# 民法 / Civil Code — 第九百八条 (Article 908)

- 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: 第九百八条 (Article 908)（遺産の分割の方法の指定及び遺産の分割の禁止） — address `art-908`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908
- 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.

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### 第九百八条（遺産の分割の方法の指定及び遺産の分割の禁止） — (Designation of How the Estate Is Divided; Prohibition of Division)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-908 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908</sup>

    **第一項**  被相続人は、遺言で、遺産の分割の方法を定め、若しくはこれを定めることを第三者に委託し、又は相続開始の時から五年を超えない期間を定めて、遺産の分割を禁ずることができる。
    <sup>art-908/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-1</sup>
    A person leaving an estate, by will, may decide how the estate is to be divided, entrust a third party with deciding the same, or prohibit the division of the estate for a specified period not exceeding five years from the time the succession opens.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **第二項**  共同相続人は、五年以内の期間を定めて、遺産の全部又は一部について、その分割をしない旨の契約をすることができる。ただし、その期間の終期は、相続開始の時から十年を超えることができない。
    <sup>art-908/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-2</sup>
    Coheirs may enter into a contract not to divide all or part of the estate for a specified period not exceeding five years; provided, however, that the end of that period may not exceed ten years from the time the succession opens.
    <sup>machine translation, not official</sup>

    **第三項**  前項の契約は、五年以内の期間を定めて更新することができる。ただし、その期間の終期は、相続開始の時から十年を超えることができない。
    <sup>art-908/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-3</sup>
    The contract referred to in the preceding paragraph may be renewed for a specified period not exceeding five years; provided, however, that the end of that period may not exceed ten years from the time the succession opens.
    <sup>machine translation, not official</sup>

    **第四項**  前条第二項本文の場合において特別の事由があるときは、家庭裁判所は、五年以内の期間を定めて、遺産の全部又は一部について、その分割を禁ずることができる。ただし、その期間の終期は、相続開始の時から十年を超えることができない。
    <sup>art-908/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-4</sup>
    If there are special grounds in a case under the main clause of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, the family court may prohibit the division of all or part of the estate for a specified period not exceeding five years; provided, however, that the end of that period may not exceed ten years from the time the succession opens.
    <sup>machine translation, not official</sup>

    **第五項**  家庭裁判所は、五年以内の期間を定めて前項の期間を更新することができる。ただし、その期間の終期は、相続開始の時から十年を超えることができない。
    <sup>art-908/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-5</sup>
    The family court may renew the period referred to in the preceding paragraph for a specified period not exceeding five years; provided, however, that the end of that period may not exceed ten years from the time the succession opens.
    <sup>machine translation, not official</sup>

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## Cites
- art-908/par-3: 前項 → 民法 第九百八条第二項 (Article 908, paragraph (2)), art-908/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-2
- art-908/par-4: 前条第二項 → 民法 第九百七条第二項 (Article 907, paragraph (2)), art-907/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-907/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-907/par-2
- art-908/par-5: 前項 → 民法 第九百八条第四項 (Article 908, paragraph (4)), art-908/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-4

## Cited by

5 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction.

- 不動産登記法 第五十九条第一項第六号（権利に関する登記の登記事項） — https://japanlaw.org/en/real-property-registration-act/art-59/par-1/item-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/416AC0000000123/art-59/par-1/item-6
- 民法 第九百七条第一項（遺産の分割の協議又は審判） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-907/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-907/par-1
- 民法 第九百八条第三項（遺産の分割の方法の指定及び遺産の分割の禁止） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-3
- 民法 第九百八条第五項（遺産の分割の方法の指定及び遺産の分割の禁止） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-908/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-908/par-5
- 民法 附則第三条第一項（遺産の分割に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/suppl-5031-24/art-3/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/suppl-5031-24/art-3/par-1

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## 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-20261011T170941-006, translated 2026-10-12
- This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11