# 商法 / Commercial Code — 第一条 (Article 1)

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- Law: 商法 (Commercial Code), 明治三十二年法律第四十八号
- English title "Commercial 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: 第一条 (Article 1)（趣旨等） — address `art-1`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-1
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-1
- 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.

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### 第一条（趣旨等） — (Purpose)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-1</sup>

  **第一項**  商人の営業、商行為その他商事については、他の法律に特別の定めがあるものを除くほか、この法律の定めるところによる。
  <sup>art-1/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-1/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-1/par-1</sup>
  The business of merchants, commercial transactions, and other commercial matters are governed by the provisions of this Code, except as otherwise provided by other laws.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  商事に関し、この法律に定めがない事項については商慣習に従い、商慣習がないときは、民法（明治二十九年法律第八十九号）の定めるところによる。
  <sup>art-1/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-1/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-1/par-2</sup>
  A commercial matter not provided for in this Code is governed by commercial custom, and if there is no commercial custom, it is governed by the provisions of the Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896).
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 商法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/132AC0000000048/20260624_508AC0000000046), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Commercial Code — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- This site's parser, version 224 — 商法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-05