JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Shinya Tago, Atsushi Fukasawa, Hiroshi Iida and Landry Guesdon, Iwata Godo Law Offices
tor or authorised user can constitute an offence. Attempts are not punishable. • Providing or using a personal information database without permission for unlawful purposes (Arti - cle 179 of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information) – this occurs when a personal infor - mation database is provided or misappropriated/ used without permission for unlawful purposes by a personal information-handling business operator. Attempts are not punishable. • Tax evasion (Article 159 of the Corporation Tax Act) – tax evasion through wrongful acts can constitute an offence. • Misleading representation (Articles 5, 7 and 36 of the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Mis - leading Representations) – misleading the general public/consumers into believing that a product is significantly superior to other products or that the price or other terms are significantly more favoura - ble than those of competitors (or than they are) and failing to comply with a cease-and-desist order, etc, from the supervisory authority can constitute an offence. Attempts are not punishable. Further Offences Sanctions against white-collar crime also apply to: • the counterfeiting of private documents (Article 159 of the PC), which involves the use of documenta - tion in the name of a company without the neces - sary authority; • false entries in original notarised deeds (Article 157 of the PC), which involves making an application to register fake directors (or the filing of other matters subject to registration), causing the registration office to register false information; and • the obstruction of business using fraudulent means (Article 233 of the PC). All these crimes require intent. To secure the convic - tion of a company or an individual, the public prosecu - tor must prove beyond reasonable doubt that a crimi - nal act occurred and that there was criminal intent. 1.2 Burden of Proof The burden of proof lies with the prosecutors, who must prove in court beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime for which they were
indicted (Article 336 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), and Article 31 of the Constitution). There is no statutory presumption mechanism beyond deductions and inferences through case-by-case fact-finding by the court. Administrative Sanctions An administrative disposition is valid unless rescind - ed by the court, so the person who received the dis - position needs to file a lawsuit. There is no general rule regarding the burden of proof in administrative litigation, which is determined on an individual legal basis. The standard of proof is “certainty of veracity to such an extent that an ordinary person would not raise doubts”. 1.3 Statute of Limitations The limitation period depends on the type of crime and the amount of the statutory penalty (Article 250 of the CCP), and ranges from one to 30 years (except for offences punishable by death). The limitation peri - od starts running when the criminal act stops (Arti - cle 253). Where accomplices are involved, the period starts from when the last criminal act committed by an accomplice has ceased (Article 253). If the offender is abroad, the limitation period is tolled during their time abroad (Article 255). Article 55 of the CPP clarifies the calculation method for limitation periods under the CCP. 1.4 Extraterritorial Reach and Cross-Border Co-Operation In general, laws and regulations do not apply to the activities of foreign companies outside Japan, as their territorial scope should be limited to Japan. However, the PC provides that it may apply to a person who commits certain categories of serious crimes outside Japan. If only part of the act or the result of a crime occurs in Japan, it is considered as a “crime occurring in Japan” and the PC may apply if a fraudulent act causes damage to a Japan resident. By contrast, the extraterritorial application of adminis - trative powers is generally not specified. Administra - tive laws and regulations may generally apply to acts outside Japan if they affect, or have consequences for, persons and properties in Japan.
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