# 商法 / Commercial Code — 第七章 (Part 1, Chapter 7)

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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: 第七章 (Part 1, Chapter 7) — address `pt-1/ch-7`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/pt-1/ch-7
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/pt-1/ch-7
- 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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## 第七章　代理商 — Chapter VII Commercial Agents
<sup>heading: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>pt-1/ch-7 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/pt-1/ch-7 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/pt-1/ch-7</sup>

### 第二十七条（通知義務） — (Duty of Notice)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-27 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-27 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-27</sup>

  **第一項**  代理商（商人のためにその平常の営業の部類に属する取引の代理又は媒介をする者で、その商人の使用人でないものをいう。以下この章において同じ。）は、取引の代理又は媒介をしたときは、遅滞なく、商人に対して、その旨の通知を発しなければならない。
  <sup>art-27/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-27/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-27/par-1</sup>
  Having acted as agent or intermediary in a transaction, a commercial agent (meaning a person that is not the employee of a merchant but that acts on behalf of the merchant as the agent or intermediary in a transaction that is in the merchant's ordinary line of business; hereinafter the same applies in this Chapter) must issue notice of this to the merchant without delay.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第二十八条（代理商の競業の禁止） — (Non-Competition by Commercial Agents)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-28 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28</sup>

  **第一項**  代理商は、商人の許可を受けなければ、次に掲げる行為をしてはならない。
  <sup>art-28/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28/par-1</sup>
  A commercial agent must not engage in any of the following conduct without the permission of the merchant:
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **一**  自己又は第三者のためにその商人の営業の部類に属する取引をすること。
    <sup>art-28/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28/par-1/item-1</sup>
    conducting a transaction that is in the merchant's line of business for the benefit of the agent or a third party;
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **二**  その商人の営業と同種の事業を行う会社の取締役、執行役又は業務を執行する社員となること。
    <sup>art-28/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28/par-1/item-2</sup>
    becoming the director, executive officer, or executive managing member of a company that carries on the same kind of business as the merchant.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  代理商が前項の規定に違反して同項第一号に掲げる行為をしたときは、当該行為によって代理商又は第三者が得た利益の額は、商人に生じた損害の額と推定する。
  <sup>art-28/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28/par-2</sup>
  If a commercial agent has engaged in the conduct set forth in item (i) of the preceding paragraph in violation of the provisions of that paragraph, the amount of profit that the agent or third party has earned as a result of the conduct is presumed to be the amount of damage that the merchant has incurred.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第二十九条（通知を受ける権限） — (Authority to Receive Notice)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-29 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-29 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-29</sup>

  **第一項**  物品の販売又はその媒介の委託を受けた代理商は、第五百二十六条第二項の通知その他売買に関する通知を受ける権限を有する。
  <sup>art-29/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-29/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-29/par-1</sup>
  A commercial agent entrusted with the sale of goods or the role of intermediary for their sale has the authority to receive a notice as referred to in Article 526, paragraph (2) or any other notice regarding the sale.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第三十条（契約の解除） — (Contract Cancellation)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "(Contract Termination)" — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb</sup>
<sup>art-30 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-30 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-30</sup>

  **第一項**  商人及び代理商は、契約の期間を定めなかったときは、二箇月前までに予告し、その契約を解除することができる。
  <sup>art-30/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-30/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-30/par-1</sup>
  If a merchant and a commercial agent do not fix the term of a contract, either may cancel that contract with two months' advance notice.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "If a merchant and a commercial agent do not fix the term of a contract, either may terminate that contract with two months' advance notice." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb</sup>

  **第二項**  前項の規定にかかわらず、やむを得ない事由があるときは、商人及び代理商は、いつでもその契約を解除することができる。
  <sup>art-30/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-30/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-30/par-2</sup>
  Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, if there is a compelling reason, a merchant or a commercial agent may cancel the contract between them at any time.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, if there is a compelling reason, a merchant or a commercial agent may terminate the contract between them at any time." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb</sup>

### 第三十一条（代理商の留置権） — (Commercial Agent's Right of Retention)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-31 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-31 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-31</sup>

  **第一項**  代理商は、取引の代理又は媒介をしたことによって生じた債権の弁済期が到来しているときは、その弁済を受けるまでは、商人のために当該代理商が占有する物又は有価証券を留置することができる。ただし、当事者が別段の意思表示をしたときは、この限りでない。
  <sup>art-31/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-31/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-31/par-1</sup>
  If performance is due on a claim arising from a commercial agent's actions as an agent or intermediary in a transaction, the agent may retain property or negotiable instruments of value that the agent is holding for the merchant until the claim is satisfied; provided, however, that this does not apply if the parties have manifested a different intention.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第三十二条から第五百条まで  〔削除 / repealed〕
<sup>art-32-to-500 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-32-to-500 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-32-to-500</sup>

  **第一項**  削除
  <sup>art-32-to-500/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-32-to-500/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-32-to-500/par-1</sup>
  <sup>no English for this paragraph</sup>

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## Cites
- art-28/par-2: 前項 → 商法 第二十八条第一項 (Article 28, paragraph (1)), art-28/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28/par-1
- art-28/par-2: 同項第一号 → 商法 第二十八条第一項第一号 (Article 28, paragraph (1), item (i)), art-28/par-1/item-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-28/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-28/par-1/item-1
- art-29/par-1: 第五百二十六条第二項 → 商法 第五百二十六条第二項 (Article 526, paragraph (2)), art-526/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-526/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-526/par-2
- art-30/par-2: 前項 → 商法 第三十条第一項 (Article 30, paragraph (1)), art-30/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/commercial-code/art-30/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-30/par-1

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## Sources

- claude-opus-5-5 — Corrections to the Ministry of Justice's English of paragraphs, written 2026-11-05
- 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 (商法), Article 30 — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Commercial Code (商法), Article 30, paragraph (1) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Commercial Code (商法), Article 30, paragraph (2) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb), 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