In this Act, the meanings of the terms stated in the following items are as prescribed in each of those items:
この法律において、次の各号に掲げる用語の意義は、当該各号に定めるところによる。
laws and regulations:meaning laws, orders based on laws (including public notices), Prefectural Ordinances or Municipal Ordinances, and rules of the executive agencies of local governments (including regulations; referred to as "rules" below);
法令 法律、法律に基づく命令（告示を含む。）、条例及び地方公共団体の執行機関の規則（規程を含む。以下「規則」という。）をいう。
dispositions:meaning administrative dispositions or other acts constituting the exercise of public authority by administrative agencies;
処分 行政庁の処分その他公権力の行使に当たる行為をいう。
applications:meaning requests made based on laws and regulations, for permission, approval, licenses, or other dispositions by an administrative agency for gaining some benefit for the applicant oneself (referred to as "permission or other approvals" below), which are requests that the administrative agencies should respond to in the affirmative or negative;
adverse dispositions: meaning dispositions in which an administrative agency based on laws and regulations, designate specified persons as the person subject to the disposition and directly impose obligations upon them or limit their rights; provided, however, that the dispositions that fall under any of the following dispositions are excluded:
de facto acts and dispositions as procedures that are required by laws and regulations for clarifying the scope, timing or other factors in performing the de facto acts;
事実上の行為及び事実上の行為をするに当たりその範囲、時期等を明らかにするために法令上必要とされている手続としての処分
dispositions that refuse the permission or other approvals requested through applications and other dispositions that are rendered based on applications, which designate the persons who filed the applications as the persons subject to the disposition;
dispositions rendered with the consent of the persons who are to be persons subject to the disposition;
名あて人となるべき者の同意の下にすることとされている処分
dispositions which nullify the effect of a permission or other approvals, which are rendered because there has been a notification that the facts on which the applicable permission or other approvals had been based have ceased to exist;
administrative organs: meaning the organs stated in the following sub-items:
行政機関 次に掲げる機関をいう。
organs established under the Cabinet or under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet based on the provisions of laws, the Imperial Household Agency, organs provided for in Article 49, paragraph (1) or (2) of the Act for Establishment of the Cabinet Office (Act No. 89 of 1999), organs provided for in Article 3, paragraph (2) of the National Government Organization Act (Act No. 120 of 1948), the Board of Audit or organs established under those organs, or the employees of those organs that are authorized by laws to independently exercise authority; and
法律の規定に基づき内閣に置かれる機関若しくは内閣の所轄の下に置かれる機関、宮内庁、内閣府設置法（平成十一年法律第八十九号）第四十九条第一項若しくは第二項に規定する機関、国家行政組織法（昭和二十三年法律第百二十号）第三条第二項に規定する機関、会計検査院若しくはこれらに置かれる機関又はこれらの機関の職員であって法律上独立に権限を行使することを認められた職員
organs of local governments (excluding assemblies).
地方公共団体の機関（議会を除く。）
administrative guidance:meaning guidance, recommendations, advice, or other acts by an administrative organ seeking certain actions or inactions on the part of specified persons in order to realize certain administrative aims within the scope of its duties or processes under its jurisdiction, which do not fall under dispositions;
notifications:meaning acts performed to notify administrative agencies of certain matters (excluding those that fall under applications) which are directly obligated by laws and regulations to give the notifications (including those for which the notifications should be given in order to bring about certain legal effects the person anticipates);
administrative orders or other orders: the orders stated in the following sub-items which are established by the Cabinet or administrative organs:
命令等 内閣又は行政機関が定める次に掲げるものをいう。
orders based on laws (including public notices that prescribe the requirements of a disposition; simply referred to as "orders" in paragraph (2) of the following Article) or rules;
review standards (meaning the standards that are necessary for judging whether or not to grant a permission or other approvals sought by an application in accordance with the provisions of those laws and regulations; the same applies below);
disposition standards (meaning the standards that are necessary for judging whether or not to render adverse dispositions or the kind of adverse dispositions to be rendered; the same applies below); and
administrative guidance guidelines (meaning the matters that are to be the common content of administrative guidance when seeking to issue administrative guidance to multiple persons that meet certain conditions in order to achieve the same administrative aim; the same applies below).
行政指導指針（同一の行政目的を実現するため一定の条件に該当する複数の者に対し行政指導をしようとするときにこれらの行政指導に共通してその内容となるべき事項をいう。以下同じ。）