# Japan e-Gov Laws Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper`) Actor Extract 9,000+ Japanese statutes from the e-Gov Law Search API. Get law titles, numbers, categories, repeal status, and amendment history. Full-text mode fetches complete law body text with articles and paragraphs. Covers Constitution, Acts, Cabinet Orders, Ordinances, and Rules. - **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community) - **Categories:** Business, Developer tools, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper Scrape the complete catalog of Japanese statutes from the [e-Gov Law Search API](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/). Returns law titles, numbers, categories, repeal status, and amendment history for 9,000+ statutes — plus full law body text and structured article data in fulltext mode. --- ### e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper Features - Extracts metadata for all 9,000+ statutes in the Japanese government's official law database - Filters by law type: Constitution, Act, Cabinet Order, Ministerial Ordinance, or Rule - Filters by repeal status — active laws only, repealed, suspended, or all - Fetches a specific statute by its e-Gov law ID (e.g., `321CONSTITUTION`) - Returns full law body text with article structure in fulltext mode — each article as a formatted string - Pure API scraping against a public government endpoint — no proxies, no browser, no captchas - Handles offset pagination automatically across the full 9,000+ record catalog --- ### What Can You Do With Japanese Law Data? - **Legal researchers** — Build a searchable corpus of Japanese legislation for comparative law analysis or citation indexing - **Compliance teams** — Track amendment history and enforcement dates for statutes relevant to your business - **LegalTech developers** — Populate a document database with structured law text for RAG pipelines or legal AI applications - **Academics** — Analyze the distribution of law types, category breakdowns, or promulgation timelines across eras - **Translators and law firms** — Identify recently amended statutes or pull full article text for targeted review --- ### How e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper Works 1. Configure your scrape: pick a mode (catalog or fulltext), apply optional filters, and set a record limit 2. The scraper pages through the e-Gov catalog API at `laws.e-gov.go.jp/api/2/laws`, fetching 100 records per request with a 300ms courtesy delay between calls 3. In catalog mode, each record is extracted from the response and saved directly — no additional requests 4. In fulltext mode, the scraper makes a second call to `/api/2/law_data/{law_id}` for each statute and parses the LawXML tree to extract plain text and article-level structure --- ### Input ```json { "mode": "catalog", "lawType": "Act", "repealStatus": "None", "maxItems": 100 } ```` | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | `mode` | string | `catalog` | `catalog` returns law metadata only. `fulltext` also fetches the full law body text and article structure for each statute. | | `lawType` | string | (all types) | Filter to a specific law type: `Constitution`, `Act`, `CabinetOrder`, `MinisterialOrdinance`, or `Rule`. Leave blank for all types. | | `lawId` | string | (none) | Fetch a single statute by its e-Gov ID (e.g. `321CONSTITUTION`). Overrides other filters. | | `repealStatus` | string | (all statuses) | Filter by repeal status: `None` (active), `Repeal`, `RepealedBeforeEnforcement`, or `Suspended`. | | `maxItems` | integer | `10` | Maximum records to return. Set to `0` for all 9,000+. | Additional input examples: ```json { "lawId": "321CONSTITUTION", "mode": "fulltext" } ``` ```json { "mode": "catalog", "repealStatus": "None", "maxItems": 0 } ``` *** ### e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper Output Fields #### Catalog Mode Returns law metadata for each statute. Fast — one API request per 100 records. ```json { "law_id": "321CONSTITUTION", "law_revision_id": "321CONSTITUTION_19470503_000000000000000", "law_type": "Constitution", "law_num": "昭和二十一年憲法", "law_num_era": "Showa", "law_num_year": 21, "law_num_num": "", "law_title": "日本国憲法", "law_title_kana": "にほんこくけんぽう", "abbrev": "", "category": "憲法", "promulgation_date": "1946-11-03", "amendment_promulgate_date": "", "amendment_enforcement_date": "", "amendment_law_id": "", "amendment_law_title": "", "repeal_status": "None", "repeal_date": "", "current_revision_status": "CurrentEnforced", "remain_in_force": false, "updated": "2022-04-01T00:00:00", "law_body_text": "", "article_count": 0, "articles": [], "source_url": "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/ja/laws/view/321CONSTITUTION" } ``` | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `law_id` | string | Canonical e-Gov law identifier (e.g. `321CONSTITUTION`, `322AC0000000004`) | | `law_revision_id` | string | Specific revision ID combining law\_id and enforcement date | | `law_type` | string | Law type: `Constitution` / `Act` / `CabinetOrder` / `MinisterialOrdinance` / `Rule` | | `law_num` | string | Official law number in Japanese (e.g. 