# House of Councillors (参議院, さんぎいん) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/house-of-councillors. 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: Institutions, offices and documents - URL: https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/house-of-councillors - In Japanese: https://japanlaw.org/ja/concepts/house-of-councillors - Written by: claude-opus-5, 2026-09-16 The upper of the Diet's two chambers (Article 42). Its members serve six years, half of them elected every three years, and it is never dissolved (Article 46) — so it always has sitting members, where the House of Representatives can have none. That is not the same as always being open: when the House of Representatives is dissolved the House of Councillors is closed at the same time, and during that closure it sits only if the Cabinet calls it into emergency session because the country needs one (Article 54, paragraph (2)). 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 - [Constitution, Arts. 42, 46, 54](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/321CONSTITUTION) — on this site: https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution - [Wikipedia: House of Councillors (Japan)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Councillors_(Japan)) ## Where the laws use it 7 laws in force use it in this sense, in 17 provisions; there the word opens this explanation. - [The Constitution of Japan (日本国憲法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution): 9 provisions, among them [Article 42](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution/art-42), [Article 46](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution/art-46), [Article 54](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution/art-54) - [Code of Civil Procedure (民事訴訟法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure): 2 provisions, among them [Article 191](https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-191), [Article 223](https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-223) - [Act on Measures against Infringement of Rights, etc. Arising from the Distribution of Information through Specified Telecommunications (特定電気通信による情報の流通によって発生する権利侵害等への対処に関する法律)](https://japanlaw.org/en/information-distribution-platform-act): 2 provisions, among them [Supplementary Provisions, Article 2](https://japanlaw.org/en/information-distribution-platform-act/suppl-4251-10/art-2), [Supplementary Provisions, Article 8](https://japanlaw.org/en/information-distribution-platform-act/suppl-5081-58/art-8) - [Regulation for Enforcement of the Income Tax Act (所得税法施行規則)](https://japanlaw.org/en/income-tax-act-enforcement-regulation): 1 provision, among them [Article 47-2](https://japanlaw.org/en/income-tax-act-enforcement-regulation/art-47-2) - [Passport Act (旅券法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/passport-act): 1 provision, among them [Article 2](https://japanlaw.org/en/passport-act/art-2) - [Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation (租税特別措置法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/special-taxation-measures-act): 1 provision, among them [Article 41-18](https://japanlaw.org/en/special-taxation-measures-act/art-41-18) - [Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures (行政手続における特定の個人を識別するための番号の利用等に関する法律)](https://japanlaw.org/en/my-number-act): 1 provision, among them [Article 19](https://japanlaw.org/en/my-number-act/art-19) ## Related - [The Diet (国会, こっかい)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/diet) - [House of Representatives (衆議院, しゅうぎいん)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/house-of-representatives) - [The Cabinet (内閣, ないかく)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/cabinet) --- ## Sources - Explanation: Written for this site with AI (claude-opus-5, 2026-09-16) - 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 (6 records) - English names of the laws: Written for this site with AI