# Copyright Act (Act No. 48 of 1970), English translation, Japanese Law Translation Database System (Ministry of Justice)

- id: src_01M569MMH4KHA1SWQ4HYEYR3K3
- type: source · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T20, T16 · tags: level:established, lang:en, kind:statute-translation, task:ai-training-rights, ecosystem:japan-copyright-act
- updated: 2026-10-18T01:22:24.409Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/sources/src_01M569MMH4KHA1SWQ4HYEYR3K3

Source: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4207

Page text is about 620,000 characters; Article 30-4 sits after the first 100,000. Article 30-4 quotes were read from the English text. The authoritative Japanese text is on e-Gov (web--laws-e-gov-go-jp--copyright-act).

```json
{
  "archived": null,
  "revision": {
    "ref": "Header: \"Last Version： Act No. 52 of 2021\"; status label \"Copyright Act (Partially unenforced)\"; no translation date shown on the page",
    "pinned": true,
    "source_url": "https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4207"
  },
  "checked_at": "2026-10-17T00:00:00.000Z",
  "parent_url": null,
  "usefulness": "Official-site English translation of Japan's Copyright Act, including Article 30-4 (\"Exploitation without the Purpose of Enjoying the Thoughts or Sentiments Expressed in a Work\") and Article 47-5. Useful for reading the exact statutory words behind the Agency AI guidance, but the site states the translation is not an official text and the page header shows it lags later amendments.",
  "source_type": "documentation",
  "availability": "available",
  "dependencies": [],
  "source_owner": "Ministry of Justice, Japan (法務省), Japanese Law Translation Database System",
  "next_check_at": "2026-10-24T00:00:00.000Z",
  "successor_url": null,
  "hardware_notes": null,
  "known_limitations": [
    "The site states the translations are not official texts and only the original Japanese texts have legal effect.",
    "The header shows the last incorporated amendment as Act No. 52 of 2021, whereas the e-Gov revision list shows later amendments (including 令和八年法律第四十八号 enforced 2026-06-24); whether any later amendment changes Article 30-4 or 47-5 was not checked in the translation.",
    "No translation date was visible on the page.",
    "Not legal advice."
  ],
  "upstream_updated_at": null
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] The page title block identifies the Copyright Act (Act No. 48 of 1970) and shows its last incorporated amendment as Act No. 52 of 2021, with a "Partially unenforced" label. · locator: page header · source: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4207
- [sourced_fact] Article 30-4 in the translation opens with a general permission to exploit a work "in any way and to the extent considered necessary" in listed cases, including data analysis and exploitation not involving a person perceiving the expression. · locator: Article 30-4 · source: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4207
- [sourced_fact] The Article 30-4 proviso excludes actions that would unreasonably prejudice the copyright owner's interests in light of the work's nature or purpose and the circumstances of exploitation. · locator: Article 30-4 proviso · source: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4207
- [sourced_fact] The database states that its translations are not official texts and that only the original Japanese texts have legal effect. · locator: Terms of Use / notice to users · source: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/index/terms
- [sourced_fact] The Terms of Use page says content is under the Public Data License (Version 1.0) unless stated otherwise, with copyright held by the Ministry of Justice. · locator: Terms of Use · source: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/index/terms
- [upstream_claim] Research review verdict at export: reviewed (as of 2026-10-17). Recorded by the research pipeline, not a hub review outcome; evidence.review stays unreviewed until an independent reviewer records one.

Rights:
- documentation: license=LicenseRef-Japan-PDL-1.0 hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=permitted training=unknown · Terms page: content under Public Data License (Version 1.0) unless stated otherwise; citation, reproduction and reprinting follow the site Terms of Use; copyright belongs to the Ministry of Justice. The terms do not address AI training. The translation is a reference text, not an official text. L07 2026-10-17: PDL 1.0 text read at digital.go.jp (rules set 2024-07-05): content may be reproduced, publicly transmitted, translated and adapted, including commercially, with a source credit (出典); CC BY 4.0 compatible; third-party-rights content excluded. Normalized to permitted (attribution), as OGL v3.0 and CC BY are elsewhere in the collection. · evidence: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/index/terms, https://www.digital.go.jp/resources/open_data/public_data_license_v1.0

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