# 民法 / Civil Code — 第一章 (Part 5, Chapter 1)

- Law: 民法 (Civil Code), 明治二十九年法律第八十九号
- English title "Civil Code": 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 (Part 5, Chapter 1) — address `pt-5/ch-1`
- Text: the text as amended with effect from 2028-12-23 (On a day set by Cabinet Order, no later than 23 December 2028 — the amending law allows up to 30 months from promulgation. The exact day is not fixed yet.), standing until 2029-06-22 as now scheduled, since the next amendment's day is not fixed — NOT yet in force (revision 20281223_508AC0000000045)
- URL (this text's page, at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1
- The same address in the text in force (its wording there may differ): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/pt-5/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>pt-5/ch-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1</sup>

### 第八百八十二条（相続開始の原因） — (Cause for the Opening of the Succession)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-882 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-882</sup>

  **第一項**  相続は、死亡によって開始する。
  <sup>art-882/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-882/par-1</sup>
  Succession opens at the death of the person.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第八百八十三条（相続開始の場所） — (Place for the Opening of Succession)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-883 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-883</sup>

  **第一項**  相続は、被相続人の住所において開始する。
  <sup>art-883/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-883/par-1</sup>
  Succession opens in the domicile of the decedent.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第八百八十四条（相続回復請求権） — (Right to File for the Recovery of a Succession)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-884 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-884</sup>

  **第一項**  相続回復の請求権は、相続人又はその法定代理人が相続権を侵害された事実を知った時から五年間行使しないときは、時効によって消滅する。相続開始の時から二十年を経過したときも、同様とする。
  <sup>art-884/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-884/par-1</sup>
  The right to file for the recovery of a succession is extinguished by the operation of the prescription if it is not exercised within five years of the time when the heir or the legal representative thereof learns of the fact that the right of inheritance has been infringed. The same applies when twenty years have elapsed from the time the succession opened.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第八百八十五条（相続財産に関する費用） — (Expenses Relating to an Estate)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-885 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-885</sup>

  **第一項**  相続財産に関する費用は、その財産の中から支弁する。ただし、相続人の過失によるものは、この限りでない。
  <sup>art-885/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/amendments/20281223_508AC0000000045/text/pt-5/ch-1#art-885/par-1</sup>
  The expenses of an estate are paid out of that estate; provided, however, that this does not apply to expenses resulting from the negligence of the heir.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

---

## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text as 令和八年法律第四十五号 leaves it, from a date not yet fixed (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20281223_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 2 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4275/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4848/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11
- This site's parser, version 209 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11