# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第百五十七条の二 (Article 157-2)

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- 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: 第百五十七条の二 (Article 157-2) — address `art-157-2`
- Text in force since: 2026-10-20
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2
- 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.

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### 第百五十七条の二
<sup>art-157-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2</sup>

  **第一項**  検察官は、証人が刑事訴追を受け、又は有罪判決を受けるおそれのある事項についての尋問を予定している場合であつて、当該事項についての証言の重要性、関係する犯罪の軽重及び情状その他の事情を考慮し、必要と認めるときは、あらかじめ、裁判所に対し、当該証人尋問を次に掲げる条件により行うことを請求することができる。
  <sup>art-157-2/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2/par-1</sup>
  When a public prosecutor plans to examine a witness with regard to matters that may lead to the witness's criminal prosecution or conviction and finds it necessary taking into account the importance of testimony on those matters, the gravity and circumstances of the crime concerned and other circumstances, the public prosecutor may request in advance that the court should examine the witness under the following conditions:
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **一**  尋問に応じてした供述及びこれに基づいて得られた証拠は、証人が当該証人尋問においてした行為が第百六十一条又は刑法第百六十九条の罪に当たる場合に当該行為に係るこれらの罪に係る事件において用いるときを除き、証人の刑事事件において、これらを証人に不利益な証拠とすることができないこと。
    <sup>art-157-2/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2/par-1/item-1</sup>
    statements made in response to the examination and evidence obtained based thereon may not be used as evidence against the witness in the witness's criminal case, except when acts performed by the witness during the examination constitute the crimes under Article 161 of this Code or Article 169 of the Penal Code and those statements and evidence are used in the case pertaining to these crimes involving the acts; and
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **二**  第百四十六条の規定にかかわらず、自己が刑事訴追を受け、又は有罪判決を受けるおそれのある証言を拒むことができないこと。
    <sup>art-157-2/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2/par-1/item-2</sup>
    notwithstanding the provisions of Article 146, the witness may not refuse to give testimony even if there is a concern that the testimony may result in the witness's criminal prosecution or conviction.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  裁判所は、前項の請求を受けたときは、その証人に尋問すべき事項に証人が刑事訴追を受け、又は有罪判決を受けるおそれのある事項が含まれないと明らかに認められる場合を除き、当該証人尋問を同項各号に掲げる条件により行う旨の決定をするものとする。
  <sup>art-157-2/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2/par-2</sup>
  Upon request under the preceding paragraph, the court shall render a ruling to the effect that the witness will be examined under the conditions set forth in items of the same paragraph, except when it is clearly found that any matter that may lead to the witness's criminal prosecution or conviction is not included in the matters with regard to which the witness is to be examined.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Cites
- art-157-2/par-1/item-1: 第百六十一条 → 刑事訴訟法 第百六十一条 (Article 161), art-161 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-161
- art-157-2/par-1/item-1: 刑法第百六十九条 → 刑法 第百六十九条 (Article 169), art-169 — https://japanlaw.org/en/penal-code/art-169 (e-Gov law ID 140AC0000000045)
- art-157-2/par-1/item-2: 第百四十六条 → 刑事訴訟法 第百四十六条 (Article 146), art-146 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-146
- art-157-2/par-2: 前項 → 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条の二第一項 (Article 157-2, paragraph (1)), art-157-2/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2/par-1

## Cited by

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

- 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条の二第二項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-2/par-2
- 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条の三第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-3/par-1
- 刑事訴訟法 第百五十七条の三第二項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-157-3/par-2

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## Sources

- 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 — 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
