# 商法 / Commercial Code — 第五百一条 (Article 501)
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- Law: 商法 (Commercial Code), 明治三十二年法律第四十八号
- English title "Commercial 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: 第五百一条 (Article 501)（絶対的商行為） — address `art-501`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501
- 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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### 第五百一条（絶対的商行為） — (Transactions Absolutely Regarded as Commercial Transactions Due to Their Nature)
caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System
art-501 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501
**第一項** 次に掲げる行為は、商行為とする。
art-501/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501/par-1
The following actions are commercial transactions:
Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System
**一** 利益を得て譲渡する意思をもってする動産、不動産若しくは有価証券の有償取得又はその取得したものの譲渡を目的とする行為
art-501/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501/par-1/item-1
an action through which a person seeks to acquire for value a movable, real property, or a negotiable instrument of value from whose transfer the person wishes to profit, or an action through which a person seeks to transfer an object so acquired;
Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System
**二** 他人から取得する動産又は有価証券の供給契約及びその履行のためにする有償取得を目的とする行為
art-501/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501/par-1/item-2
an action through which a person seeks to make an acquisition for value in order to form and perform on a contract to supply a movable or negotiable instrument of value acquired from another person;
Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System
**三** 取引所においてする取引
art-501/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501/par-1/item-3
a transaction conducted on an exchange;
Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System
**四** 手形その他の商業証券に関する行為
art-501/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/commercial-code/art-501/par-1/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/132AC0000000048/art-501/par-1/item-4
an action involving a bill, note, or other commercial instrument.
Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System
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## Sources
- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 商法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/132AC0000000048/20260624_508AC0000000046), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Commercial Code — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4293/tb), retrieved 2026-11-05
- This site's parser, version 224 — 商法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-05