# 民法 / Civil Code — 第七百九十七条 (Article 797) - 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: 第七百九十七条 (Article 797)（十五歳未満の者を養子とする縁組） — address `art-797` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797 - 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. --- ### 第七百九十七条（十五歳未満の者を養子とする縁組） — (Adoption of Persons under the Age of 15) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-797 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797 **第一項** 養子となる者が十五歳未満であるときは、その法定代理人が、これに代わって、縁組の承諾をすることができる。 art-797/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-1 If a person being adopted is under 15 years of age, the legal representative thereof may give consent to the child's adoption on behalf thereof. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 法定代理人が前項の承諾をするには、養子となる者の父母でその監護をすべき者であるものが他にあるときは、その同意を得なければならない。養子となる者の父母で親権を停止されているものがあるときも、同様とする。 art-797/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-2 If the person being adopted has another parent that is entitled to custody thereof, the legal representative must obtain the consent of that parent before giving the consent referred to in the preceding paragraph. The same applies if a parent's parental authority in respect of the person being adopted has been suspended. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 第一項の縁組をすることが子の利益のため特に必要であるにもかかわらず、養子となる者の父母でその監護をすべき者であるものが縁組の同意をしないときは、家庭裁判所は、養子となる者の法定代理人の請求により、その同意に代わる許可を与えることができる。同項の縁組をすることが子の利益のため特に必要であるにもかかわらず、養子となる者の父母で親権を停止されているものが縁組の同意をしないときも、同様とする。 art-797/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-3 If, even though the adoption referred to in paragraph (1) is particularly necessary for the interests of the child, a parent of the person to be adopted who is to have custody of the person does not consent to the adoption, the family court may, at the request of the legal representative of the person to be adopted, grant permission in lieu of that consent. The same applies if, even though the adoption referred to in that paragraph is particularly necessary for the interests of the child, a parent of the person to be adopted whose parental authority has been suspended does not consent to the adoption. machine translation, not official **第四項** 第一項の承諾に係る親権の行使について第八百二十四条の二第三項に規定する請求を受けた家庭裁判所は、第一項の縁組をすることが子の利益のため特に必要であると認めるときに限り、同条第三項の規定による審判をすることができる。 art-797/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-4 The family court that has received the request prescribed in Article 824-2, paragraph (3) concerning the exercise of parental authority relating to the consent under paragraph (1) may issue a ruling under paragraph (3) of that Article only if it finds that the adoption referred to in paragraph (1) is particularly necessary for the interests of the child. machine translation, not official --- ## Cites - art-797/par-2: 前項 → 民法 第七百九十七条第一項 (Article 797, paragraph (1)), art-797/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-1 - art-797/par-3: 第一項 → 民法 第七百九十七条第一項 (Article 797, paragraph (1)), art-797/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-1 - art-797/par-4: 第一項 → 民法 第七百九十七条第一項 (Article 797, paragraph (1)), art-797/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-1 - art-797/par-4: 第八百二十四条の二第三項 → 民法 第八百二十四条の二第三項 (Article 824-2, paragraph (3)), art-824-2/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-824-2/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-824-2/par-3 ## Cited by 8 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 戸籍法 第二十七条の二第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/family-register-act/art-27-2/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/322AC0000000224/art-27-2/par-1 - 戸籍法 第六十八条第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/family-register-act/art-68/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/322AC0000000224/art-68/par-1 - 民法 第七百九十七条第二項（十五歳未満の者を養子とする縁組） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-2 - 民法 第七百九十七条第三項（十五歳未満の者を養子とする縁組） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-3 - 民法 第七百九十七条第四項（十五歳未満の者を養子とする縁組） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-797/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-797/par-4 - 民法 第八百条第一項（縁組の届出の受理） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-800/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-800/par-1 - 民法 第八百六条の三第一項（子の監護をすべき者の同意のない縁組等の取消し） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-806-3/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-806-3/par-1 - 民法 第八百六条の三第二項（子の監護をすべき者の同意のない縁組等の取消し） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-806-3/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-806-3/par-2 --- ## 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 2 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4275/tb), 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 - claude-sonnet-5-5 — Machine translation, batch civil-code-20261011T170941-003, translated 2026-10-12 - This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11