The Act on Access to Information Held by Incorporated Administrative Agencies creates a disclosure route for Corporate Documents held by Incorporated Administrative Agencies, etc., and also requires certain information about those bodies to be provided outside individual requests. It is consulted by requesters, agency staff, and reviewers who need to identify whether a record is a Corporate Document, how a Disclosure Request is processed, and what review route applies after a Disclosure Decision, etc. This article covers the main operative provisions of Articles 1 through 25, verified against the statutory text on elaws.jp, and does not cover local incorporated administrative agencies or individual litigation strategy.
Corporate Documents and the Request Form
The Act begins by tying the request system to records held by Incorporated Administrative Agencies, etc., rather than to ministries and other Administrative Organs. Articles 1 through 4 define the purpose, covered bodies, covered documents, and the minimum filing content for a Disclosure Request.
Article 1 states that the Act concerns the right to request disclosure of Corporate Documents and the provision of information about the activities of Incorporated Administrative Agencies, etc. Article 2(1) defines Incorporated Administrative Agencies, etc. by referring to incorporated administrative agencies under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies and to corporations listed in Appended Table 1. Article 2(2) defines a Corporate Document as a document, drawing, or electronic or magnetic record made or obtained by an officer or employee in the course of duties, organizationally used by officers or employees of the body, and held by that body.
Article 2(2) also removes several categories from the definition. The exclusions include publications issued for sale to an unspecified large number of persons, specified historical public records under the Public Records and Archives Management Act, specially managed historical, cultural, or academic research materials in facilities prescribed by Cabinet Order, and documents held by Appended Table 2 bodies that are separated as relating exclusively to listed business. Article 3 then gives any person the right to request disclosure of Corporate Documents held by an Incorporated Administrative Agency, etc. Article 4 requires a written Disclosure Request Form stating the requester's identifying information and matters sufficient to identify the requested Corporate Document. If the form has a formal deficiency, Article 4(2) allows the body to request correction within a reasonable period and requires efforts to provide information useful for that correction.
Disclosure Limits and Partial Release
The central decision rule is that disclosure is required unless the requested Corporate Document contains Non-Disclosure Information. Articles 5 through 8 explain the categories that can block disclosure, the treatment of separable portions, discretionary disclosure for public interest, and refusal without confirming whether a document exists.
Article 5 requires an Incorporated Administrative Agency, etc. to disclose the requested Corporate Document unless it records Non-Disclosure Information. The listed categories include personal information that identifies a specific individual or may harm personal rights and interests, with exceptions for information made public by law or practice, information necessary to protect life, health, livelihood, or property, and specified information about public officers' duties. Article 5 also covers administrative-agency anonymized processed information and deleted identifiers used to create it, certain corporate or business information, deliberation or consultation information among public bodies, and information concerning public affairs or business where disclosure would risk hindering proper execution.
Article 6 requires Partial Disclosure when the part containing Non-Disclosure Information can be easily separated and removed, unless the remaining part contains no meaningful information. Article 6(2) adds a special rule for identifying personal information: if identifying descriptions can be removed and the remaining information can be made public without risk to personal rights and interests, the remaining part is treated outside the personal-information category for the purpose of Partial Disclosure. Article 7 permits discretionary disclosure on public-interest grounds even where Non-Disclosure Information is recorded, but excludes the anonymized processed information category in Article 5, item (i)-2. Article 8 allows the body to refuse a Disclosure Request without revealing whether the Corporate Document exists when merely answering existence or nonexistence would disclose Non-Disclosure Information.
Decisions, Deadlines, Transfer, and Third Parties
After a request is filed, the Act gives the Incorporated Administrative Agency, etc. a sequence of notice, timing, Transfer of the Case, and third-party procedure rules. Articles 9 through 14 are the main provisions a requester checks after submitting a Disclosure Request.
Article 9 separates the decision notice into two types. If all or part of the Corporate Document will be disclosed, the body must decide to disclose and notify the requester in writing of that decision and matters concerning implementation of disclosure as prescribed by Cabinet Order. If the whole document will not be disclosed, including refusal under Article 8 or non-possession of the requested document, the body must decide not to disclose and notify the requester in writing.
