# Complaint (告訴, こくそ) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/criminal-complaint. 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. - Group: Rights, roles and legal effects - URL: https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/criminal-complaint - In Japanese: https://japanlaw.org/ja/concepts/criminal-complaint - Written by: claude-opus-5-5, 2026-10-04 A crime's victim telling a public prosecutor or a judicial police officer (司法警察員) of the crime and asking that the offender be punished; the victim may file one (Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 230 and 241, paragraph (1)). The victim's legal representative may also file one, and if the victim has died, their spouse, lineal relatives or siblings, though not against the victim's clearly stated wishes (Article 231). For some crimes — among them defamation and insult, and negligent injury — a prosecution cannot be brought without a complaint (Penal Code, Articles 209, paragraph (2), and 232, paragraph (1)); for those, a complaint must as a rule be filed within six months of learning who the offender is, though not one a foreign state's representative or a foreign envoy files over defamation or insult (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 235), and it may be withdrawn until a prosecution is brought, but not filed again (Article 237). Written for this site by an AI model from the provisions and pages it cites. Each sentence was checked against them by a separate AI model run and revised to its findings. Not reviewed by a lawyer. ## Provisions and sources it draws on - [Code of Criminal Procedure, Arts. 230, 231, 235, 237, 241](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/323AC0000000131) - [Penal Code, Arts. 209, 232](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/140AC0000000045) — on this site: https://japanlaw.org/en/penal-code ## Where the laws use it 3 laws in force use it in this sense, in 13 provisions; there the word opens this explanation. - [Penal Code (刑法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/penal-code): 9 provisions, among them [Article 42](https://japanlaw.org/en/penal-code/art-42), [Article 135](https://japanlaw.org/en/penal-code/art-135), [Article 172](https://japanlaw.org/en/penal-code/art-172) - [Unfair Competition Prevention Act (不正競争防止法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/unfair-competition-prevention-act): 2 provisions, among them [Article 21](https://japanlaw.org/en/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21), [Article 22](https://japanlaw.org/en/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-22) - [Copyright Act (著作権法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/copyright-act): 2 provisions, among them [Article 123](https://japanlaw.org/en/copyright-act/art-123), [Article 124](https://japanlaw.org/en/copyright-act/art-124) ## Related - [Public prosecutor (検察官, けんさつかん)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/public-prosecutor) - [Rescission (取消し, とりけし)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/rescission) --- ## Sources - Explanation: Written for this site with AI (claude-opus-5-5, 2026-10-04) - Where it is used, and how often: Worked out by this site from e-Gov's text - English names of the laws: Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of Justice (3 records)