Japan: Law Concerning Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs Table of Contents Chapter 1 General Provisions (Article 1, Article 2) Chapter 2 Disclosure of Administrative Documents (Article 3 - Article 17) Chapter 3 Appeals, Etc. Section 1 References, Etc. (Article 18 - Article 20) Section 2 Information Disclosure Review Board (Article 21 - Article 26) Section 3 The Review Board's Investigative and Deliberative Procedures (Article 27 Article 35) Section 4 Exceptions, Etc. for the Jurisdiction of Lawsuits (Article 36) Chapter 4 Supplementary Provisions (Article 37 - Article 44) Additional Provisions Chapter 1 General Provisions Article 1 Purpose In accordance with the principle that sovereignty resides in the people, and by providing for the right to request the disclosure of administrative documents, etc., the purpose of this law is to strive for greater disclosure of information held by administrative organs thereby ensuring that the government is accountable to the people for its various operations, and to contribute to the promotion of a fair and democratic administration that is subject to the people's accurate understanding and criticism. Article 2 Definitions 1. For the purposes of this law "administrative organ" refers to the following organs. (1) Organs within the Cabinet or organs under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet that were