Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act

A Japanese national (except for crew members; the same applies in paragraph (1) of the following Article) who departs from Japan with the intention of going to an area outside of Japan, is to possess a valid passport and must receive confirmation of the departure from an immigration inspector in accordance with the procedures provided by Ministry of Justice Order, at the port of entry or departure from which the person departs.

The Japanese national set forth in the preceding paragraph must not depart from Japan unless they have received confirmation of the departure from Japan.

In the case where a Japanese national seeks to depart from Japan with the intention of going to an area outside of Japan, if an immigration inspector has received a notice from a relevant agency to the effect that the Japanese national is a person who falls under any of the following items, the immigration inspector may withhold confirmation of the departure of that person for a period limited to 24 hours from the time when the procedures for receiving the confirmation of the departure set forth in the preceding Article were carried out:

a person who is subject to a departure restriction (excluding a person who has obtained the permission of the court);

a person who is being prosecuted for a crime punishable by the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment with a maximum term of 3 years or more (excluding a person who is subject to a departure restriction with respect to the punishment pertaining to that prosecution), or a person for whom an arrest warrant, a subpoena, a detention warrant or a warrant of detention for expert examination has been issued on suspicion of having committed any of these crimes;

a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment or a severer penalty and has not been granted suspension of execution of the entire sentence, until the person has completed the sentence or until they cease to be subject to the execution of the sentence (excluding, with respect to that sentence, those subject to a departure restriction, those released on parole, and those for whom part of the sentence was subject to suspended execution and are currently under suspension of execution of the sentence);

a person for whom a provisional detention permit or a detention permit has been issued pursuant to the provisions of the Act of Extradition.

If an immigration inspector has withheld confirmation of departure pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the inspector must immediately inform the agency that gave the notice set forth in the same paragraph to that effect.

A Japanese national (except for crew members) who returns to Japan from an area outside of Japan is to possess a valid passport (a document that certifies Japanese nationality if they are unable to possess a valid passport) and must receive confirmation of their return to Japan from an immigration inspector in accordance with the procedures provided by Ministry of Justice Order, at the port of entry or departure at which the person lands.