Lost Property Act

The Lost Property Act (Act No. 87 of 1899) is wholly amended.

This Act is to provide for the procedures for the finding and return of lost property, buried things and other things that have left possession, and other matters necessary for their handling.

①In this Act, "property" means lost property and buried things, and quasi-lost property (meaning things of another person that have been possessed by mistake, things left behind by another person, and livestock that have run away; the same applies in the following Article).

②In this Act, "finding" means starting to possess property (or, in the case of buried things and things left behind by another person, discovering them).

③In this Act, "finder" means a person who has made a finding of property.

④In this Act, "person who lost" means a person who had been in possession of property (including, if there is an owner or any other person who has a right to claim recovery of that property, that person).

⑤In this Act, "facility" means a building or other facility (including mobile facilities such as vehicles, vessels and aircraft) in which a person in charge of its management is constantly present.

⑥In this Act, "facility occupant" means the occupant of a facility.

The provisions of Article 240 of the Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896) apply mutatis mutandis to quasi-lost property. In this case, the phrase "found it" in that Article is deemed to be replaced with "made the finding prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Lost Property Act".

①A finder must promptly return the property of which the finder made a finding to the person who lost it or submit it to the chief of a police station; provided, however, that property that falls under things the possession of which is prohibited by laws and regulations and property that is recognized as having been in the possession of the perpetrator of a crime must be promptly submitted to the chief of a police station.

②Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, a finder (excluding the facility occupant of the facility concerned) who has made a finding of property (excluding buried things; the same applies in Section 3) in a facility must promptly deliver that property to the facility occupant of that facility.

③The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs do not apply to a finder who has requested, under Article 35, paragraph (3) of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals (Act No. 105 of 1973), the taking over of property that is a dog or cat prescribed in that paragraph.

When the chief of a police station has received a submission under paragraph (1) of the preceding Article (referred to simply as "submission" in this Section), the chief is to issue to the finder, as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules, a document certifying that the submission was received.

The chief of a police station is to return the property received in a submission to the person who lost it.

①If the chief of a police station is unable to identify the person who lost the property received in a submission or is unable to ascertain that person's whereabouts, the chief must give public notice of the following matters:

②The public notice under the preceding paragraph (referred to simply as "public notice" in this Section) is to be given by posting the matters listed in the items of that paragraph on the bulletin board of the police station.

③The chief of a police station may, in lieu of the posting under the preceding paragraph, keep at the police station a document stating the matters listed in the items of paragraph (1) and allow persons concerned to inspect it freely at any time.

④Even after giving public notice, the chief of a police station must continue the measures provided for in the preceding two paragraphs for three months from the date of the public notice (six months in the case of buried things), except where the person who lost the property has been identified.

⑤If the property received in a submission by the chief of a police station is seized under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 131 of 1948) before public notice is given, the chief may, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), refrain from giving public notice. In this case, when the chief has received the return of that property, the chief must give public notice.

①If the property on which the chief of a police station of the prefectural police concerned has given public notice is valuable property specified by National Public Safety Commission Rules, the Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police Department or the chief of the police headquarters of Hokkaido or of a prefecture (referred to as "Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters") is to notify the other Chiefs of Prefectural Police Headquarters of the following matters:

②A Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters is to publish, by use of the Internet or by other means, as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules, information on property on which the chief of a police station of the prefectural police concerned has given public notice and property of which it has been notified by another Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

①If the property received in a submission by the chief of a police station is liable to be lost or damaged, or its custody requires excessive expense or effort, the chief may sell it as provided by Cabinet Order; provided, however, that this does not apply to property that falls under any of the things listed in the items of Article 35.

②In addition to what is provided for in the preceding paragraph, if the property received in a submission by the chief of a police station (excluding buried things and property that falls under any of the things listed in the items of Article 35) falls under any of the things listed in the following items, and the person who lost it is not identified within two weeks from the date of the public notice, the chief may sell it as provided by Cabinet Order:

③The expenses required for a sale under the preceding two paragraphs (referred to simply as "sale" in this Article and the following Article) are to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale.

④When a sale has been made, for the custody, return and vesting of the property, the remainder obtained by deducting the expenses required for the sale from the proceeds of the sale is deemed to be that property.

In the cases prescribed in the main clause of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, the chief of a police station may, as provided by Cabinet Order, dispose of the property received in a submission, by destroying it or otherwise, in any of the following circumstances:

①When returning the property received in a submission by the chief of a police station to the person who lost it, the chief must, as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules, confirm that the person is the person who lost that property, and return it in exchange for a receipt.

