# 生活保護法 / Public Assistance Act — 第四条 (Article 4) - Law: 生活保護法 (Public Assistance Act), 昭和二十五年法律第百四十四号 - English title "Public Assistance 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: 第四条 (Article 4)（保護の補足性） — address `art-4` - Text in force since: 2026-10-01 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4 - 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. --- ### 第四条（保護の補足性） — (Supplementary Nature of Public Assistance) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-4 · https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4 **第一項** 保護は、生活に困窮する者が、その利用し得る資産、能力その他あらゆるものを、その最低限度の生活の維持のために活用することを要件として行われる。 art-4/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4/par-1 Public assistance shall be provided based on a requirement that a person who is living in poverty shall utilize his/her assets, abilities and every other thing available to him/her for maintaining a minimum standard of living. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 民法（明治二十九年法律第八十九号）に定める扶養義務者の扶養及び他の法律に定める扶助は、すべてこの法律による保護に優先して行われるものとする。 art-4/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4/par-2 Any support given by a person responsible for support prescribed by the Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896) and any assistance prescribed by any other Act shall be provided in precedence to public assistance under this Act. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 前二項の規定は、急迫した事由がある場合に、必要な保護を行うことを妨げるものではない。 art-4/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4/par-3 The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall not preclude the provision of necessary public assistance in the case where there are urgent circumstances. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-4/par-3: 前二項 → 生活保護法 第四条第一項 (Article 4, paragraph (1)), art-4/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4/par-1 - art-4/par-3: 前二項 → 生活保護法 第四条第二項 (Article 4, paragraph (2)), art-4/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4/par-2 ## Cited by 2 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 生活保護法 第四条第三項（保護の補足性） — https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-4/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-4/par-3 - 生活保護法 第五条第一項（この法律の解釈及び運用） — https://japanlaw.org/en/public-assistance-act/art-5/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/325AC0000000144/art-5/par-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 生活保護法 — the text in force from 2026-10-01 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/325AC0000000144/20261001_507AC0000000087), retrieved 2026-10-19 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Public Assistance Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/24/tb), retrieved 2026-10-19 - This site's parser, version 210 — 生活保護法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-19