# 民法 / Civil Code — 第八百九十一条 (Article 891)

- 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: 第八百九十一条 (Article 891)（相続人の欠格事由） — address `art-891`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891
- 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.

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### 第八百九十一条（相続人の欠格事由） — (Grounds for Ineligibility as an Heir)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-891 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891</sup>

  **第一項**  次に掲げる者は、相続人となることができない。
  <sup>art-891/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891/par-1</sup>
  None of the following persons may become heirs of the decedent:
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **一**  故意に被相続人又は相続について先順位若しくは同順位にある者を死亡するに至らせ、又は至らせようとしたために、刑に処せられた者
    <sup>art-891/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891/par-1/item-1</sup>
    a person who has received a criminal sentence for intentionally causing or attempting to cause the death of the decedent or the death of a person with an equal or prior place in the line of succession;
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **二**  被相続人の殺害されたことを知って、これを告発せず、又は告訴しなかった者。ただし、その者に是非の弁別がないとき、又は殺害者が自己の配偶者若しくは直系血族であったときは、この限りでない。
    <sup>art-891/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891/par-1/item-2</sup>
    a person who knows that the decedent was killed by someone but made no formal accusation or criminal complaint about this; provided, however, that this does not apply if the person cannot discern right from wrong, or if the killer was that person's spouse or lineal relative;
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **三**  詐欺又は強迫によって、被相続人が相続に関する遺言をし、撤回し、取り消し、又は変更することを妨げた者
    <sup>art-891/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891/par-1/item-3</sup>
    a person who has prevented the decedent from making, revoking, rescinding, or changing a will as regards succession, through fraud or duress;
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **四**  詐欺又は強迫によって、被相続人に相続に関する遺言をさせ、撤回させ、取り消させ、又は変更させた者
    <sup>art-891/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891/par-1/item-4</sup>
    a person who has forced the decedent to make, revoke, rescind, or change a will as regards succession, through fraud or duress; or
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **五**  相続に関する被相続人の遺言書を偽造し、変造し、破棄し、又は隠匿した者
    <sup>art-891/par-1/item-5 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-891/par-1/item-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-891/par-1/item-5</sup>
    a person who forges, alters, destroys, or conceals the will of the decedent as regards succession.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

## Cited by

5 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction.

- 民法 第八百八十七条第二項（子及びその代襲者等の相続権） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-887/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-887/par-2
- 民法 第八百八十七条第三項（子及びその代襲者等の相続権） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-887/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-887/par-3
- 民法 第九百六十五条第一項（相続人に関する規定の準用） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-965/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-965/par-1
- 民法 第千三十七条第一項（配偶者短期居住権） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-1037/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-1037/par-1
- 民法 第千五十条第一項 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-1050/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-1050/par-1

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## 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 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 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11