②Only where the finder's consent has been given, the chief of a police station may, at the request of the person who lost the property, disclose the finder's name or title and address or location (referred to as "name, etc.").

③The chief of a police station may, at the request of a finder who has given the consent under the preceding paragraph, disclose the name, etc. of the person who lost the property.

When it is necessary for the return of the property received in a submission by the chief of a police station to the person who lost it, the chief may make an inquiry to a public office or a public or private organization and request a report on the necessary matters.

①A facility occupant who has received delivery under Article 4, paragraph (2) must promptly return the property so delivered to the person who lost it or submit it to the chief of a police station; provided, however, that property that falls under things the possession of which is prohibited by laws and regulations and property that is recognized as having been in the possession of the perpetrator of a crime must be promptly submitted to the chief of a police station.

②The provisions of the preceding Section apply mutatis mutandis where the chief of a police station has received a submission under the preceding paragraph. In this case, the phrase "paragraph (1) of the preceding Article" in Article 5 is deemed to be replaced with "Article 13, paragraph (1)", the term "finder" in that Article with "facility occupant", the phrase "the finder's consent" in Article 11, paragraph (2) with "the consent of the finder or facility occupant", the phrase "the finder's name" in that paragraph with "the name of the finder or facility occupant who gave that consent", and the term "finder" in paragraph (3) of that Article with "finder or facility occupant".

A facility occupant who has received delivery under Article 4, paragraph (2) must, when the finder so requests, issue a document stating the following matters:

With respect to property of which a facility occupant has received delivery under Article 4, paragraph (2) (referred to simply as "delivery" in the provisions through Article 34), the facility occupant must handle it with the care of a good manager until the occupant returns it to the person who lost it or submits it to the chief of a police station under Article 13, paragraph (1).

①A facility occupant whose facility is used by an unspecified and large number of persons must, when the occupant has received delivery of property or has personally made a finding of property, post the matters listed in the items of Article 7, paragraph (1) in a place easily visible to persons using the facility.

②The facility occupant referred to in the preceding paragraph may, in lieu of the posting under the preceding paragraph, keep at the place that the occupant manages a document stating the matters listed in the items of Article 7, paragraph (1) and allow persons concerned to inspect it freely at any time.

Among the facility occupants referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, one that receives delivery of, or personally makes a finding of, a large number of items of property and falls under a person specified by Cabinet Order as able to keep them appropriately (referred to as "special-case facility occupant") may, in the case where the property of which it has received delivery or has personally made a finding (excluding high-value property specified by Cabinet Order) cannot be returned to the person who lost it under the main clause of Article 4, paragraph (1) or the main clause of Article 13, paragraph (1), omit the submission under the main clause of Article 4, paragraph (1) or the main clause of Article 13, paragraph (1) if, within two weeks from the day of the delivery or finding, it has notified the chief of a police station of matters relating to that property as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules. In this case, the special-case facility occupant must keep that property with the care of a good manager.

The provisions of Articles 7, 8 and 12 apply mutatis mutandis where the chief of a police station has received a notification under the first sentence of the preceding Article. In this case, the phrase "received in a submission" in Article 7, paragraphs (1) and (5) and Article 12 is deemed to be replaced with "received in a notification under the first sentence of Article 17", and the term "place" in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) with "place, and the name or title of the special-case facility occupant who keeps that property under the second sentence of Article 17 and the place of that keeping".

A special-case facility occupant is to return the property kept under the second sentence of Article 17 (referred to as "property in custody") to the person who lost it.

①If property in custody is liable to be lost or damaged, or its keeping requires excessive expense or effort, a special-case facility occupant may sell it as provided by Cabinet Order; provided, however, that this does not apply to property that falls under any of the things listed in the items of Article 35.

②In addition to what is provided for in the preceding paragraph, if property in custody (excluding property that falls under any of the things listed in the items of Article 35) falls under any of the things listed in the items of Article 9, paragraph (2), and the person who lost it is not identified within two weeks from the date of the public notice under Article 7, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 18, a special-case facility occupant may sell it as provided by Cabinet Order.

③When a special-case facility occupant intends to make a sale under the preceding two paragraphs (referred to simply as "sale" in this Article and paragraph (1) of the following Article), the occupant must so notify the chief of a police station as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules.

④The expenses required for a sale are to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale.

⑤When a sale has been made, for the custody, return and vesting of the property, the remainder obtained by deducting the expenses required for the sale from the proceeds of the sale is deemed to be that property in custody.

