# 日本国憲法 / The Constitution of Japan — 第三十七条 (Article 37)

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- Law: 日本国憲法 (The Constitution of Japan), 昭和二十一年憲法
- English title "The Constitution of Japan": Ministry of Justice translation
- Kind: Constitution — 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: 第三十七条 (Article 37) — address `art-37`
- Text in force since: 1947-05-03
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/constitution/art-37
- e-Gov law ID: 321CONSTITUTION — never renamed. A permanent link, `/l/{lawId}/{address}` on this site, redirects to the page.
- Every provision below carries its address and its URL 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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### 第三十七条
<sup>art-37 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/constitution/art-37</sup>

**第一項**  すべて刑事事件においては、被告人は、公平な裁判所の迅速な公開裁判を受ける権利を有する。
<sup>art-37/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/constitution/art-37/par-1</sup>
In all criminal cases the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial tribunal.
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

**第二項**  刑事被告人は、すべての証人に対して審問する機会を充分に与へられ、又、公費で自己のために強制的手続により証人を求める権利を有する。
<sup>art-37/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/constitution/art-37/par-2</sup>
He shall be permitted full opportunity to examine all witnesses, and he shall have the right of compulsory process for obtaining witnesses on his behalf at public expense.
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

**第三項**  刑事被告人は、いかなる場合にも、資格を有する弁護人を依頼することができる。被告人が自らこれを依頼することができないときは、国でこれを附する。
<sup>art-37/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/constitution/art-37/par-3</sup>
At all times the accused shall have the assistance of competent counsel who shall, if the accused is unable to secure the same by his own efforts, be assigned to his use by the State.
<sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 日本国憲法 — the text in force from 1947-05-03 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/321CONSTITUTION/19470503_000000000000000), retrieved 2026-09-16
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — The Constitution of Japan — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/174/tb), retrieved 2026-09-16
- This site's parser, version 211 — 日本国憲法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-09-16