# 民法 / Civil Code — 第五百五十六条 (Article 556) - 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: 第五百五十六条 (Article 556)（売買の一方の予約） — address `art-556` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-556 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-556 - 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. --- ### 第五百五十六条（売買の一方の予約） — (Option Contracts for Purchase and Sales Exercisable by One Party) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-556 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-556 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-556 **第一項** 売買の一方の予約は、相手方が売買を完結する意思を表示した時から、売買の効力を生ずる。 art-556/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-556/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-556/par-1 An option contract for a purchase and sale made by one party becomes effective when the other party manifests the intention to complete the purchase and sale. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 前項の意思表示について期間を定めなかったときは、予約者は、相手方に対し、相当の期間を定めて、その期間内に売買を完結するかどうかを確答すべき旨の催告をすることができる。この場合において、相手方がその期間内に確答をしないときは、売買の一方の予約は、その効力を失う。 art-556/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-556/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-556/par-2 If no period is provided in relation to the manifestation of intention referred to in the preceding paragraph, the party to the option contact may issue a notice of demand to the other party, specifying a reasonable period of time, to the effect that the other party is to give a definite answer as to whether or not that party will complete the sale within that period. In these cases, if the other party fails to give a definite answer within that period, the option contract for a purchase and sale by one party ceases to be effective. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-556/par-2: 前項 → 民法 第五百五十六条第一項 (Article 556, paragraph (1)), art-556/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-556/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-556/par-1 ## Cited by 1 provision cites this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第五百五十六条第二項（売買の一方の予約） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-556/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-556/par-2 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20260624_508AC0000000045), 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 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11