# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第百五十七条 (Article 157) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp. - Law: 刑事訴訟法 (Code of Criminal Procedure), 昭和二十三年法律第百三十一号 - English title "Code of Criminal Procedure": 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: 第百五十七条 (Article 157) — address `art-157` - Text in force since: 2026-10-20 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157 - e-Gov law ID: 323AC0000000131 — never renamed. A permanent link, `/l/{lawId}/{address}` on this site, redirects to the page. - Every provision below carries its address and its URL 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. --- ### 第百五十七条 art-157 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157 **第一項** 検察官、被告人又は弁護人は、証人の尋問に立ち会うことができる。 art-157/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-1 The public prosecutor and the defendant or the defense counsel may attend the examination of a witness. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The public prosecutor and the accused or the defense counsel may attend the examination of a witness." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb **第二項** 証人尋問の日時及び場所は、あらかじめ、前項の規定により尋問に立ち会うことができる者にこれを通知しなければならない。但し、これらの者があらかじめ裁判所に立ち会わない意思を明示したときは、この限りでない。 art-157/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-2 Those who are entitled to attend the examination in accordance with the preceding paragraph must be notified in advance of the date, time and location of the witness examination; provided however, that this does not apply when any of these persons declares in advance to the court their intent of not attending. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 第一項に規定する者は、証人の尋問に立ち会つたときは、裁判長に告げて、その証人を尋問することができる。 art-157/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-3 The person prescribed in paragraph (1) of this Article may, when attending the examination, personally examine said witness after notifying the presiding judge of this intent. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-157/par-2: 前項 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条第一項 (Article 157, paragraph (1)), art-157/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-1 - art-157/par-3: 第一項 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条第一項 (Article 157, paragraph (1)), art-157/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-1 ## Cited by 4 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 不正競争防止法 第二十六条第二項（公判期日外の証人尋問等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-26/par-2 (e-Gov law ID 405AC0000000047) - 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条第二項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-2 - 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条第三項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157/par-3 - 刑事訴訟法 第百七十条第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-170/par-1 --- ## Sources - claude-opus-5-5 — Corrections to the Ministry of Justice's English of the Code of Criminal Procedure, written 2026-11-06 - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 刑事訴訟法 — the text in force from 2026-10-20 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/323AC0000000131/20261020_508AC0000000067), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Article 157, paragraph (1) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - This site's parser, version 225 — 刑事訴訟法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-06