Act on Regulation on Soliciting Children by Using Opposite Sex Introducing Service on Internet
Act No. 83 of 2003, Arts. 2, 6-17, 31-37
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
A social media and minors rule binding private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
A child under this Act is a person under 18 (Art. 2(1)). An internet dating (opposite sex introduction) service operator must, per National Public Safety Commission rule and in advance, confirm that a person seeking correspondence is not a child before relaying that person's information to another user or letting the two exchange contact details, unless the operator's own prior identity-confirmation procedure already covers that person (Art. 11).
The operator must also display and communicate a notice that children may not use the service (Arts. 9-10) and must notify the National Public Safety Commission before starting the business (Art. 7(1)). The prefectural Public Safety Commission may direct an operator that breaches the Act to correct the breach (Art. 13) and may order a suspension of up to six months, or a closure, for specified further violations (Art. 14).
Violating a suspension or closure order carries imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to JPY 1,000,000, or both (Art. 31). Operating without the required notification, breaching the Art. 9 duty, or violating an Art. 13 or Art. 15(2)(i) instruction carries imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to JPY 1,000,000 (Art. 32).
A false or missing notification under Art. 7 carries a fine up to JPY 300,000 (Art. 34), and a company is fined the same amount as its employee or agent under the dual-liability rule (Art. 35).
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Article 31 punishes violation of a business-suspension or closure order with imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to JPY 1,000,000, or both. Article 32 punishes operating without the required notification, breaching the Article 9 duty, or violating an administrative instruction, with imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to JPY 1,000,000.
Penalty structure
Article 31 (violating a business-suspension or closure order) carries imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to this cap, or both. Article 32 (unregistered operation, breach of the Article 9 safety-measures duty, or violation of an administrative instruction) carries imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to this cap. A separate, lower fine of up to JPY 300,000 attaches under Article 34 to a false or missing business notification, and Article 35 fines the operating company the same amount as an individual employee or agent convicted under Articles 31, 32, or 34.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 7 September 2026
- Currency
- JPY
- Fixed cap
- 1,000,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
prefectural Public Safety Commission (koan iinkai)
What it reaches
Age threshold
18
Covered services
internet dating and opposite-sex introduction services that relay correspondence between strangers seeking romantic or sexual contact
Obligation class
Age verification, Disclosure, Licensing
Read the law
official Japanese statute text, e-Gov Japan's national law database
no official English translation is published for this Act