# 民法 / Civil Code — 第九百七十条 (Article 970) - 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: 第九百七十条 (Article 970)（秘密証書遺言） — address `art-970` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970 - 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. --- ### 第九百七十条（秘密証書遺言） — (Sealed and Notarized Wills) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-970 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970 **第一項** 秘密証書によって遺言をするには、次に掲げる方式に従わなければならない。 art-970/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970/par-1 For a will to be made in the form of a sealed and notarized instrument, it must be prepared according to the following formalities: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **一** 遺言者が、その証書に署名し、印を押すこと。 art-970/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970/par-1/item-1 the testator signs and affixes the testator's seal to the instrument; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **二** 遺言者が、その証書を封じ、証書に用いた印章をもってこれに封印すること。 art-970/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970/par-1/item-2 the testator closes and seals the instrument and affixes a seal over the closure using the same seal as that which was used on the instrument; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **三** 遺言者が、公証人一人及び証人二人以上の前に封書を提出して、自己の遺言書である旨並びにその筆者の氏名及び住所を申述すること。 art-970/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970/par-1/item-3 the testator presents the closed and sealed instrument before one notary and at least two witnesses, indicating it to be the testator's own will and stating the full name and address of the person who wrote it; Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **四** 公証人が、その証書を提出した日付及び遺言者の申述を封紙に記載した後、遺言者及び証人とともにこれに署名し、印を押すこと。 art-970/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970/par-1/item-4 after the notary writes the date on which the instrument was presented and the statement of the testator upon the closed and sealed instrument, the notary, together with the testator and the witnesses, sign it and affix their seals thereto. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 第九百六十八条第三項の規定は、秘密証書による遺言について準用する。 art-970/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-970/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-970/par-2 The provisions of Article 968, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to a will in the form of a sealed and notarized instrument. machine translation, not official --- ## Cites - art-970/par-2: 第九百六十八条第三項 → 民法 第九百六十八条第三項 (Article 968, paragraph (3)), art-968/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-968/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-968/par-3 ## Cited by 4 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第九百七十一条第一項（方式に欠ける秘密証書遺言の効力） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-971/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-971/par-1 - 民法 第九百七十二条第一項（秘密証書遺言の方式の特則） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-1 - 民法 第九百七十二条第三項（秘密証書遺言の方式の特則） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-3 - 民法 第九百八十四条第一項（外国に在る日本人の遺言の方式） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-984/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-984/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 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-20261011T170941-007, translated 2026-10-12 - This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11