Is This OK? How Everyday Law Works

The three great principles are popular sovereignty, respect for fundamental human rights and pacifism. The separation of the three powers is a mechanism of government that divides power to prevent its abuse, and is kept distinct from the principles themselves.

A constitution is a set of rules that binds state power, which is the idea of constitutionalism. That is why the duty to uphold it falls on those who wield that power. It is a different matter from the three duties of citizens, education, work and taxation. Confuse the two and you misread what a constitution is for.

Freedom of expression under Article 21 is also limited where it has to be balanced against the rights of others, the public welfare. Exposures and abuse on social media risk the crimes of defamation and insult, and heavy civil damages. 'Anything goes because there is free speech' does not work.

On the basis of the right to pursue happiness in Article 13, the courts have recognised the right to privacy and the right to one's own image. It is a mechanism for filling in rights not imagined when the Constitution was enacted in 1946. The interest in not having your photograph published without consent comes from here too.

Censorship under Article 21, paragraph 2, is understood as an absolute prohibition with no exceptions, as in the customs inspection case. Stopping information from circulating in advance destroys the foundation of democracy. A prior injunction by a court is a separate category, subject to extremely strict requirements.

The court held that, except for rights that by their nature concern Japanese nationals only, the guarantees extend equally to foreign nationals. However, freedom to remain in the country is not guaranteed, and the exercise of a right may be weighed against the person when a residence status is renewed, which was the harsh conclusion of this case. It appears constantly in the bar examination.

Since April 2022 the age of majority is 18. At 18 you can take out loans and credit agreements on your own, but you lose the protection of being able to cancel a contract as a minor. Watch out for pyramid schemes and information-product scams that target the newly adult.

As a rule a contract is formed by agreement alone, even orally, which is the principle of consensual formation. A document exists to prove it later. So a spoken promise does create legal obligations. But without evidence you cannot win in court, and that is the real risk. A messaging-app log is perfectly good evidence.

Cooling-off is a system for transactions that catch you off guard, such as door-to-door sales and telephone solicitation. Online shopping, where you apply of your own accord, is outside it. Whether you can return goods depends on each shop's return terms, and if no terms are displayed you may return them within 8 days at your own postage cost. 'Cooling-off applies to online shopping too' is one of the commonest misunderstandings.

Wear that arises from ordinary living, such as sun fading and furniture marks, is already covered by the rent and is in principle the landlord's cost. The 2020 reform of the Civil Code (民法, Minpo) put this in writing, at Article 621. If it is simply deducted from your deposit, negotiate by citing the transport ministry guidelines. Damage caused deliberately or carelessly, such as cigarette burns, is the tenant's cost.

If you acquire real estate by inheritance and do not register it within 3 years, you face an administrative charge of up to 100,000 yen; this began in April 2024 and applies to past inheritances as well. It is a response to the problem of land with unknown owners. Leave it alone and the heirs multiply like a snowball until the procedure becomes impossible, which is where a family relationship chart earns its keep.

Even if a child inherits ownership of the family home, the spouse acquires a right to live there and may do so for life. Separating ownership from occupation also makes it easier for the spouse to receive cash from the estate. It is created by division of the estate or by will, and registration is what makes it good against third parties.

Statutory heirs other than siblings have a reserved portion, 遺留分 (iryubun), a guaranteed minimum share, and a will cannot take it away; for a spouse or child it is half of the statutory share. If it is infringed you can claim money through a claim for payment of the infringed reserved portion. The limitation period is only one year from when you learn of it, so act at once.

The 2020 reform unified the rule as 5 years from knowledge and 10 years from when the right could be exercised. However, prescription is not automatic: it must be invoked. Conversely, repaying even one yen or acknowledging the debt resets the clock. Ignoring demands indefinitely is dangerous too, because you may simply be sued.

The presumption of innocence is the great principle of criminal trials. Guilt follows only once the prosecutor has proved the case beyond any room for reasonable doubt. Arrest does not mean the person did it. Treat someone named in the press as a criminal and spread it around, and you risk being sued for defamation yourself.

It is misappropriation of property separated from its possessor, punishable by up to 1 year of imprisonment or a fine of up to 100,000 yen. 'I only picked it up' is still a crime. Hand it in to the police and you may receive a reward of 5 to 20 percent, and after 3 months you may even acquire ownership. Pocketing it does not pay.

