Japanese ordinances are divided into the Constitution, international treaties, laws (enacted by the National Diet), cabinet orders, office or ministerial ordinances, committee rules, upper and lower houses parliamentary rules (or parliamentary rules for the House of Representative and House of Councillors), and Supreme Court rules. However, this section includes circulars issued by administrative agencies and prefectural and municipal ordinances. Most current ordinances, and recently repealed or expired laws can be accessed online. However, when using a website, close attention must be paid to the author’s credibility and publication date.
Current ordinances refer to those ordinances currently in effect. These can be accessed by visiting websites created by administrative agencies, private companies, individuals, databases contracted by the University, or legal compilations.
憲法・法律・政令・勅令・府令・省令・規則のデータベース。総務省行政管理局作成。
e-Gov Ordinance Search Engine(Japanese only).Database containing information on the Constitution, laws, cabinet orders, office or ministerial ordinances, and rules. Mantained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication’s Administrative Management Bureau.
The search engine allows for queries on the ordinance name (法令名のみ) or the complete text(全文). Users can also specify the type of ordinance they are looking for: Constitution(憲法), laws (法律), cabinet orders (政令), imperial ordinances (勅令), office or ministerial ordinances (府省令), and rules (規則). In addition, the advanced search menu (詳細検索) allows users to search by ordinance number, date of enactment, or topic.
Japanese Law Translation (Website)
Database containing English translation of Japanese legal text. Maintained by the Ministry of Justice.The translations contained within are not
official text or official translations. In the event of discrepancies between the translation and the original Japanese text, the latter prevails.
There are three types of searches. Law search allows for searching Japanese law translations via keywords.Dictionary search is a online
dictionary for legal terms. Lastly, Keywords in Context Search looks for keywords within the context of a text.
明治19年2月公文式施行以降の省令以上の法令について、制定・改廃経過等の情報、法律案等の審議経過等が検索可能。本文へのリンクもあり。国会図書館作成。
Contains information on ordinances above the ministerial level enacted during the imperial system and published after February 1886. It includes information on the enactment, reform and repeal processes, and discussion on bill drafts. It also shows links to the text. Maintained by the National Diet Library.
Japanese Law Search.
The standard search uses keywords to find results. Advanced search (詳細検索) allows searching by the ordinance name or subject (法令名・件名). Users can also search for current laws(現行法令), reformed ordinances (改正法令), repealed ordinances(廃止法令), bill drafts(法律案), and treaties (条約承認案件), enactment date, or ordinance number. Some results might include English translations.
Daichi Hoki Law Database.
Users can search via the search bar on the top page or by using the “current regulations button” (現行法規（現行法検索）) to redirect to a specialized search page. Using the specialized search engine, users can look up by keywords, ordinance name (法令名), or type of ordinance（法令区分). In addition, users can search the ordinance title, text, amendments, or regulations using the (法令構造) button.
日本法の総合データベース
Private general database on Japanese law.
Users can search using “free words” (フリーワード) using the “search term” (検索語) under the “ordinances” (法令). Selecting “all” (すべて) as the “search range” (検索対象) will return results from the “constitution and laws” (憲法・法律), “cabinet orders and imperial ordinances” (政令・勅令), “ministerial or cabinet ordinances, or rules” (省令、政令・規則), “communication” (告示), “Supreme Court or Legislative rules” (最高裁・議員規則), “current ordinances”(現行法令), and “repealed ordinances” (廃止済み法令).
Furthermore, under “ordinance information” (法令情報), users can search by “ordinance title”(法令名), “article”(条文), “ordinance number”(法令番号), “competent authority”(所管省庁名), or “promulgation date” (公布日).
Treaties.Japanese Only.
Includes information on treaties discussed during and after the National Diet’s 154th session (2002), ordered by session number. Sessions without treaty discussions are marked with (no treaty presented) (提出した条約なし). There is also a treaty search engine.
General Law Compilations (総合法令集) contain information on current ordinances dealing with a specific subject or topic.
Current Ordinance Pandect.
Search by Japanese alphabet order (五十音索引), year, or topic.
Search by Japanese alphabet order (五十音索引), year, or provisions (includes references to related provisions).
Since there is no comprehensive search engine for circulars and communiques, they must be searched for each ministry website, circulars, articles, industry papers, and ordinances.
所管の法令・告示・通達等(電子政府の総合窓口e-gov)［Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications］（Website）
Administrative ordinances, notices, and circulars.
Yoyotei Legal Website.
This website presents information on prefectural and municipal ordinances. Users can use google search to look up ordinances by municipality (町), city (市), or prefecture (県). Includes links to the ordinance text.
The Official Gazette (官報) provides the most recent information on current ordinances. The Official Gazette is published daily, excepting holidays. It is the only official national bulletin and includes “official communications” such as enacted laws, newspapers, Diet matters, honors, and documents (e.g., cabinet decisions, the balance of international payments, etc.). It also prints ministerial and judicial official announcements aimed at society at large. If the information in databases contradicts the Official Gazette, the latter will prevail.
Reference：足立寛子「国内の官報(<特集>法令・判例情報)」 情報の科学と技術. 2001, 51(3), p.162-166
Hiroko Adachi, Japanese Official Gazette, 51(3)
The Journal of Information Science and Technology 162, 2001.
