Notarial deed

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). A notary will not draw one up for anything unlawful or void (Article 26). In the Act on Land and Building Leases it decides whether a lease can end without renewal: a contract for a land lease of 10 to under 50 years for a building used only for business must be made by notarial deed (Article 23, paragraph (3)), while the terms of a land lease of 50 years or more that rule out renewal, and a building lease with no renewal, need only be "in writing, such as a notarial deed" (Article 22, paragraph (1), and Article 38, paragraph (1)), so an ordinary written contract is enough for those two.