# 民法 / Civil Code — 第一章 (Part 4, 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 4, Chapter 1) — address `pt-4/ch-1`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/pt-4/ch-1
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/pt-4/ch-1
- 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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## 第一章　総則 — Chapter I General Provisions
<sup>heading: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>pt-4/ch-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/pt-4/ch-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/pt-4/ch-1</sup>

### 第七百二十五条（親族の範囲） — (Range of Relatives)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-725 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-725 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-725</sup>

  **第一項**  次に掲げる者は、親族とする。
  <sup>art-725/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-725/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-725/par-1</sup>
  The following persons are relatives:
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **一**  六親等内の血族
    <sup>art-725/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-725/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-725/par-1/item-1</sup>
    blood relatives of up to the sixth degree;
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **二**  配偶者
    <sup>art-725/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-725/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-725/par-1/item-2</sup>
    spouses; and
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

    **三**  三親等内の姻族
    <sup>art-725/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-725/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-725/par-1/item-3</sup>
    relatives by affinity of up to the third degree.
    <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第七百二十六条（親等の計算） — (Determining Degrees of Kinship)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-726 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-726 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-726</sup>

  **第一項**  親等は、親族間の世代数を数えて、これを定める。
  <sup>art-726/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-726/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-726/par-1</sup>
  The degree of kinship between two relatives is determined by counting the number of generations between them.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  傍系親族の親等を定めるには、その一人又はその配偶者から同一の祖先にさかのぼり、その祖先から他の一人に下るまでの世代数による。
  <sup>art-726/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-726/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-726/par-2</sup>
  The degree of kinship between collateral relatives is determined by the number of generations between a person or that person's spouse and the common ancestor shared with another person, plus the number of generations back down to that other person.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第七百二十七条（縁組による親族関係の発生） — (Kinship through Adoption)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-727 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-727 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-727</sup>

  **第一項**  養子と養親及びその血族との間においては、養子縁組の日から、血族間におけるのと同一の親族関係を生ずる。
  <sup>art-727/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-727/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-727/par-1</sup>
  From the time of adoption, the kinship between the adopted child and the adoptive parent (and the blood relatives of the adoptive parent) is the same as that of blood relatives.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第七百二十八条（離婚等による姻族関係の終了） — (Termination of Relationships of Affinity upon Divorce)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-728 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-728 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-728</sup>

  **第一項**  姻族関係は、離婚によって終了する。
  <sup>art-728/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-728/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-728/par-1</sup>
  Relationships of affinity are terminated by divorce.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

  **第二項**  夫婦の一方が死亡した場合において、生存配偶者が姻族関係を終了させる意思を表示したときも、前項と同様とする。
  <sup>art-728/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-728/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-728/par-2</sup>
  The preceding paragraph also applies if one party to a marriage dies and the surviving spouse manifests the intention to terminate the relationships of affinity.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第七百二十九条（離縁による親族関係の終了） — (Termination of Kinship upon Dissolution of Adoptive Relationship)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-729 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-729 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-729</sup>

  **第一項**  養子及びその配偶者並びに養子の直系卑属及びその配偶者と養親及びその血族との親族関係は、離縁によって終了する。
  <sup>art-729/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-729/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-729/par-1</sup>
  The kinship of an adopted child and the spouse thereof, as well as the kinship of the adopted child's lineal descendants and their spouses, to the adoptive parent and the blood relatives thereof, is terminated by the dissolution of the adoptive relationship.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

### 第七百三十条（親族間の扶け合い） — (Help Among Relatives)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-730 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-730 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-730</sup>

  **第一項**  直系血族及び同居の親族は、互いに扶け合わなければならない。
  <sup>art-730/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-730/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-730/par-1</sup>
  Lineal blood relatives and cohabiting relatives must act so as to help one another.
  <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Cites
- art-728/par-2: 前項 → 民法 第七百二十八条第一項 (Article 728, paragraph (1)), art-728/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-728/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-728/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