# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第三百十一条 (Article 311) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311. 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: 第三百十一条 (Article 311) — address `art-311` - Text in force since: 2026-10-20 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311 - 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. --- ### 第三百十一条 art-311 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311 **第一項** 被告人は、終始沈黙し、又は個々の質問に対し、供述を拒むことができる。 art-311/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311/par-1 The defendant may remain silent at all times or may refuse to answer particular questions. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The accused may remain silent at all times or may refuse to answer particular questions." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb **第二項** 被告人が任意に供述をする場合には、裁判長は、何時でも必要とする事項につき被告人の供述を求めることができる。 art-311/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311/par-2 If the defendant makes a statement voluntarily, the presiding judge may ask the defendant any necessary questions at any time. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "If the accused makes a statement voluntarily, the presiding judge may ask the accused any necessary questions at any time." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb **第三項** 陪席の裁判官、検察官、弁護人、共同被告人又はその弁護人は、裁判長に告げて、前項の供述を求めることができる。 art-311/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311/par-3 The associate judge, the public prosecutor, the defense counsel, the codefendant or the defense counsel of said codefendant may, by notifying the presiding judge, also ask questions as prescribed in the preceding paragraph. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-311/par-3: 前項 → 刑事訴訟法 第三百十一条第二項 (Article 311, paragraph (2)), art-311/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311/par-2 ## Cited by 3 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 不正競争防止法 第二十六条第一項（公判期日外の証人尋問等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-26/par-1 (e-Gov law ID 405AC0000000047) - 刑事訴訟法 第三百十一条第三項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-311/par-3 - 刑事訴訟法 第三百十六条の三十七第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-316-37/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 311, 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 (刑事訴訟法), Article 311, paragraph (2) — 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