Article 1This Act comes into effect as of January 1, 2004; provided, however, that the provisions set forth in the following items come into effect as of the date specified in the relevant item:

Article 2The Rules of the National Bar Examination Administration Commission that are in force at the time of the enforcement of this Act and that are based on the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (1), item (iv) and Article 6, paragraph (4) of the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 1 of this Act are deemed after the enforcement of this Act to be in force as the Ministry of Justice Order, based on the corresponding provisions of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 1 of this Act.

Article 3(1)Decisions and other such actions that the National Bar Examination Administration Commission has made before the enforcement of this Act, based on the provisions of the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 1 of this Act are deemed after the enforcement of this Act to be those that the National Bar Examination Commission has made based on the corresponding provisions of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 1 of this Act.

(2)Beyond what is provided for in the preceding paragraph, decisions and other such actions that the National Bar Examination Administration Commission or its chairperson has made before the enforcement of this Act, based on the provisions of laws or regulations are deemed after the enforcement of this Act to be those that the Minister of Justice has made based on the corresponding provisions of the relevant laws or regulations.

(3)The filing of applications and other such actions that have already been undertaken with the National Bar Examination Administration Commission at the time of the enforcement of this Act, based on the provisions of the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 1 of this Act are deemed after the enforcement of this Act to be those undertaken with the National Bar Examination Commission based on the corresponding provisions of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 1 of this Act.

(4)Beyond what is provided for in the preceding paragraph, requests and other such actions that have already been undertaken with the National Bar Examination Administration Commission or its chairperson at the time of the enforcement of this Act, based on the provisions of laws or regulations are deemed after the enforcement of this Act to be those undertaken with the Minister of Justice based on the corresponding provisions of the relevant laws or regulations.

(5)A person who is a bar examination examiner at the time of the enforcement of this Act is deemed to have been appointed as a bar examination examiner pursuant to the provisions of Article 15 of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 1 of this Act, as of the date of the enforcement of this Act.

Article 4The National Bar Examination Commission may rescind the National Bar Examination Administration Commission's decision that a person has passed, if the relevant person has taken, by wrongful means, the bar examination carried out before the enforcement of this Act; has violated the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 1 of this Act; or has violated the Rules of the National Bar Examination Administration Commission that were established based on the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 1 of this Act.

Article 5For the rescission of a decision that a person has passed an examination, that is made under Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act on Special Measures Concerning the Qualification of Attorneys Licensed in Okinawa as Attorneys Licensed in Japan (Act No. 33 of 1970), after the enforcement of this Act, the term "National Bar Examination Administration Commission" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "National Bar Examination Commission".

Article 6(1)When the Minister of Justice seeks to establish the Ministry of Justice Order as set forth in Article 3, paragraph (2), item (iv) or paragraph (3) of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 2 of this Act (hereinafter referred to as the "new Act"), the Minister may first hear the opinions of the National Bar Examination Commission, even prior to the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 of this Act.

(2)Even prior to the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 of this Act, the Minister of Justice may appoint bar examiners for a bar examination under the new Act (hereinafter referred to as the "new bar examination") pursuant to the provisions of Article 15 of the new Act.

(3)Public notices or other preparations necessary for conducting the new bar examination may be made even prior to the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2.

Article 7(1)In addition to the new bar examination, the National Bar Examination Commission is to conduct the conventional bar examination during the period from 2006 to 2011 (for 2011, limited to oral examinations for persons who passed the second-stage written questions in 2010). In this case, the provisions of Article 2 through Article 6-2 of the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 2 of this Act (hereinafter referred to as the "former Act") and paragraph (2) of the Supplementary Provisions of that Act (including the provisions of the Ministry of Justice Order based on these provisions) remain in force even after the enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 of this Act.

