# 民法 / Civil Code — 第五百九十一条 (Article 591) - 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: 第五百九十一条 (Article 591)（返還の時期） — address `art-591` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-591 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-591 - 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. --- ### 第五百九十一条（返還の時期） — (Timing of Returns) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-591 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-591 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-591 **第一項** 当事者が返還の時期を定めなかったときは、貸主は、相当の期間を定めて返還の催告をすることができる。 art-591/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-591/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-591/par-1 If the parties do not define the time for return of borrowed things, the lender may demand their return, specifying a reasonable period of time. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 借主は、返還の時期の定めの有無にかかわらず、いつでも返還をすることができる。 art-591/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-591/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-591/par-2 The borrower may return the borrowed thing at any time, irrespective of whether the parties have defined the time of return of the thing. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 当事者が返還の時期を定めた場合において、貸主は、借主がその時期の前に返還をしたことによって損害を受けたときは、借主に対し、その賠償を請求することができる。 art-591/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-591/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-591/par-3 If the parties defined the time of return of the borrowed thing, and the lender sustains any damage because the borrower returns the thing before the time of return, the lender may claim compensation from the borrower. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System ## Cited by 1 provision cites this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第六百六十六条第三項（消費寄託） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-666/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-666/par-3 --- ## 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