# 民法 / Civil Code — 第五百四十二条 (Article 542) - Law: 民法 (Civil Code), 明治二十九年法律第八十九号 - English title "Civil Code": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第五百四十二条 (Article 542)（催告によらない解除） — address `art-542` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542 - Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第五百四十二条（催告によらない解除） — (Cancellation Without Demand) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-542 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542 **第一項** 次に掲げる場合には、債権者は、前条の催告をすることなく、直ちに契約の解除をすることができる。 art-542/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1 In the following cases, the obligee may immediately cancel the contract without making the demand referred to in the preceding Article: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **一** 債務の全部の履行が不能であるとき。 art-542/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-1 if the performance of the whole of the obligation is impossible; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **二** 債務者がその債務の全部の履行を拒絶する意思を明確に表示したとき。 art-542/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-2 if the obligor unequivocally manifests the intention to refuse to perform the obligation in whole; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **三** 債務の一部の履行が不能である場合又は債務者がその債務の一部の履行を拒絶する意思を明確に表示した場合において、残存する部分のみでは契約をした目的を達することができないとき。 art-542/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-3 if the performance of part of the obligation is impossible, or if the obligor clearly manifests the intention to refuse to perform part of the obligation and the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved by the performance of the remaining part of the obligation; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **四** 契約の性質又は当事者の意思表示により、特定の日時又は一定の期間内に履行をしなければ契約をした目的を達することができない場合において、債務者が履行をしないでその時期を経過したとき。 art-542/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-4 if, due to the nature of the contract or a manifestation of intention by the parties, the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved unless the obligation is performed at a specific time on a specific date or within a certain period of time, and the obligor fails to perform the obligation at that time or before that period of time expires; or Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **五** 前各号に掲げる場合のほか、債務者がその債務の履行をせず、債権者が前条の催告をしても契約をした目的を達するのに足りる履行がされる見込みがないことが明らかであるとき。 art-542/par-1/item-5 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-5 beyond the cases stated in the preceding items, if the obligor does not perform the obligation and it is obvious that the obligor is unlikely to perform the obligation to the extent necessary to achieve the purpose of the contract even if the obligee makes the demand referred to in the preceding Article. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 次に掲げる場合には、債権者は、前条の催告をすることなく、直ちに契約の一部の解除をすることができる。 art-542/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-2 In the following cases, the obligee may immediately cancel a part of the contract without making the demand referred to in the preceding Article: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **一** 債務の一部の履行が不能であるとき。 art-542/par-2/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-2/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-2/item-1 the performance of the part of the obligation is impossible; or Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **二** 債務者がその債務の一部の履行を拒絶する意思を明確に表示したとき。 art-542/par-2/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-2/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-2/item-2 the obligor clearly manifests the intention to refuse to perform the part of the obligation. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-542/par-1: 前条 → 民法 第五百四十一条 (Article 541), art-541 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-541 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-541 - art-542/par-1/item-5: 前各号 → 民法 第五百四十二条第一項第一号 (Article 542, paragraph (1), item (i)), art-542/par-1/item-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-1 - art-542/par-1/item-5: 前各号 → 民法 第五百四十二条第一項第二号 (Article 542, paragraph (1), item (ii)), art-542/par-1/item-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-2 - art-542/par-1/item-5: 前各号 → 民法 第五百四十二条第一項第三号 (Article 542, paragraph (1), item (iii)), art-542/par-1/item-3 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-3 - art-542/par-1/item-5: 前各号 → 民法 第五百四十二条第一項第四号 (Article 542, paragraph (1), item (iv)), art-542/par-1/item-4 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-4 - art-542/par-1/item-5: 前条 → 民法 第五百四十一条 (Article 541), art-541 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-541 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-541 - art-542/par-2: 前条 → 民法 第五百四十一条 (Article 541), art-541 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-541 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-541 ## Cited by 5 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第五百四十二条第一項第五号（催告によらない解除） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-542/par-1/item-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-542/par-1/item-5 - 民法 第五百四十三条第一項（債権者の責めに帰すべき事由による場合） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-543/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-543/par-1 - 民法 第五百六十四条第一項（買主の損害賠償請求及び解除権の行使） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-564/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-564/par-1 - 民法 第五百六十八条第一項（競売における担保責任等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-568/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-568/par-1 - 民法 附則第三十二条第一項（契約の解除に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/suppl-4291-44/art-32/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/suppl-4291-44/art-32/par-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20260624_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-10-11 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4848/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11 - This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11