3)). Used in 2 laws
Litigation representative
訴訟代理人（そしょうだいりにん）
A person who carries on a lawsuit on behalf of a party. Used in 3 laws
Service
送達（そうたつ）
The delivery of a document in a court proceeding, such as a lawsuit, to the person it is for, by a procedure the law lays down: unless a provision says otherwise, the court carries it out of its own motion, the court clerk handles the work (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 98), and the person who effects it reports on it to the court in writing (Article 100, paragraph (1)); the complaint must be served on the defendant (Article 138, paragraph (1)), and the judgment on the parties (Article 255, paragraph (1)). Used in 11 laws
Reward
報労金（ほうろうきん）
The reward a person who gets back property they lost (遺失者) must pay its finder (拾得者): an amount from 5% to 20% of the property's value, or of the price it fetched where the police or a special-case facility occupant (特例施設占有者) sold it (Lost Property Act, Article 28, paragraph (1)). Used in 1 law
National law
本国法（ほんごくほう）
The law of the country whose nationality a person has. Used in 2 laws
Habitual residence
常居所（じょうきょしょ）
The place where a person habitually lives; the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws uses the term without defining it. Used in 1 law
Public policy
公の秩序又は善良の風俗（おおやけのちつじょまたはぜんりょうのふうぞく）
Public order and good morals, called 公序 (public policy) for short in the heading of Article 42 of the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws. Used in 2 laws
Request for review
審査請求（しんさせいきゅう）
A request to an administrative agency (行政庁) to review a disposition (処分) the person objects to, or, where the person applied for a disposition under a law or regulation and a reasonable time has passed with none made, the agency's failure to act (不作為) (Administrative Complaint Review Act, Articles 2 and 3). Used in 40 laws
Request for re-investigation
再調査の請求（さいちょうさのせいきゅう）
A request to the administrative agency (行政庁) that made a disposition (処分) to look into it again. Used in 2 laws
Request for re-examination
再審査請求（さいしんさせいきゅう）
A further request, by a person who objects to the determination (裁決) on a request for review (審査請求) of a disposition (処分), that can be made only where an Act provides for one against that disposition (Administrative Complaint Review Act, Article 6, paragraph (1)). Used in 7 laws

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Rights, roles and legal effects