# 民法 / Civil Code — 第九百七十二条 (Article 972) - 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: 第九百七十二条 (Article 972)（秘密証書遺言の方式の特則） — address `art-972` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972 - 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. --- ### 第九百七十二条（秘密証書遺言の方式の特則） — (Special Provisions on the Formalities of a Sealed and Notarized Will) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-972 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972 **第一項** 口がきけない者が秘密証書によって遺言をする場合には、遺言者は、公証人及び証人の前で、その証書は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通訳人の通訳により申述し、又は封紙に自書して、第九百七十条第一項第三号の申述に代えなければならない。 art-972/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-1 In order for a testator who cannot speak to make a will in the form of a sealed and notarized instrument, the testator must indicate that the instrument is the testator's own will and state the full name and address of the person that wrote it through an interpreter or write the same on the closed and sealed instrument in the testator's own hand before the notary and witnesses, in lieu of the making the statement referred to in Article 970, paragraph (1), item (iii). Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 前項の場合において、遺言者が通訳人の通訳により申述したときは、公証人は、その旨を封紙に記載しなければならない。 art-972/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-2 In a case as referred to in the preceding paragraph, if the testator offers a statement through an interpreter, the notary must write an indication of this on the closed and sealed instrument. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 第一項の場合において、遺言者が封紙に自書したときは、公証人は、その旨を封紙に記載して、第九百七十条第一項第四号に規定する申述の記載に代えなければならない。 art-972/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-3 In a case as referred to in paragraph (1), if the testator writes on the closed and sealed instrument in the testator's own hand, the notary must write an indication of this on the closed and sealed instrument in lieu of writing the statement as prescribed in Article 970, paragraph (1), item (iv). Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-972/par-1: 第九百七十条第一項第三号 → 民法 第九百七十条第一項第三号 (Article 970, paragraph (1), item (iii)), 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 - art-972/par-2: 前項 → 民法 第九百七十二条第一項 (Article 972, paragraph (1)), art-972/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-1 - art-972/par-3: 第一項 → 民法 第九百七十二条第一項 (Article 972, paragraph (1)), art-972/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-1 - art-972/par-3: 第九百七十条第一項第四号 → 民法 第九百七十条第一項第四号 (Article 970, paragraph (1), item (iv)), 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 ## Cited by 2 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第九百七十二条第二項（秘密証書遺言の方式の特則） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-972/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-972/par-2 - 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 --- ## 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 - This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11