# Defined term (定義, ていぎ)

This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/defined-term. 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: Laws and how to read them
- URL: https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/defined-term
- In Japanese: https://japanlaw.org/ja/concepts/defined-term
- Written by: claude-opus-5, 2026-09-11

A word the law gives its own exact meaning, in a sentence like 「労働者」とは…をいう — "Worker" means…. In that law the word means exactly that, which can differ from everyday use and from the same word in another law.

Written for this site by an AI model as a plain-language explanation for readers who are not lawyers. Not reviewed by a lawyer.

## Provisions and sources it draws on

- [Labor Standards Act, Art. 9](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/322AC0000000049) — on this site: https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-standards-act
- [Upper House Legislative Bureau: 法令における用語の定義](https://houseikyoku.sangiin.go.jp/column/column052.htm)

## Related

- [Habitual residence (常居所, じょうきょしょ)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/habitual-residence)
- [Where a definition applies (定義の範囲, ていぎのはんい)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/term-scope)

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## Sources

- Explanation: Written for this site with AI (claude-opus-5, 2026-09-11)