Article 10 sets the ordinary deadline for Disclosure Decisions, etc. at thirty days from the date of the Disclosure Request, excluding days spent correcting a formal deficiency under Article 4(2). Article 10(2) allows an extension of up to thirty days for difficulty in processing or another proper reason, with written notice of the extended period and reason. Article 11 creates a special rule for very large requests: where deciding all requested documents within sixty days would substantially hinder business, the body may decide a reasonable part within that period and decide the rest within a reasonable period, while notifying the requester of the rule's application, reason, and remaining deadline.
Articles 12 and 13 govern Transfer of the Case. Article 12 allows transfer to another Incorporated Administrative Agency, etc. when the requested Corporate Document was made by that other body or when the other body has another proper reason to make the Disclosure Decision, etc. Article 13 allows transfer to the head of an Administrative Organ in listed cases, including records implicating national security or public safety concerns, records made by an Administrative Organ, or another proper reason for the Administrative Organ to decide under the administrative-organ information disclosure statute. Article 14 gives a Third Party an opportunity to submit an opinion in specified cases and requires at least two weeks between a Disclosure Decision and implementation when a Third Party submits an Opposing Opinion Statement and disclosure is still decided.
Implementation Methods and Fees
A Disclosure Decision does not by itself specify every practical step for receiving the document. Articles 15 through 17 address the implementation method, overlap with other disclosure systems, and Fee rules.
Article 15 provides that disclosure of documents and drawings is implemented by inspection or by providing copies. For electronic or magnetic records, the method is set by the Incorporated Administrative Agency, etc. after considering the type of record and the progress of information technology. Article 15(1) also allows disclosure by copy instead of inspection when inspection would risk harming preservation of the Corporate Document or when another proper reason exists. Article 15(2) requires the body to establish methods for electronic or magnetic records by referring to the Cabinet Order rules under the administrative-organ information disclosure statute and to make those methods available for public inspection.
Article 15(3) requires the person receiving disclosure under a Disclosure Decision to notify the body of the requested implementation method and other Cabinet Order matters. Article 15(4) sets a thirty-day period from the Article 9(1) notice for that notification, unless there is a proper reason why it could not be made within the period. Article 15(5) allows a person who has received disclosure to request further disclosure within thirty days from the first disclosure date, subject to the same proviso. Article 16 coordinates with other laws that already provide the same disclosure method, treating statutory inspection as equivalent to inspection under Article 15 where applicable. Article 17 requires payment of Fees for making a Disclosure Request and for implementation of disclosure, sets those Fees within actual cost by reference to the administrative-organ statute, and allows reduction or exemption for economic difficulty or another special reason under rules established by the body.
Review, Information Provision, and Implementation Reports
The Act also deals with what happens after a disputed decision and with information that should be made available without waiting for a specific Disclosure Request. Articles 18 through 25 cover Requests for Administrative Review, consultation with the review board, proactive provision of information, request guidance, implementation reporting, and Cabinet Order delegation.
Article 18 allows a person dissatisfied with a Disclosure Decision, etc. or inaction on a Disclosure Request to file a Request for Administrative Review with the Incorporated Administrative Agency, etc. The same article excludes or modifies specified Administrative Complaint Review Act provisions, including rules that would otherwise involve a review officer, and substitutes the Information Disclosure and Personal Information Protection Review Board in the modified provisions. Article 19 requires consultation with that Review Board when a Request for Administrative Review is filed, except where the request is dismissed as unlawful or where the decision fully accepts the request and discloses all requested Corporate Documents, excluding cases where an Opposing Opinion Statement has been submitted. Article 20 applies the Article 14(3) third-party interval and notice rule to specified review outcomes that would result in disclosure against a Third Party's opposition. Article 21 creates a special litigation-transfer rule for related information-disclosure litigation pending in another court.
Article 22 requires Incorporated Administrative Agencies, etc. to create and provide, at appropriate times and in a manner convenient for the public, documents or records containing information prescribed by Cabinet Order about their organization, business, finances, evaluation, audit, and related corporations. Article 23 requires measures that help a person make a Disclosure Request easily and accurately, including information useful for identifying Corporate Documents, and requires the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications to maintain a general information office for Disclosure Requests. Article 24 allows the Minister to request implementation-status reports from Incorporated Administrative Agencies, etc. and requires annual publication of summarized reports. Article 25 delegates necessary implementation matters to Cabinet Order.