Ministry of Justice (Japan)

This article is about the Ministry of the Justice after 1871. For other uses, see Ministry of Justice (Ritsuryō).

Ministry of Justice

法務省 Hōmu-shō
File:MoJ0932.jpg The Ministry of Justice building
Agency overview
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Minister responsible	Mitsuhide Iwaki, Minister of Justice
Website	http://www.moj.go.jp

Tokyo Detention House

The Ministry of Justice (法務省, Hōmu-shō) is one of the cabinet level ministries of the Japanese government. It is responsible for the judicial system, correctional services, household, property and corporate registrations. It also serves as the government legal representatives.

Meiji Constitution

The Ministry of Justice was established under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1871 as the Ministry of Justice (司法省, Shihōshō).

Constitution of Japan

The Ministry acquired its present name under the post-war Constitution of Japan in 1952. Its responsibilities include administration of Japan's judicial system and penal system. It represents the Japanese government in litigation, and is also responsible for maintenance of government registration of families, resident aliens, real estate and corporations.

The Ministry has jurisdiction over the National Bar Examination Commission, the Public Security Examination Commission, and the Public Security Intelligence Agency. Although the Public Prosecutor's Offices are administratively part of the Ministry of Justice, they are independent of the authority of the Minister of Justice.

At the top of the ministry is the Minister of Justice, a member of the Cabinet, and he or she is chosen by the Prime Minister typically from members of the Diet.

See also

• Penal system of Japan

References

• Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991, ISBN 4-7674-2015-6

External links

• Official website
• Official website (Japanese)
• Japanese Law Translation, Law/Term/context search site(Ministry of Justice, Japan)