# 不正競争防止法 / Unfair Competition Prevention Act — 第二十三条 (Article 23) - Law: 不正競争防止法 (Unfair Competition Prevention Act), 平成五年法律第四十七号 - English title "Unfair Competition Prevention 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: 第二十三条 (Article 23)（営業秘密の秘匿決定等） — address `art-23` - Text in force since: 2026-05-21 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23 - 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. --- ### 第二十三条（営業秘密の秘匿決定等） — (Protective Rulings for Trade Secrets) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-23 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23 **第一項** 裁判所は、第二十一条第一項、第二項、第四項（第四号を除く。）、第五項若しくは第六項の罪又は前条第一項（第三号を除く。）の罪に係る事件を取り扱う場合において、当該事件の被害者若しくは当該被害者の法定代理人又はこれらの者から委託を受けた弁護士から、当該事件に係る営業秘密を構成する情報の全部又は一部を特定させることとなる事項を公開の法廷で明らかにされたくない旨の申出があるときは、被告人又は弁護人の意見を聴き、相当と認めるときは、その範囲を定めて、当該事項を公開の法廷で明らかにしない旨の決定をすることができる。 art-23/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-1 When the court is handling a case involving a crime prescribed in Article 21, paragraph (1), (2), (4) (excluding item (iv)), (5), or (6) or a crime prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article (excluding item (iii)), and the victim, the victim's legal representative, or the attorney entrusted by either of these persons files a petition to prevent the disclosure in open court of a matter that would identify all or part of the information constituting trade secrets related to the case, and the court finds it appropriate, after hearing the opinions of the accused or defense counsel, the court may rule that the matter will not be disclosed in open court and set the scope for this protection. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 前項の申出は、あらかじめ、検察官にしなければならない。この場合において、検察官は、意見を付して、これを裁判所に通知するものとする。 art-23/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-2 The petition referred to in the preceding paragraph must be submitted to the public prosecutor in advance. In this case, the public prosecutor is to notify the court of this, along with the prosecutor's opinion. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 裁判所は、第一項に規定する事件を取り扱う場合において、検察官又は被告人若しくは弁護人から、被告人その他の者の保有する営業秘密を構成する情報の全部又は一部を特定させることとなる事項を公開の法廷で明らかにされたくない旨の申出があるときは、相手方の意見を聴き、当該事項が犯罪の証明又は被告人の防御のために不可欠であり、かつ、当該事項が公開の法廷で明らかにされることにより当該営業秘密に基づく被告人その他の者の事業活動に著しい支障を生ずるおそれがあると認める場合であって、相当と認めるときは、その範囲を定めて、当該事項を公開の法廷で明らかにしない旨の決定をすることができる。 art-23/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-3 If the court is handling a case prescribed in paragraph (1), and the public prosecutor, the accused, or defense counsel files a petition to prevent the disclosure in open court of a matter that would identify all or part of the information constituting trade secrets held by the accused or others, and, after hearing the opposing party's views, the court finds that the matter is indispensable as proof of the offence or for the defense of the accused, but that disclosing it in open court would significantly hinder the accused's or others' business activities based on trade secrets, and finds it appropriate, the court may rule that the matter will not be disclosed in open court and set the scope of this protection. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第四項** 裁判所は、第一項又は前項の決定（以下「秘匿決定」という。）をした場合において、必要があると認めるときは、検察官及び被告人又は弁護人の意見を聴き、決定で、営業秘密構成情報特定事項（秘匿決定により公開の法廷で明らかにしないこととされた営業秘密を構成する情報の全部又は一部を特定させることとなる事項をいう。以下同じ。）に係る名称その他の表現に代わる呼称その他の表現を定めることができる。 art-23/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-4 When the court has made a ruling as prescribed in paragraph (1) or the preceding paragraph (referred to as "protective ruling" below), and finds it necessary, after hearing the opinions of the public prosecutor and the accused or defense counsel, the court may, in a ruling, decide on a substitute name or other expression to be used in lieu of the name or other expression that identifies the matter allowing trade secrets to be identified ("matter allowing trade secrets to be identified" means any matter that identifies all or part of the information constituting trade secrets, which the court has decided not to disclose in open court pursuant to a protective ruling; the same applies below). Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第五項** 裁判所は、秘匿決定をした事件について、営業秘密構成情報特定事項を公開の法廷で明らかにしないことが相当でないと認めるに至ったとき、又は刑事訴訟法（昭和二十三年法律第百三十一号）第三百十二条の規定により罰条が撤回若しくは変更されたため第一項に規定する事件に該当しなくなったときは、決定で、秘匿決定の全部又は一部及び当該秘匿決定に係る前項の決定（以下「呼称等の決定」という。）の全部又は一部を取り消さなければならない。 