①In the cases prescribed in the main clause of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, a special-case facility occupant may, as provided by Cabinet Order, dispose of property in custody by destroying it or otherwise, in any of the following circumstances:

②When a special-case facility occupant intends to make a disposal under the preceding paragraph (excluding item (i)), the occupant must so notify the chief of a police station as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules.

①When returning property in custody to the person who lost it, a special-case facility occupant must, as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules, confirm that the person is the person who lost that property in custody, and return it in exchange for a receipt.

②Only where the finder's consent has been given, a special-case facility occupant may, at the request of the person who lost the property, disclose the finder's name, etc.

③A special-case facility occupant may, at the request of a finder who has given the consent referred to in the preceding paragraph, disclose the name, etc. of the person who lost the property.

A special-case facility occupant must, as provided by National Public Safety Commission Rules, keep a book, enter in it the matters specified by National Public Safety Commission Rules concerning property in custody, and preserve it.

①A special-case facility occupant that keeps property under the second sentence of Article 17 must, when it ceases to be a special-case facility occupant, without delay, submit the property in custody to the chief of a police station, attaching a copy of the book referred to in the preceding Article.

②When a special-case facility occupant that keeps property under the second sentence of Article 17 comes to fall under any of the cases listed in the following items, the person specified in each of those items must, without delay, submit to the chief of a police station the property that the special-case facility occupant had kept under the second sentence of Article 17, attaching a copy of the book referred to in the preceding Article; provided, however, that this does not apply in the case listed in item (iii) where the corporation prescribed in that item that survives the merger or is incorporated as a result of the merger continues to be a special-case facility occupant.

①The Prefectural Public Safety Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Public Safety Commission") may, to the extent necessary for the enforcement of this Act, request a facility occupant to make a report or submit materials concerning property that the facility occupant received by delivery or of which the facility occupant personally made a finding.

②The Public Safety Commission may, to the extent necessary for the enforcement of this Act, request a special-case facility occupant to make a report or submit materials concerning property in custody, or to present property in custody.

①If a facility occupant or special-case facility occupant, or its agent, employee or other worker (referred to as an "agent, etc." in the following paragraph), has violated Article 13, paragraph (1), Article 19, Article 22, paragraph (1), Article 23 or Article 37, paragraph (3), and the Public Safety Commission recognizes that there is a risk that the interests of the person who lost the property or the finder may be harmed, the Public Safety Commission may give necessary instructions to that facility occupant or special-case facility occupant, to the extent necessary to protect those interests.

②The same applies as in the preceding paragraph where a special-case facility occupant or its agent, etc. has sold or disposed of, or attempted to sell or dispose of, property in custody in violation of Article 20, paragraphs (1) through (3) or Article 21.

①The expenses required for the submission, delivery and custody of property (excluding expenses required by a person who possessed another person's thing by mistake) are borne by the person who lost the property and receives its return, or by a person who acquires ownership of the property under the provisions of Article 240 of the Civil Code (including the case where it applies mutatis mutandis under Article 3; the same applies hereinafter) or Article 241 of the Civil Code, or under the provisions of Article 32, paragraph (1), and takes it over.

②The provisions of Articles 295 through 302 of the Civil Code apply to the expenses referred to in the preceding paragraph.

①A person who lost property (excluding a thing of another person possessed by mistake) and receives its return must pay the finder a reward in an amount equivalent to 5 percent or more and 20 percent or less of the value of that property (for property sold under Article 9, paragraph (1) or (2) or Article 20, paragraph (1) or (2), the amount of the proceeds of that sale).

②If there is a facility occupant that received delivery of the property, the person who lost the property referred to in the preceding paragraph must, notwithstanding that paragraph, pay each of the finder and that facility occupant a reward in an amount equal to one half of the amount prescribed in that paragraph.

③The national government, local governments, incorporated administrative agencies (meaning incorporated administrative agencies prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act No. 103 of 1999)), local incorporated administrative agencies (meaning local incorporated administrative agencies prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Local Independent Administrative Agency Act (Act No. 118 of 2003)) and other public juridical persons may not claim the rewards referred to in the preceding two paragraphs.

The expenses referred to in Article 27, paragraph (1) and the reward referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of the preceding Article may not be claimed once one month has elapsed after the property was returned to the person who lost it.

A finder (including another person prescribed in the proviso to Article 241 of the Civil Code) may, by declaring in advance to the chief of a police station (or, for a finder prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (2), the facility occupant) that the finder waives all rights concerning the property, be released from the obligation to reimburse the expenses referred to in Article 27, paragraph (1).

