Japan's supreme law: it declares that sovereign power rests with the people, makes the Diet the sole law-making organ, gives executive power to the Cabinet and judicial power to the courts, guarantees fundamental human rights, and puts the duty to respect and uphold it on those who hold public office.
The law collection
What each law is for, which text is in force today, and what is about to change — with the Japanese and its English side by side.
- 50
- Laws
- 5,645
- Articles
- 48,679
- Cross-references
- 82
- Amendments on the way
- 100%
- With English
Constitution憲法3 laws
Who is a Japanese citizen: how Japanese citizenship is acquired — by birth, through a parent's acknowledgment (認知) of a child, or by naturalization (帰化) — and when a Japanese citizen who also holds another nationality must choose between them, or loses Japanese citizenship.
Read the textCitizenship by birthAcknowledged childrenConditions for naturalizationNaturalization of a spouse
Act on General Rules for Application of Laws
法の適用に関する通則法
Which country's law governs a matter that crosses borders — a contract, a tort (不法行為, a wrongful act that harms someone), a marriage, a child, an inheritance — together with when an Act takes effect and when a custom counts as law.
Text in force since
43 articles12 defined terms
1 amendment on the way- 130Ministry of Justice
- 27machine translation