art-23/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-5 If the court has issued a protective ruling but later determines that it is inappropriate for the matter allowing trade secrets to be identified to remain undisclosed in open court, or if the case no longer falls under the provisions of paragraph (1) due to the withdrawal or alteration of applicable penal statutes pursuant to Article 312 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 131 of 1948), the court must, in a ruling, rescind all or part of the protective ruling and the all or part of the ruling prescribed in the preceding paragraph regarding that protective ruling (referred to as "ruling on a naming, etc." below). Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-23/par-1: 第二十一条第一項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十一条第一項 (Article 21, paragraph (1)), art-21/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-21/par-1 - art-23/par-1: 第二項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十一条第二項 (Article 21, paragraph (2)), art-21/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-21/par-2 - art-23/par-1: 第四項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十一条第四項 (Article 21, paragraph (4)), art-21/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-21/par-4 - art-23/par-1: 第四号 → 不正競争防止法 第二十一条第四項第四号 (Article 21, paragraph (4), item (iv)), art-21/par-4/item-4 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21/par-4/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-21/par-4/item-4 - art-23/par-1: 第五項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十一条第五項 (Article 21, paragraph (5)), art-21/par-5 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-21/par-5 - art-23/par-1: 第六項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十一条第六項 (Article 21, paragraph (6)), art-21/par-6 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-21/par-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-21/par-6 - art-23/par-1: 前条第一項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十二条第一項 (Article 22, paragraph (1)), art-22/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-22/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-22/par-1 - art-23/par-1: 第三号 → 不正競争防止法 第二十二条第一項第三号 (Article 22, paragraph (1), item (iii)), art-22/par-1/item-3 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-22/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-22/par-1/item-3 - art-23/par-2: 前項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第一項 (Article 23, paragraph (1)), art-23/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-1 - art-23/par-3: 第一項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第一項 (Article 23, paragraph (1)), art-23/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-1 - art-23/par-4: 第一項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第一項 (Article 23, paragraph (1)), art-23/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-1 - art-23/par-4: 前項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第三項 (Article 23, paragraph (3)), art-23/par-3 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-3 - art-23/par-5: 刑事訴訟法（昭和二十三年法律第百三十一号）第三百十二条 → e-Gov law 323AC0000000131, 第三百十二条 (Article 312), art-312 — not held in this collection - art-23/par-5: 第一項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第一項 (Article 23, paragraph (1)), art-23/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-1 - art-23/par-5: 前項 → 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第四項 (Article 23, paragraph (4)), art-23/par-4 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-4 ## Cited by 6 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第二項（営業秘密の秘匿決定等） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-2 - 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第三項（営業秘密の秘匿決定等） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-3 - 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第四項（営業秘密の秘匿決定等） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-4 - 不正競争防止法 第二十三条第五項（営業秘密の秘匿決定等） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-23/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-23/par-5 - 不正競争防止法 第三十条第一項（証拠開示の際の営業秘密の秘匿要請） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-30/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-30/par-1 - 不正競争防止法 第三十一条第一項（最高裁判所規則への委任） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/unfair-competition-prevention-act/art-31/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/405AC0000000047/art-31/par-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 不正競争防止法 — the text in force from 2026-05-21 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/405AC0000000047/20260521_507AC0000000039), retrieved 2026-10-11 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Unfair Competition Prevention Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4920/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11 - This site's parser, version 189 — 不正競争防止法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11