Penal Code of Japan

The Template:Nihongo is a Japanese law that sets out general provisions concerning crimes, as well as the elements and punishments for the various offenses.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> 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 Template:Nihongo.

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 Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo.

History

The first penal code of a Western style in Japan was what is now referred to as the Template:Nihongo 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Structure

The Penal Code of 1907 is subdivided into 2 parts, 50 chapters and comprises 264 articles.<ref name=":0" />

Structure (Part I)

Part I: General Provisions

Chapter	Articles covered	Classification of provisions
Chapter I	Articles 1 to 8	Scope of Application
Chapter II	Articles 9 to 21	Punishments
Chapter III	Articles 22 to 24	Calculation of the Period of Time
Chapter IV	Articles 25 to 27-7	Suspended Execution of Sentence
Chapter V	Articles 28 to 30	Parole
Chapter VI	Articles 31 to 34-2	Prescription and Extinction of Punishment
Chapter VII	Articles 35 to 42	Actions notTemplate:Sic Constituting Crimes and Reduction or Remission of Punishment
Chapter VIII	Articles 43 and 44	Attempts
Chapter IX	Articles 45 to 54Template:Efn	Consolidated Punishments
Chapter X	Articles 56 to 59	Repeated Convictions
Chapter XI	Articles 60 to 65	Complicity
Chapter XII	Articles 66 and 67	Reduction of Punishment in Light of Extenuating Circumstances
Chapter XIII	Articles 68 to 72	Rules for Aggravation and Reduction

Structure (Part II)

Part II: Crimes

Chapter	Articles covered	Classification of offences
Chapter I	73 through 76	DeletedTemplate:Efn
Chapter II	77 through 80	Crimes Related to Insurrection
Chapter III	81 through 88	Crimes Related to Foreign Aggression
Chapter IV	92 through 94Template:Efn	Crimes Concerning Diplomatic Relations
Chapter V	95 through 96-6	Crimes of Obstructing the Performance of Public Duty

See also

• Crime in Japan
• Criminal justice system of Japan

External links

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