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| MLIT (Inoue) | TAC | Sogo | Nikken | Inoue |
In this section we’ll introduce the primary laws and orders that make up the Japanese building code. Near the end we’ll also provide some helpful resources that can make navigating these laws a little easier.
For those on a budget, the good news is that all these laws and ministerial notifications are public documents and can be found for free online.
e-Gov Law Search
Acts, Cabinet Orders and Ministerial Orders can be found on e-Gov Law Search: https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/, a site maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
Ministerial Notifications and other ministry documents can be found on those respective ministry websites. In the case of Ministerial Notifications issued by the former Ministry of Construction, or the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), a list can be found at https://www.mlit.go.jp/notice/.
Local documents (prefectural or municipal) likewise are available on the respective websites.
The Ministry of Justice has tentative translations for some of the major Japanese laws; these are hosted on their Japanese Law Translation website: www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp. Unfortunately, many active laws have not been translated; and those that have may not be the most current version. So please use them with caution.
There is a print English version called "The Building Standard Law of Japan (2016)", published by the Japan Building Center (日本建築センター). Unfortunately, this translation is over 10 years old and is fairly out of date and not in print.
The primary law, which is the starting point of the “Japanese building code” is the Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950) (建築基準法), followed by the associated the Cabinet Enforcement Order (EO) and Enforcement Regulations, also known as the Ministerial Orders (MO).
In the follow tables, the names of relevant laws are provided in English and Japanese. Links to the Act are provided in Japanese (JA) and English (EN), when available.
| Item | Act | Links | EO | MO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 建築基準法 Building Standards Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA |
| Item | Act | Links | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 告示・通達 Ministerial Notifications and Instructions |
JA | |||
| 2 | 建築基準法等に基づく告示の制定・改正について Enactment and Revisions of Ministerial Notifications |
JA |
NOTE:
The order of the laws listed in the subsequent tables is not related to the importance or precedance of the laws. The following table lists the sixteen laws in order provided in Art. 9 of the Enforcement Order for the Building Standards Act.
| Item | Act | Links | EO | MO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 消防法 Fire Service Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 2 | 屋外広告物法 Outdoor Advertisement Act |
JA | EN | JA | ||
| 3 | 港湾法 Port and Harbour Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 4 | 高圧ガス保安法 High Pressure Gas Safety Act |
JA | EN | JA | ||
| 5 | ガス事業法 Gas Business Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 6 | 駐車場法 Parking Lot Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 7 | 水道法 Water Supply Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 8 | 下水道法 Sewerage Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 9 | 宅地造成及び特定盛土等規制法 Act on Regulation of Housing Land Development and Specified Embankment |
JA | JA | JA | |
| 10 | 流通業務市街地の整備に関する法律 Act on the Improvement of Urban Distribution Centers |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 11 | 液化石油ガスの保安の確保及び取引の適正化に関する法律 Act on the Securing of Safety and the Optimization of Transaction of Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 12 | 都市計画法 City Planning Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 13 | 特定空港周辺航空機騒音対策特別措置法 Act on Special Measures concerning Countermeasures against Aircraft Noise around Specified Airports |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 14 | 自転車の安全利用の促進及び自転車等の駐車対策の総合的推進に関する法律 Act on Promotion of Safe Use of Bicycles and Comprehensive Advancement of Measures for Bicycle Parking |
JA | EN | |||
| 15 | 浄化槽法 Purification Tank Act |
JA | EN | JA | ||
| 16 | 特定都市河川浸水被害対策法 Act on Countermeasures against Flood Damage of Specified Rivers Running Across Cities |
JA | EN | JA | JA |
| Item | Act | Links | EO | MO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 高齢者、障害者等の移動等の円滑化の促進に関する法律（バリアフリー法） Act on Promotion of Smooth Transportation, etc. of Elderly Persons, Disabled Persons, etc. |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 2 | 都市緑地法 Urban Green Space Conservation Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 3 | 建築物のエネルギー消費性能の向上等に関する法律（建築物省エネ法） Act on Improvement of Energy Consumption Performance of Buildings |
JA | JA | JA | |
| 4 | 建築物の耐震改修の促進に関する法律 Act on Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting of Buildings |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 5 | 住宅の品質確保の促進等に関する法律 Housing Quality Assurance Act |
JA | EN | JA | EN | JA | EN | |
| 6 | 建築士法 Act on Architects and Building Engineers |
JA | JA | JA | |
| 7 | 建設業法 Construction Business Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 8 | 宅地造成等規制法 Act on the Review and Regulation of the Use of Real Estate Surrounding Important Facilities and on Remote Territorial Islands |
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| 9 | 景観法 Landscape Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 10 | 都市再開発法 Urban Renewal Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 11 | 密集市街地における防災街区の整備の促進に関する法律 Act on Promotion of Improvement of Disaster Control Districts in Populated Urban Districts |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 12 | 労働安全衛生法 Industrial Safety and Health Act |
JA | EN | JA | ||
| 13 | 石綿障害予防規則 Ordinance on Prevention of Health Impairment due to Asbestos |
JA | |||
| 14 | 文化財保護法 Act on the Protection of Cultural Properties |
JA | EN | JA | ||
| 15 | 学校教育法 School Education Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 16 | 児童福祉法 Child Welfare Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 17 | 老人福祉法 Act on Social Walfare for the Elderly |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 18 | 医療法 Medical Care Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 19 | 旅館業法 Hotel Business Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA | |
| 20 | 宅地建物取引業法 Real Estate Brokerage Act |
JA | EN | JA | JA |
There are several Japanese publishers that package the key laws and ministerial notifications into one or two books, which are published on an annual basis. Below are five different versions that contain the same collections of acts and orders but do include differing ministerial notifications.
The differences are not in the laws, but how the publishers format the text, the size of the books, etc. and inter-text referencing systems. Generally, the purpose of these packaged law collections is to provide a reliable resource for those taking the First- or Second-Class Architect exam, although they are also used in an design office setting.
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| MLIT (Inoue) | TAC | Sogo | Nikken | Inoue |
The TAC, Sogo and Nikken versions are generally geared towards Architectural license exam test takers. They structure the data and provide cross-references to help aid the reader quickly and access critical information.
The blue version (edited by MLIT and published by Inoue) includes two volumes with the second containing several hundred Ministerial Notifications. It is perhaps the most comprehensive, followed by the yellow Inoue version, which is published as a single volume.