# 会社法 / Companies Act — 第二十一条 (Article 21) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp. - Law: 会社法 (Companies Act), 平成十七年法律第八十六号 - English title "Companies Act": 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: 第二十一条 (Article 21)（譲渡会社の競業の禁止） — address `art-21` - Text in force since: 2026-08-12 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21 - 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. --- ### 第二十一条（譲渡会社の競業の禁止） — (Non-Competition by Transferor Company) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-21 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21 **第一項** 事業を譲渡した会社（以下この章において「譲渡会社」という。）は、当事者の別段の意思表示がない限り、同一の市町村（特別区を含むものとし、地方自治法（昭和二十二年法律第六十七号）第二百五十二条の十九第一項の指定都市にあっては、区又は総合区。以下この項において同じ。）の区域内及びこれに隣接する市町村の区域内においては、その事業を譲渡した日から二十年間は、同一の事業を行ってはならない。 art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-1 Unless the parties otherwise manifest their intention, a company which transferred its business (hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as "transferor company") may not carry out the same line of business within the area of the same city, town or village (including special wards, and ward or administratively consolidated ward of the cities designated under Article 252-19 paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947); hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph), or within the area of any of its neighboring cities, towns or villages for twenty years from the day of the transfer of the business. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 譲渡会社が同一の事業を行わない旨の特約をした場合には、その特約は、その事業を譲渡した日から三十年の期間内に限り、その効力を有する。 art-21/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-2 If the transferor company agreed to special provisions to the effect that it will not carry out the same line of the business, the effectiveness of the special provision is limited to the period of thirty years from the day of the transfer of the business. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 前二項の規定にかかわらず、譲渡会社は、不正の競争の目的をもって同一の事業を行ってはならない。 art-21/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-3 Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, the transferor company may not carry out the same line of business with the purpose of unfair competition. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-21/par-1: 地方自治法（昭和二十二年法律第六十七号）第二百五十二条の十九第一項 → e-Gov law 322AC0000000067, 第二百五十二条の十九第一項 (Article 252-19, paragraph (1)), art-252-19/par-1 — not held in this collection - art-21/par-1: この項 → 会社法 第二十一条第一項 (Article 21, paragraph (1)), art-21/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-1 - art-21/par-3: 前二項 → 会社法 第二十一条第一項 (Article 21, paragraph (1)), art-21/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-1 - art-21/par-3: 前二項 → 会社法 第二十一条第二項 (Article 21, paragraph (2)), art-21/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-2 ## Cited by 2 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 会社法 第二十一条第一項（譲渡会社の競業の禁止） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-1 - 会社法 第二十一条第三項（譲渡会社の競業の禁止） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/companies-act/art-21/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/417AC0000000086/art-21/par-3 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 会社法 — the text in force from 2026-08-12 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/417AC0000000086/20260812_508AC0000000064), retrieved 2026-09-17 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Companies Act — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4481/tb), retrieved 2026-09-17 - This site's parser, version 223 — 会社法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-09-17