Atlas v0.1 · Right to information · Right to service
Japan
ISO JPN
Japan has a rated national right-to-information law (adopted 1999, scored 77/150 by the RTI Rating, checked 2026-07-05), and a candidate service-rights route exists that we have not confirmed against the official text. Subdivision entries below marked “to confirm” are tasks, not facts.
Your first move, anywhere
Request legal route, responsible officer, fees, timeline, appeal route, and one high-value record: budget, contract, land, hospital stock, service standard, audit, court delay, police complaint, or procurement payment.
Convert the legal right into a citizen test: receipt, tracking number, statutory deadline, written reasons, actual record release, appeal, and proactive publication.
Capture flags to watch: Delay; discretion; opacity; fragmentation; fear; patron dependency; counterfeit transparency
Right to information
Sourced
National lawAct on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) Official text still to confirm before you rely on it.
RTI Rating score77/150 · rank 84 · Weak legal framework
Where the law is strong and weakRight of access 3/6 · Scope 15/30 · Requesting procedures 16/30 · Exceptions and refusals 22/30 · Appeals 14/30 · Sanctions and protections 2/8 · Promotional measures 5/16
Source: RTI Rating country data · last checked 2026-07-05
Right to service
To confirm
StatusCandidate legal family, needs official verification
Legal familyAdministrative simplification / administrative procedure / service-standard route
Candidate route (to confirm)Verify administrative-procedure law, one-stop/digital-service portals, service standards, silence rules, ombudsman, and sector-specific deadlines.
The usability test to runReceipt + tracking + deadline + written reason + appeal + remedy + claimant protection
NoteDo not count a Public Service Commission as RTS unless it creates enforceable service standards for citizens.
Sources: OECD Administrative Simplification
Help confirm this
Search the official gazette and government sites for: "Japan" "right to service" OR "public service guarantee" OR "citizen charter" OR "service charter" OR "administrative procedure" OR "ombudsman". Found the law? Send it through the route below.
Inside Japan: 47 subdivisions
Where a subdivision shows a cited law, the citation comes from the named source and the official text still needs confirming. Where it shows nothing, the national law may apply and the local rules are unconfirmed.
What to confirm at your local office, whichever subdivision you are in
- Verify statutory deadline and extension rule.
- Verify filing fee, copying fee, waiver, and electronic access rule.
- Verify internal review, independent review, judicial review, and silence-as-refusal rule.
- Verify relevant information commission, ombudsman, court, tribunal, or internal appeal body.
- Verify official web portal or responsible officer contact.
Records that should already be published: Budget; procurement; contract awards; payment status; public land; service standards; audit reports; subsidies; court/police/hospital/school records.
| Code | Subdivision | Type | Access-law status | Source · checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP-01 | Hokkaido | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-02 | Aomori | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-03 | Iwate | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-04 | Miyagi | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-05 | Akita | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-06 | Yamagata | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-07 | Fukushima | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-08 | Ibaraki | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-09 | Tochigi | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-10 | Gunma | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-11 | Saitama | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-12 | Chiba | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-13 | Tokyo | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-14 | Kanagawa | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-15 | Niigata | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-16 | Toyama | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-17 | Ishikawa | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-18 | Fukui | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-19 | Yamanashi | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-20 | Nagano | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-21 | Gifu | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-22 | Shizuoka | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-23 | Aichi | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-24 | Mie | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-25 | Shiga | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-26 | Kyoto | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-27 | Osaka | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-28 | Hyogo | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-29 | Nara | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-30 | Wakayama | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-31 | Tottori | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-32 | Shimane | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-33 | Okayama | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-34 | Hiroshima | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-35 | Yamaguchi | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-36 | Tokushima | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-37 | Kagawa | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-38 | Ehime | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-39 | Kochi | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-40 | Fukuoka | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-41 | Saga | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-42 | Nagasaki | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-43 | Kumamoto | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-44 | Oita | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-45 | Miyazaki | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-46 | Kagoshima | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
| JP-47 | Okinawa | Prefecture | No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Act on Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs (1999) To confirm | source · 2026-07-05 |
Right to service, all 47 subdivisions: Candidate legal family, needs official verification (inherited from the national status above).
Improve this page
If you can confirm any entry for Japan against the official text, send the law's title, the official link or scan, the office you dealt with, and the date. Every submission is reviewed before anything changes on this site; nothing publishes automatically. Route: the contact on the About page.
This atlas and the Capture Index never mix
The atlas is the open reference layer: every jurisdiction, graded, with unverified entries shown as tasks. The Capture Index is a separate scored product: verified sources only, with right of reply before publication.