This article covers the format and structure of Japanese laws. Seemingly superficial, understanding the elements and what is “considered law” is important for interpreting and applying the requirements.
The Japanese building code is comprised of individual acts drafted and enacted by the Diet, rather than model codes developed by NGOs and adopted by law as is done in the US. For this reason, it’s important to understand how legal text formatting, etc., creates context for the requirements.
First, let’s introduce an outline of the elements of Acts and then we’ll get into a deeper discussion about each.
In the following discussions we highlight which of the elements listed above are part of the law and which are not part of the law.
In other words, is the table of contents considered “part of the law?” Is the signature considered “part of the law?”
Simply put, elements that are “not part of the law” are administrative elements and don’t have coercive power. The elements that are “part of the law” are directly voted on and enacted by the legislative body or issued by the executive official (in the case of orders).
公布文
Not part of the law.
Placed at the beginning of the law, it is a statement that of intension to promulgate the law. Promulgation is a fancy word that means to “officially publish a law or regulation to make available to the public.” Laws and regulations must be promulgated in order to take effect.
Article 7 of the Japanese Constitution identifies the emperor as the symbolic figurehead that promulgates laws, cabinet orders, regulations. This act on his behalf is merely symbolic; he has no power to overturn or resist the promulgation.
法律番号
Not part of the law.
The law number is assigned by the National Gazette and located before the title. It is for reference purposes only and is not considered part of the law. In the case of orders, the same law numbering convention is used, but the name changes accordingly, e.g.:
In this article, we’ll just take a short cut and call them all “law numbers” as they all follow the same syntax.
The syntax for law numbers has three parts: the epoch year, type of law and number. Below are fictitious examples of an act, cabinet order and ministerial orders, respectively.
| Epoch Year | Type | Number | Full Law Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 昭和４０年 | 法律 | 第１５０号 | → | 昭和４０年法律第１５０号 |
| 令和１１年 | 政令 | 第２５０号 | → | 令和１１年政令第２５０号 |
| 平成６年 | 国土交通省令 | 第１２５５号 | → | 平成６年国土交通省令第１２５５号 |
NOTE: that the law numbers don’t have gaps or spaces between the three elements, this is done in the table above to highlight the three-part structure.
There is only one National Diet and one Cabinet, but there are many different Ministries. Therefore, in the case of ministerial orders, the name of the ministry is included in the law number. For example:
After 2000, there was a large reorganization of the Ministries. Even after this, historical ministerial orders that remain in effect retain the name of their original ministry. They are, however, maintained by the new ministry into which the old ministry was absorbed.
The “number part” (last of three parts) itself includes three elements: the cardinal marker character 第, an assigned number, and the counter character 号.
The assigned number is determined by date of promulgation in the National Gazette, kanpo (官報), i.e., based on the order it is published in a given year and based on the law-type category. In other words, the first act published in a year is numbered 1. The first cabinet order in the year is numbered 1 and so forth.
Further reading
National Gazette (Kanpo) website: https://www.kanpo.go.jp/
TIP: The National Gazette website requires a subscription for the full set of search features. Typically, it’s more expedient to search is the responsible Ministry’s website for the related laws, orders and notifications.
In formal documents, the law numbers use only Kanji numerals, and include the date characters, ordinal marker and counter character. However, in some settings, such as articles, textbooks, etc., there are a few patterns of simplification:
When translated to English, the following syntax and format is typically used:
| Epoch Year | Type | Number | Full Law Name | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 昭和４０年 | 法律 | 第１５０号 | → | 昭和４０年法律第１５０号 | |
| ↓ | |||||
| Type | Number | Western Year | Full Law Name | ||
| Act | No. 150 | of | 1965 | → | Act No. 150 of 1965 |
To summarize the English translations:
In the case of a Ministerial Order, either the name of the Ministry could be stated, e.g. “Ministry of Construction Order No. 1200 of 1983,” or if it is known from context it can be simplified to “Ministerial Order No. 1200 of 1983.”