(2)The provisions of Article 1, paragraphs (1) and (2), Articles 7 through 11, and Chapters II and III of the new Act apply to the bar examination conducted under the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as the "conventional bar examination"). In this case, the term "bar examination" in Article 1, paragraph (1) of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "bar examination and the bar examination conducted under Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Act Partially Amending the Bar Examination Act and the Courts Act (Act No. 138 of 2002) (hereinafter referred to as the 'conventional bar examination')"; the term "both the bar examination and the preliminary examination," in Article 7 of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "the conventional bar examination"; the phrase "which persons have passed the bar examination" in Article 8 of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "which persons have passed the conventional bar examination"; the phrase "based on the judgment reached through consultation; and determines which persons have passed the preliminary examination based on the judgment reached through consultation" in that Article is deemed to be replaced with "based on the judgment reached through consultation"; the term "bar examination or preliminary examination" in Article 9 and Article 11, paragraph (1) of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "each stage of testing for the conventional bar examination"; the phrase "bar examination or" in Article 10 of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "conventional bar examination, bar examination or"; the term "bar examination and preliminary examination" in Article 12, paragraph (2), items (i) through (iii) and Article 17 of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "conventional bar examination"; and the term "the bar examination" in Article 15, paragraph (1) of the new Act is deemed to be replaced with "the conventional bar examination"; and the phrase "; and examiners for the preliminary bar examination (referred to as 'examiners for the preliminary examination' in this Article and in the following Article) are assigned to the Commission to prepare examination questions, mark examination papers, and judge which persons have passed the preliminary examination." in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "."

(3)The provisions of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the conventional bar examination. In this case, the term "Article 3, paragraph (2), item (iv) or paragraph (3) of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 2 of this Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'new Act')" in paragraph (1) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "Article 4, paragraph (1), item (iv) or Article 6, paragraph (4) of the Bar Examination Act prior to its amendment by Article 2 of this Act, which is to remain in force pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the following Article"; and the term "Article 15 of the new Act" in paragraph (2) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "Article 15 of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 2, as applied pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of the following Article following the deemed replacement of terms".

Article 8(1)In each year from 2006 through 2011, a person may take either the new bar examination or the conventional bar examination by selecting either of them in advance and filing an application in accordance with the procedures specified by the Ministry of Justice Order.

(2)When a person who seeks to take the new bar examination using the qualification set forth in Article 4, paragraph (1), item (i) of the new Act (meaning the completion of a graduate law program as prescribed in that item; the same applies in this Article) has undergone the second-stage of testing for the bar examination under the former Act, or has undergone the second-stage of testing for the conventional bar examination (if the person had taken these examinations before obtaining the qualification to take the new bar examination, they are limited to those that the person had taken within the two years prior to the day on which the person obtained the qualification to take the new bar examination; referred to as the "conventional bar examination, etc." in this Article), before taking that new bar examination, the person who has taken the conventional bar examination, etc. (excluding any examination which is deemed, under the following paragraph, to be the new bar examination, and that the person has taken using other qualifications for taking the examination) is deemed to have taken the new bar examination using the qualification as set forth in Article 4, paragraph (1), item (i) of the new Act, and the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (1) of the New Act apply to that person.

(3)Beyond what is provided for in the preceding paragraph, in cases of a person who has taken the new bar examination using the qualification set forth in Article 4, paragraph (1), item (i) of the new Act, the person who has taken the conventional bar examination, etc. before taking the new bar examination, or has undergone the second-stage of testing for the conventional bar examination after taking the new bar examination is deemed to have taken the new bar examination using the relevant qualification, and the provisions of Article 4 of the New Act apply to that person.

Article 9The preliminary examination prescribed in Article 5 of the new Act is to be conducted from 2011, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7 of the new Act.

Article 10Persons who have passed the second-stage of testing for the bar examination under the former Act or the second-stage of testing for the conventional bar examination are deemed to have passed the new bar examination.

Article 1This Act comes into effect as of April 1, 2020; provided, however, that the provisions set forth in the following items come into effect as of the date specified in each respective item:

Article 2(1)omitted

(2)When the Minister of Justice, prior to the enforcement of the provisions set forth in item (iii) of the preceding Article, seeks to establish the Ministry of Justice Order as set forth in Article 4, paragraph (2), item(i) of the Bar Examination Act amended by Article 4 of this Act (referred to as the "new Bar Examination Act" in the following Article), the Minister must notify the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to that effect. In this case, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology may submit opinions to the Minister of Justice as necessary.

Article 3When the Minister of Justice intends to establish the Ministry of Justice Order set forth in Article 5, paragraph (3), item (ii) of the new Bar Examination Act, the Minister may hear the opinions of the National Bar Examination Commission, even before the effective date of the provisions set forth in Article 1, item (ii) of the Supplementary Provisions.

Article 4Beyond what is provided for in the preceding two Articles, Cabinet Order prescribes the transitional measures necessary for the enforcement of this Act.