Self-defence under Article 36 of the Penal Code (刑法, Keiho) covers only an unavoidable response to an imminent and unlawful attack. Hit someone again once they are down and it becomes excessive defence or assault. Hitting back is revenge, not defence, and without knowing where that line falls, the victim can end up as the offender.

Abuse that alleges no specific fact is the crime of insult. The 2022 toughening added up to 1 year of imprisonment and a fine of up to 300,000 yen, where previously only short-term detention and a petty fine were available. Allege a fact and it becomes defamation, up to 3 years. Beyond that comes disclosure of the sender's identity and civil damages running into hundreds of thousands of yen. Anonymity will not protect you.

Punishing attempts is the exception, limited to crimes whose provisions say that attempts are punishable, such as homicide, robbery and arson, under Article 44 of the Penal Code. Criminal damage to property, for instance, has no offence of attempt. The still earlier stage of preparation is punishable in only a very few cases, such as preparation for homicide.

Under Article 41 of the Penal Code no punishment is imposed on a person under 14. They come instead within the protection of the child guidance centre and the family court, as a juvenile who has committed an act in violation of law. Civil liability is a separate matter, and the parents, as the persons with a duty of supervision, end up paying. 'They are only a child' does not settle it.

The small-claims action in the summary court is only for money claims of 600,000 yen or less. Judgment normally comes in a single day, the court fee is a few thousand yen, and it is easy to use without a lawyer. It suits recovering a deposit, unpaid fees or money from a flea-market sale. Be aware that if the other side objects, the case moves to an ordinary action.

In civil cases the rule is that whoever asserts must prove. Without evidence you lose, however true your account. Unlike criminal cases, the police will not act for you. When money changes hands, always keep a loan note, a transfer record or messages; that is your best protection.

Content-certified mail, 内容証明 (naiyo shomei), only has the post office certify who sent what and when; it has no legal force at all. It is, however, evidence that you made a demand, it suspends completion of the prescription period for 6 months as a formal demand under Article 150 of the Civil Code, and it has a strong psychological effect in showing that you are serious. Seizure requires a judgment or another enforceable title.

First instance, appeal as second instance, final appeal as third instance: three levels in all. The point is to decide carefully and correct mistakes. But grounds for a final appeal are limited, to constitutional violations or conflict with precedent, so 'I am unhappy with it' will not be accepted. The appeal period is 2 weeks from service of the judgment, and after that it becomes final.

The right to silence comes from Article 38 of the Constitution, can be exercised in interviews and in court, and no disadvantage may be imposed for using it. Giving way to the pressure of 'staying silent looks bad' and making a false confession is the single biggest cause of wrongful convictions. The iron rule is to call a lawyer first; the duty-lawyer service is free.

Arrest normally requires a warrant from a judge, under Article 33 of the Constitution and the warrant requirement. The exceptions include arrest in the act. Searches of a home and seizures likewise need warrants. 'Voluntary accompaniment' and 'voluntary submission' really are voluntary, and simply knowing that you may refuse changes how you handle it.

The power to prosecute is held exclusively by prosecutors, the prosecution monopoly, and they also have discretion not to prosecute where circumstances suggest it, the principle of discretionary prosecution and suspension of prosecution. However loudly a victim says 'I will take you to court', it is the prosecutor who brings a criminal case. If you are unhappy with a decision not to prosecute, you may apply to the Prosecution Review Commission.

The main reason is taken to be that prosecutors, working under discretionary prosecution, select cases they can certainly win. In practice, then, being prosecuted almost means being convicted. That is exactly why defence work before prosecution, preventing detention and obtaining a decision not to prosecute, is decisive; this is common sense in criminal practice.

To match the lowering of majority to 18, those aged 18 and 19 became specified juveniles, 特定少年 (tokutei shonen). They keep the protection of the Juvenile Act, but move closer to adult treatment: more cases are referred back to prosecutors, and once prosecuted they may be named in the press. It is a change worth knowing: from 18, there are more situations where the Juvenile Act will not shield you.

