# 商法 / Commercial Code — 第二章 (Part 1, Chapter 2)

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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: 第二章 (Part 1, Chapter 2) — address `pt-1/ch-2`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/pt-1/ch-2
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/pt-1/ch-2
- 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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## 第二章　商人 — Chapter II Merchants
<sup>heading: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>pt-1/ch-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/pt-1/ch-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/pt-1/ch-2</sup>

### 第四条（定義） — (Definitions)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-4</sup>

  **第一項**  この法律において「商人」とは、自己の名をもって商行為をすることを業とする者をいう。
  <sup>art-4/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-4/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-4/par-1</sup>
  The term "merchant" as used in this Code means a person in the business of conducting commercial transactions in its own name.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  店舗その他これに類似する設備によって物品を販売することを業とする者又は鉱業を営む者は、商行為を行うことを業としない者であっても、これを商人とみなす。
  <sup>art-4/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-4/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-4/par-2</sup>
  A person in the business of selling goods at a store or other similar facility or a person engaged in the mining business is deemed to be a merchant even if that person is not in the business of conducting commercial transactions.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第五条（未成年者登記） — (Commercial Registration of Minors)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-5 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-5</sup>

  **第一項**  未成年者が前条の営業を行うときは、その登記をしなければならない。
  <sup>art-5/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-5/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-5/par-1</sup>
  If a minor carries out a business referred to in the preceding Article, this must be registered.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第六条（後見人登記） — (Commercial Registration of Guardians)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-6 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-6</sup>

  **第一項**  後見人が被後見人のために第四条の営業を行うときは、その登記をしなければならない。
  <sup>art-6/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-6/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-6/par-1</sup>
  If a guardian carries out a business referred to in Article 4 on behalf of a ward, this must be registered.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  後見人の代理権に加えた制限は、善意の第三者に対抗することができない。
  <sup>art-6/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-6/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-6/par-2</sup>
  A limitation on a guardian's authority of representation may not be asserted against a third party in good faith.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第七条（小商人） — (Small-Scale Merchants)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-7 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-7 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-7</sup>

  **第一項**  第五条、前条、次章、第十一条第二項、第十五条第二項、第十七条第二項前段、第五章及び第二十二条の規定は、小商人（商人のうち、法務省令で定めるその営業のために使用する財産の価額が法務省令で定める金額を超えないものをいう。）については、適用しない。
  <sup>art-7/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-7/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-7/par-1</sup>
  The provisions of Article 5, the preceding Article, the following Chapter, Article 11, paragraph (2), Article 15, paragraph (2), the first sentence of Article 17, paragraph (2), Chapter V, and Article 22 do not apply to a small-scale merchant (meaning a merchant with an asset value as provided by the Ministry of Justice Order that does not exceed the amount prescribed by the Ministry of Justice Order, for assets that the merchant uses for its business).
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Cites
- art-5/par-1: 前条 → 商法 第四条 (Article 4), art-4 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-4
- art-6/par-1: 第四条 → 商法 第四条 (Article 4), art-4 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-4
- art-7/par-1: 第五条 → 商法 第五条 (Article 5), art-5 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-5
- art-7/par-1: 前条 → 商法 第六条 (Article 6), art-6 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-6
- art-7/par-1: 第十一条第二項 → 商法 第十一条第二項 (Article 11, paragraph (2)), art-11/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-11/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-11/par-2
- art-7/par-1: 第十五条第二項 → 商法 第十五条第二項 (Article 15, paragraph (2)), art-15/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-15/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-15/par-2
- art-7/par-1: 第十七条第二項 → 商法 第十七条第二項 (Article 17, paragraph (2)), art-17/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-17/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-17/par-2
- art-7/par-1: 第二十二条 → 商法 第二十二条 (Article 22), art-22 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-22 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-22

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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