Penal Code of Japan

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The Penal Code (刑法, Keihō) is a Japanese law that sets out general provisions concerning crimes, as well as the elements and punishments for the various offenses.^[1] It is a foundational statute of Japanese law and one of Japan’s Six Codes. To distinguish it from the general term keihō it may also be referred to as Keihōten (刑法典).

It was promulgated on April 24, 1907 and came into force on October 1, 1908. The competent government agencies are the Criminal Affairs Division and the Director of the Legislative Affairs Division within the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice.

The current Penal Code consists of two parts: Part I, General Provisions (Articles 1–72), and Part II, Crimes (Articles 73–264). However, not all penal provisions are contained within the Penal Code. Many crimes are defined instead in special criminal acts (刑事特別法, keiji tokubetsuhō) or special criminal laws (特別刑法, tokubetsu keihō).

The first penal code of a Western style in Japan was what is now referred to as the Old Penal Code (旧・刑法, Kyū Keihō) which was promulgated in July 1880 and came into effect on January 1, 1882. French legal scholar Gustave Boissonade was employed by the Japanese government to draft this Code, which resulted in heavy influence from the French Penal Code. This Code took away judges' power to arbitrarily assign punishments to crimes.^[2]

This was replaced with the current Penal Code in 1908 which showed influence from the German model. It saw some amendments during World War II and further, more extensive amendments during the American occupation.^[3]

The Penal Code of 1907 is subdivided into 2 parts, 50 chapters and comprises 264 articles.^[1]

• Crime in Japan
• Criminal justice system of Japan

• Japanese Law Translation - Penal Code - Japanese Ministry of Justice