A person who lost property may, by waiving the rights the person holds in the property, be released from the obligation to reimburse the expenses referred to in Article 27, paragraph (1) and the obligation to pay the reward referred to in Article 28, paragraph (1) or (2).

①When all persons who lost the property have waived the rights they hold in the property, the finder acquires ownership of that property; provided, however, that a buried thing prescribed in the proviso to Article 241 of the Civil Code is governed by the same rules as the proviso to that Article.

②A person who acquires ownership of property under the provisions of the preceding paragraph may waive the right so acquired and thereby be released from the obligation to reimburse the expenses referred to in Article 27, paragraph (1).

When a finder prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (2) has, under Article 30 or paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, waived rights in the property that the finder delivered, or has lost rights in it under the following Article by falling under item (iii) of that Article, the facility occupant who received the delivery is deemed to be the finder, and the provisions of Article 240 of the Civil Code, Article 30, and the main clause of paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply. In this case, the phrase "chief of a police station (or, for a finder prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (2), the facility occupant)" in Article 30 is deemed to be replaced with "chief of a police station".

A person falling under any of the following items loses, with respect to the property of which the person made a finding or that the person received by delivery, the right to claim the expenses referred to in Article 27, paragraph (1) and the reward referred to in Article 28, paragraph (1) or (2), and the right to acquire ownership under the provisions of Article 240 or 241 of the Civil Code or the provisions of Article 32, paragraph (1):

Ownership cannot be acquired, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 240 or 241 of the Civil Code or the provisions of Article 32, paragraph (1), in property that falls under any of the things listed in the following items:

A person who has acquired ownership of property under the provisions of Article 240 or 241 of the Civil Code or the provisions of Article 32, paragraph (1) loses that ownership if the person does not collect the property from the chief of a police station or the special-case facility occupant within two months from the day of the acquisition.

①With respect to property (excluding property that falls under the documents, drawings or electronic or magnetic records listed in Article 35, items (ii) through (v)), if, in the case where all persons who lost the property have waived the rights they hold or in the case where the person who lost the property is not identified within three months (within six months for a buried thing; the same applies in the following paragraph) after the public notice under Article 7, paragraph (1) (including the case where it applies mutatis mutandis under Article 18) is given, there is no person who acquires ownership under the provisions of Article 240 or 241 of the Civil Code or the provisions of Article 32, paragraph (1) (including the case where all such persons have lost that ownership under the provisions of the preceding Article), ownership of the property vests in the person specified in each of the following items for the category of person who keeps the property listed in that item:

②With respect to property, among that submitted to the chief of a police station under Article 4, paragraph (1) or Article 13, paragraph (1), that falls under the documents, drawings or electronic or magnetic records listed in Article 35, items (ii) through (v), the chief of a police station must promptly dispose of it in accordance with National Public Safety Commission Rules when all persons who lost the property have waived the rights they hold or when the person who lost the property is not identified within three months after the public notice under Article 7, paragraph (1) is given.

③With respect to property in custody that falls under the documents, drawings or electronic or magnetic records listed in Article 35, items (ii) through (v), a special-case facility occupant must promptly dispose of it in accordance with National Public Safety Commission Rules when all persons who lost the property have waived the rights they hold or when the person who lost the property is not identified within three months after the public notice under Article 7, paragraph (1), as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 18, is given.

Affairs falling within the authority of the Hokkaido Public Safety Commission under the provisions of this Act may, as provided by Cabinet Order, be conducted by a District Public Safety Commission.

If a Cabinet Order or a Rule of the National Public Safety Commission is enacted, revised, or abolished under the provisions of this Act, necessary transitional measures (including transitional measures concerning penal provisions) may be prescribed by the Cabinet Order or the National Public Safety Commission Rules to the extent considered reasonably necessary for the enactment, revision or abolition.

Beyond those prescribed in this Act, procedures for the implementation of this Act and other matters necessary for the enforcement of this Act are prescribed by the National Public Safety Commission Rules.

A person who violates an instruction under Article 26 is punished by imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.

A person falling under one of the following items is subject to a fine of not more than 300,000 yen:

When the representative of a corporation, or an agent, employee or other worker of a corporation or individual commits any one of the violations referred to in the preceding two Articles with regard to the business of the corporation or individual, not only the offender is punished but also the corporation or individual is punished by the fine prescribed in the respective Articles.

A person who fails to submit property in violation of Article 24, paragraph (2) is subject to a non-penal fine of not more than 200,000 yen.