JapanPenal Code, creation, provision and use of unauthorized command electronic records (computer viruses)
Penal Code, Act No. 45 of 1907, Art. 168-2
In force since .
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Do not, without a legitimate reason, create or provide to another person an electronic record that gives an improper command making a computer, when a person uses it, fail to act as that person intends or act contrary to that intent, or a record describing such a command, where the purpose is to have it run on another person's computer.
- Do not, without a legitimate reason, put a record that itself gives such an improper command into a state in which it is executed on another person's computer; an attempt is also an offence.
- Do not, without a legitimate reason, acquire or store such a record for the purpose of having it run on another person's computer.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Creating or providing such a record (Art. 168-2(1)), or putting one into execution on another person's computer (Art. 168-2(2)), is punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen; an attempt at the second offence is also punished (Art. 168-2(3)). Acquiring or storing one for that purpose is punished under Art. 168-3 by imprisonment for not more than two years or a fine of not more than 300,000 yen.
Penalty structure
The fine cap is the Art. 168-2(1) figure, which Art. 168-2(2) repeats by applying the same penalty; imprisonment for up to three years may be imposed instead. Acquiring or storing such a record under Art. 168-3 carries a lower cap of 300,000 yen.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- JPY
- Fixed cap
- 500,000
What record it asks for
Logging duty
Article 168-2 punishes creating, providing or putting to use an unauthorized-command electromagnetic record, and Article 168-3 punishes obtaining or keeping one; both define offences for the offender and impose no duty to create, keep, produce or review a log or record. The Code's general territorial articles (Articles 1 to 4-2) are not invoked by Article 168-2, so no hook is read from it.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Article 168-2(1) of the Penal Code punishes a person who, without a legitimate reason and for the purpose of having it run on another person's computer, creates or provides an electronic record that gives an improper command causing a computer, when a person uses it, not to act as that person intends or to act contrary to that intent, or a record describing such a command. That offence is punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.
Article 168-2(2) applies the same penalty to a person who, without a legitimate reason, puts a record of the first kind, one that itself gives the improper command, into execution on another person's computer. Article 168-2(3) punishes an attempt at that second offence. Article 168-3 separately punishes acquiring or storing such a record for the same purpose, by imprisonment for not more than two years or a fine of not more than 300,000 yen.
The offence was added to the Penal Code by Act No. 74 of 2011, promulgated on . It took effect on .
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jp-penal-no-45-1907-168-2