As a rule every juvenile case is sent to the family court, the principle of referral of all cases. A family court investigator looks into the young person's background and home circumstances, which is where a family relationship chart, a genogram, comes into its own, and the hearing decides protective measures such as probation or committal to a juvenile training school. The aim is rehabilitation, not punishment.

Article 1 of the Juvenile Act (少年法, Shonenho) states the aim as the sound development of the juvenile. Hearings are closed, and the dispositions are mainly educational, such as committal to a juvenile training school or probation. Serious cases are the exception and can be referred back for a criminal trial. Some criticise it as soft, but the design rests on data about preventing reoffending.

This is the great principle of Article 32 of the Labour Standards Act (労働基準法, Rodo Kijun Ho). To work people beyond it you need a concluded and filed Article 36 agreement, known as the sanroku agreement, plus premium pay. You do not have to accept 'nine-hour days are normal here' without question. Start by checking your own company's prescribed hours and its Article 36 agreement.

Overtime is at least 25 percent, late-night work between 22:00 and 5:00 adds another 25 percent, and hours beyond 60 in a month carry at least 50 percent, which has applied to small and medium firms too since 2023. 'We pay deemed overtime, so any number of hours is covered by the flat sum' is unlawful unless the excess is paid. Make a habit of checking the breakdown on your payslip.

An overtime order is valid where an Article 36 agreement has been concluded and filed and where the work rules or the employment contract provide that overtime may be ordered. Without that, the order itself is void and you cannot be disciplined for refusing. Even a valid order can be refused as an abuse of right where limits apply for childcare or family care, or where the order would damage your health.

The work-style reform from 2019 made the ceiling enforceable by penalty. Even with a special clause there are absolute lines: within 720 hours a year, an average of 80 hours or less over several months, and under 100 hours in a single month. An employer in breach faces up to 6 months of imprisonment or a fine of up to 300,000 yen. 'Unlimited black-company overtime' is against the law.

A dismissal is void without an objectively reasonable ground and social acceptability, under Article 16 of the Labour Contract Act (労働契約法, Rodo Keiyaku Ho) and the doctrine of abuse of the right of dismissal. Procedurally, 30 days' notice or payment in lieu is also required. Being dismissed is not the end: withdrawal, confirmation of employee status or a settlement sum can often be fought for. Start with the labour standards inspection office or the labour bureau's mediation.

Even working one day a week, you accrue paid leave on a pro-rata basis after 6 months of continuous service with 80 percent attendance. Moreover, where 10 or more days a year are granted, the company has a duty to make you take 5 of them, with a fine for breach. 'Part-timers do not get paid leave' is standard unlawful patter. You do not have to give a reason either, though the employer may move the timing.

The limitation period for wage claims is 3 years for the time being, with the law pointing towards 5 years. Time cards, computer logs, shift rosters and even your own daily notes all count as evidence. You can claim after leaving the job. In bad cases the court may also order an additional payment of the same amount. There is no need to give up just because you have resigned.

The Supreme Court held that the human rights provisions govern the relationship between the state and the individual, do not apply directly between private parties, and operate indirectly through the interpretation of provisions such as Article 90 of the Civil Code on public order and morals; this is the theory of indirect application. The famous facts concerned a refusal to confirm a hire because of the applicant's student-activist past.

In 1973 the Supreme Court gave its first ever ruling that a statute was unconstitutional. Aggravating the penalty as such was permissible, but limiting it to death or life imprisonment was an extreme severity amounting to unreasonable discrimination, contrary to Article 14. The background was the case of a daughter who could no longer endure sexual abuse by her father. The provision was finally deleted in 1995.

This is the 1975 ruling that a statute was unconstitutional. The connection between the aim of the distance rule, preventing substandard medicines, and the means chosen was weak, so it infringed the freedom to choose an occupation under Article 22. It is the leading example of the two-fold theory of regulatory purpose, which varies the intensity of review according to whether the purpose is negative or positive, and appears constantly in the bar examination.

In the Asahi case and others it was held that Article 25 declares a responsibility of the state, and that concrete claims to benefits are realised through statutes such as the Public Assistance Act; this is the programmatic reading. Even so, rollbacks of a scheme and unreasonable administration can be challenged in court. It also matters not to hesitate about seeking advice on public assistance.