JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Masayuki Atsumi and Yuhei Sakao, Miura & Partners
Introduction Japan’s anti-bribery measures continue to evolve in line with global developments. In February 2024, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) pub - lished the amended Guidelines for the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials (the “Guidelines”) for the first time since May 2021. To understand the reasons for, and content of, the amendment of the Guidelines, it is necessary to learn about the trends and developments of anti-corruption efforts in Japan. Japan is recognised as a country where bribery and other forms of corruption are relatively rare. In fact, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, which is published by Transparency International, Japan is the 20th cleanest country among 180 coun - tries in the world (ranking above the USA). However, Japan continues to see numerous bribery cases involving politicians or public officials that are uncovered and widely reported every year. The pub - lic has paid close attention to the many arrests that have been widely reported both in Japan and abroad, including of executives of famous companies in brib - ery cases surrounding the Tokyo Olympics and Para - lympics. In addition, as described below, the OECD Working Group on Bribery (WGB) has highlighted the low num - ber of cases involving bribery of foreign public officials in Japan, and has made 17 recommendations to the Japanese government to improve its enforcement. In response, METI undertook a review of the laws and regulations on the bribery of foreign officials, which led to the amendment of the Unfair Competition Preven - tion Act (UCPA). Bribery of both domestic and foreign public officials has received a lot of public attention. Therefore, employees and executives in all companies need to properly understand and comply with anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws and regulations in Japan and take appropriate measures to prevent corruption. To support these efforts, this article outlines the latest trends and developments in anti-corruption regula - tion in Japan.
Bribery of Domestic Public Officials Overview of the laws and regulations on the bribery of domestic public officials In Japan, bribery of domestic public officials is primar - ily regulated by the Penal Code (Act No 45 of 1907), under which a public official shall be subject to crimi - nal liability in connection with their duties if they: • accept, solicit, or promise to accept a bribe (Article 197); • cause a bribe to be given to a third party (Article 197-2); • act illegally or fail to act appropriately after/before committing a crime under one of the preceding two Articles (Article 197-3); or • accept, solicit, or promise to accept a bribe as consideration for the influence that a public official exerted, or is to exert, in response to a request, over another public official so as to cause the other to act illegally or fail to perform a required act in the exercise of their official duty (Article 197-4). A person who gives, offers, or promises to give such bribes shall also be subject to criminal liability (Article 198). Under court precedents, “bribery” is defined as unjust remuneration for the services of a public official. The “benefit” is not limited to tangible benefits but could include anything that satisfies one’s desires or demands, such as hospitality, travel, or entertainment expenses. A public official who accepts, solicits, or promises to accept a bribe in connection with their duties is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years. If the public official agrees to perform an act in response to a request, they are punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years. When a public official commits the crime of bribery and consequently acts illegally or fails to perform a required act in the exercise of their duty, they are pun - ishable by imprisonment for not less than one year (Article 197-3 (1)). The same applies when a public official accepts, solicits, or promises to accept a bribe, is involved in a bribe being given to a third party, or solicits or promises that a bribe be given to a third
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