# 少年法 / Juveniles Act — 第一章 (Chapter 1)

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- Law: 少年法 (Juveniles Act), 昭和二十三年法律第百六十八号
- English title "Juveniles Act": 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: 第一章 (Chapter 1) — address `ch-1`
- Text: the text as amended with effect from 2028-12-23 (The date on which the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (Act No. 45 of 2026) comes into force. The exact day is not fixed yet.) — NOT yet in force (revision 20281223_508AC0000000046)
- URL (this text's page, at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1
- The same address in the text in force (its wording there may differ): https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/ch-1
- Every provision below carries its address and its place on this text's page 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.
The Ministry's English is given only where this text's Japanese is a wording
the Ministry translated — the same as the text in force, or for a text not yet
in force, a wording it translated ahead; every other paragraph's English is
machine translation.

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## 第一章　総則 — Chapter I General Provisions
<sup>heading: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>ch-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1</sup>

### 第一条（この法律の目的） — (Purpose of this Act)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1#art-1</sup>

**第一項**  この法律は、少年の健全な育成を期し、非行のある少年に対して性格の矯正及び環境の調整に関する保護処分を行うとともに、少年の刑事事件について特別の措置を講ずることを目的とする。
<sup>art-1/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1#art-1/par-1</sup>
The purpose of this Act is to promote the sound development of juveniles, while correcting character flaws and modifying the environment of delinquent juveniles through disposition for rehabilitation of the adjudicated delinquents, and implementing special measures for juvenile criminal cases.
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第二条（定義） — (Definitions)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1#art-2</sup>

**第一項**  この法律において「少年」とは、二十歳に満たない者をいう。
<sup>art-2/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1#art-2/par-1</sup>
In this Act, the term "juvenile" refers to a person under 20 years of age.
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

**第二項**  この法律において「保護者」とは、少年に対して法律上監護教育の義務ある者及び少年を現に監護する者をいう。
<sup>art-2/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/juvenile-act/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000046/text/ch-1#art-2/par-2</sup>
In this Act, the term "parent or guardian" refers to a person with a statutory obligation to have custody of and provide education to a juvenile, or a person who actually has custody of a juvenile.
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 少年法 — the text as 令和八年法律第四十六号 leaves it, from a date not yet fixed (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/323AC0000000168/20281223_508AC0000000046), retrieved 2026-11-02
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Juveniles Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4827/tb), retrieved 2026-11-02
- This site's parser, version 220 — 少年法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-02