官報発行から原則90日間は、官報全体を無料で閲覧・ダウンロードすることができる。官報に掲載される特定の個人を対象とした処分に係る記事等については、プライバシーの確保への配慮のため、記事を画像化してテキスト抽出やテキスト検索を困難にするとともに、90日経過後に当該記事の閲覧・ダウンロードをできなくするなどの対策が講じられる。なお、それ以外の記事は90日経過後も引き続き閲覧できる。平成15年（2003年）７月15日以降の法律、政令等の官報情報と平成28年（2016年）４月１日以降の政府調達の官報情報を、PDFデータで閲覧可。
In principle, the entire Official Gazette can be viewed and downloaded free of charge for 90 days from the publication of the Official Gazette. In order to ensure the privacy of articles published in the Official Gazette that are related to dispositions targeting specific individuals, the articles will be made into images to make text extraction and text search difficult, and measures will be taken to prevent viewing and downloading of the articles after 90 days have passed. Other articles can continue to be viewed after 90 days. The Official Gazette information on laws, cabinet orders, etc. since July 15, 2003, and the Official Gazette information on government procurement since April 1, 2016, can be viewed in PDF data.
The Official Gazette is updated daily at 8: 30 am as a PDF file containing the same content as the printed version, making it the fastest way to obtain the most recent information on ordinances. The file is available for 30 days. In addition, visitors can use the Gazette Search(官報検索)to look up specific information.
官報（本紙、号外、政府調達公告版、資料版、目録）の全文検索サービス。昭和22年5月3日・日本国憲法施行日以降～当日発行分（当日分は午前8時30分に公開）まで検索可能。中央図書館3階雑誌カウンターでお申し込みください。（同時アクセス数が1のため、1回の利用時間は1時間まででお願いします。他の方とご利用希望時間が重なった場合はお待ちいただくことがあります。あらかじめご了承ください。）
Search service for Official Gazette’s complete texts (main issues, extra issues, procurements, documents, inventories). Includes every Official Gazette dating back to the publication of the Japanese Constitution on 3 May 1947 to the most recent one (published daily at 8:30 am). The service is available at the counter of the Central Library’s 3rd-floor Magazine Counter. (Since simultaneous access is not allowed, use is limited to one hour. Users might have to wait If multiple people want to use the service at the same time）.
1996年6月3日以降の目次を検索可能。
Official Gazette Index Search.Search the indexes for Official Gazettes published on and after 3 June 1996.
When looking for ordinances at the Japanese Law Search Database website (日本法令索引), confirm when the previous reform occurred and use the “reformed ordinances” (改正法令) option in the advanced search menu. In addition, contracted databases such as D1-Law.com or Westlaw Japan allow to search for ordinances during a specific period.
明治19年2月公文式施行以降の省令以上の法令について、制定・改廃経過等の情報、法律案等の審議経過等が検索可能。本文へのリンクもあり。国会図書館作成。
Contains information on ordinances above the ministerial level enacted during the imperial system and published after February 1886. It includes information on the enactment, reform and repeal processes, and discussion on bill drafts. It also shows links to the text. Maintained by the National Diet Library.
Japanese Law Search.
Search using the “reformed ordinances” (改正法令) option in the advanced search menu. It also accepts the common name of the law. In addition, it includes information on the enactment, reform and repeal processes, discussion on bill drafts, and international treaties.
日本法令索引（明治前期編）［National Diet Library］（Website）
Japanese Law Search (Before the Meiji Period).
Includes information on ordinances published from October 1867 to February 1886. Results might include links to the original text.
憲法・法律・政令・勅令・府令・省令・規則のデータベース。総務省行政管理局作成。
e-Gov Ordinance Search Engine(Japanese only).Database containing information on the Constitution, laws, cabinet orders, office or ministerial ordinances, and rules. Mantained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication’s Administrative Management Bureau.
A list of repealed or expired ordinances can be found here(廃止法令一覧).
明治19年2月公文式施行以降の省令以上の法令について、制定・改廃経過等の情報、法律案等の審議経過等が検索可能。本文へのリンクもあり。国会図書館作成。
Contains information on ordinances above the ministerial level enacted during the imperial system and published after February 1886. It includes information on the enactment, reform and repeal processes, and discussion on bill drafts. It also shows links to the text. Maintained by the National Diet Library.
Japanese Law Search.
Search using the repealed ordinances (廃止法令) option in the advanced search menu for repealed or expired laws, cabinet orders, etc.
現行日本法規.改廃経過・主要旧法令［Ministry of Justice］（Looseleaf）
Current Ordinances, Reforms, Repeals, and Important Past Ordinances.
憲法・法律・政令・勅令・府令・省令・規則のデータベース。総務省行政管理局作成。
e-Gov Ordinance Search Engine(Japanese only).Database containing information on the Constitution, laws, cabinet orders, office or ministerial ordinances, and rules. Mantained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication’s Administrative Management Bureau.
A list of unenforced ordinances can be found here(新規制定で未施行の法令一覧).
Daichi Hoki Law Database (Japanese Only).
If an ordinance has unenforced provisions, the “unenforced provisions” (未施行の条文あり)button will show on the result page.
Pressing the button will show unenforced provisions in the text.
In addition, information on the enforcement date is shown in the “enforcement date” (施行日の一覧) windows to the right.
日本法の総合データベース
Private general database on Japanese law.
Results will show whether a particular ordinance has unenforced provisions.
現行法規総覧［Legislative Bureau of the House of Representatives, House of Councilors］（Looseleaf）
Current Ordinance Pandect(Japanese Only).
Contains information on unenforced provisions and later legal framework.