Local governing bodies are responsible for determining their own law numbering system. Prefectural and municipal ordinances and rules are not published in the National Gazette, but in the Prefectural or Municipal Gazette or official record.
The names of these publishing agencies typically have the name of the prefecture or municipality suffixed with 報 (lit. “gazette, register”) or 公報, lit. “public gazette, register”.
For example: 北海道公報 (Public Gazette of Hokkaido) or 千葉県報 (Public Gazette of Chiba Prefecture).
Further reading
The following website (non-Government) has a list of the public gazettes of the 47 prefectures: https://jago.la.coocan.jp/koiki/shiryo/koho.htm (Japanese only)
TIP: Rather than list the official gazettes of the 47 prefectures and over 1,500 municipalities in Japan, when looking for ordinances or orders for local governments, it’s better to search that government’s official website.
題名
Part of the law.
The title is the first part of the law. It is intended to provide a concise identification of the content of the law. Because it is part of the law, in order to be changed or modified, it must follow the processes for amending laws.
There are cases where laws do not have titles, especially in older pre-war cases. These often have de facto titles, but such titles are not considered part of the law.
In some cases, there is a “short title” provided in the law. In Japanese these are called 略称 . Currently, there are no requirements to specify a short title in the body of the law, as there are in the UK or US, for instance. In formal legal contexts, the full title is always used, but short titles are used in common, everyday use.
Further reading
The Digital Agency (デジタル庁), a Cabinet level external agency, maintains the e-gov website, a clearinghouse of digitized laws and orders: https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/
NOTE: In addition to searching by Title, you can also search laws and orders by their short name, if they have one.
前文・制定文
Part of the law.
Some laws have a preamble or enactment statement that is located after the title, if one is provided, and before the table of contents. They are not required, however. Their purpose is to provide context or an understanding of the guiding principles, etc., found within the subsequent provisions.
Because it is part of the law, in order to be changed or modified, it must follow the processes for amending laws.
目次
Part of the law.
The table of contents lists the contents of the main provisions by the text divisions, e.g. part, chapter, section, etc. These units of text grouping are explained more in the next article: Organization of Legal Provisions.
The fundamental “unit” of a provision of law is the “article” 条. Each listing of the table of contents will include the range of articles of that section, e.g. 第５条～第９条 (Art. 5 through Art. 9).
Because the table of contents is considered part of the law, changes must be enacted by the legislative body, or in the case of orders, by the responsible minister, governor or mayor, etc.
TIP: The table of contents is an important wayfinding feature. Like a map, take some time to study its features before diving into the body of the text.
本則
Part of the law.
The main provisions are the substance of the law (or order).
There are many ins-and-outs to the structure and organization of main provisions, so that will be the subject of the next article (Organization of Legal Provisions).
附則
Part of the law.
Supplementary provisions are generally administrative provisions, incidental to the main provisions. One way to think of them are “meta-provisions” that relate to the main provisions of the text. They generally include things such as:
Supplemental provisions follow a simplified version of the same formatting rules as main provisions, discussed in the next article. Typically, these supplemental provisions are simply arranged in paragraphs, although more complex provisions can be organized into articles, etc.
Typically, the law’s table of contents merely lists “supplemental provisions,” if present in the law, as the last item. It does not usually subdivide and list the individual provisions, however, as with the main provisions.
There are other nuances to supplemental provisions, but these are beyond the scope of this discussion, as they have little bearing on everyday design and construction in Japan.
別表等
Part of the law.
There are many laws and orders that include appendices such as tables, forms, diagrams, etc., even supplementary provisions (separate from the formal section called “supplementary provisions”).
These items are all considered part of the law and are referenced within the main or supplemental provisions. Despite this, appendixes are not listed in the law’s table of contents. Don’t overlook the appendices – they generally contain important information relevant to the main provisions.
署名「」・連署
Not part of the law.
Laws enacted by the Diet are signed by the Minister whose ministry will be administering the law and cosigned by the Prime Minister. The signatures do not constitute part of the law itself.