昭和二十二年法律第九十号) | | `law_num_era` | string | Japanese era of promulgation: `Meiji` / `Taisho` / `Showa` / `Heisei` / `Reiwa` | | `law_num_year` | number | Year of promulgation within the era | | `law_num_num` | string | Sequential law number within the year | | `law_title` | string | Full law title in Japanese (e.g. 日本国憲法) | | `law_title_kana` | string | Phonetic reading of the law title in hiragana | | `abbrev` | string | Common abbreviation of the law title if one exists | | `category` | string | Legal category (e.g. 憲法 / 民事 / 刑事 / 商事 / 労働 / 税法) | | `promulgation_date` | string | Original promulgation date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `amendment_promulgate_date` | string | Latest amendment promulgation date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `amendment_enforcement_date` | string | Latest amendment enforcement date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `amendment_law_id` | string | e-Gov ID of the most recently amending law | | `amendment_law_title` | string | Title of the most recent amending law | | `repeal_status` | string | Repeal status: `None` / `Repeal` / `RepealedBeforeEnforcement` / `Suspended` | | `repeal_date` | string | Date of repeal if applicable (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `current_revision_status` | string | Enforcement status: `CurrentEnforced` / `Repeal` / `Future` | | `remain_in_force` | boolean | Whether the law remains in force after repeal | | `updated` | string | Timestamp when this record was last updated in the e-Gov system | | `source_url` | string | Direct URL to this law on the e-Gov portal | #### Fulltext Mode Returns all catalog fields plus three additional fields populated from the law body. ```json { "law_id": "321CONSTITUTION", "law_title": "日本国憲法", "law_body_text": "日本国憲法第一章　天皇第一条　天皇は、日本国の象徴であり...", "article_count": 103, "articles": [ "第一条 | | 天皇は、日本国の象徴であり日本国民統合の象徴であつて...", "第二条 | | 皇位は、世襲のものであつて..." ] } ``` | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `law_body_text` | string | Full plain text of the law body — all article, paragraph, and item text concatenated | | `article_count` | number | Number of articles in the main provision | | `articles` | array | Structured articles: each entry formatted as `ArticleNum \| ArticleTitle \| text` | *** ### 🔍 FAQ #### How do I scrape Japanese law data from e-Gov? e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper hits the official government REST API at `laws.e-gov.go.jp/api/2/laws`. No authentication required — it's a public endpoint maintained by Japan's Digital Agency. #### How much does e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper cost to run? e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper runs on pay-per-event pricing. The catalog for all 9,000+ laws costs roughly $9 in records plus a $0.10 start fee. Fulltext mode is more expensive — each law requires a second API call, so budget accordingly for large fulltext runs. #### Does e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper need proxies? No proxies needed. The e-Gov API is a public government endpoint with no IP blocking or geographic restrictions. The scraper runs without any proxy configuration. #### Can I get full law text, not just metadata? Yes. Set `mode` to `fulltext`. The scraper fetches the full LawXML for each statute and returns the complete text as a plain string plus a structured array of articles. Expect the run to take longer — one extra API call per statute. #### Can I filter to only active (non-repealed) laws? Set `repealStatus` to `None`. That filters the catalog to statutes with no repeal event, which is most of the 9,000+ records. You can combine it with `lawType` to narrow further — for example, active Acts only. *** ### Need More Features? Need custom fields, additional filtering, or a different target endpoint? [File an issue](https://console.apify.com/actors/issues) or get in touch. ### Why Use e-Gov Japan Laws Scraper? - **Complete coverage** — All 9,000+ statutes in the official Japanese government database, including the full amendment and repeal history for each - **Two output modes** — Catalog mode is fast and cheap for metadata; fulltext mode delivers article-level structure for document-intensive workflows, so you pay only for what you actually need - **No setup required** — Public government API, no proxies, no auth, no captchas. Configure your filters and run. # Actor input Schema ## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`): Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler. ## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`): Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements. ## `sp_contact` (type: `string`): Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you. ## `mode` (type: `string`): catalog = law metadata only (fast, 9000+ records). fulltext = also fetches full law body text and articles for each law (slow). ## `lawType` (type: `string`): Filter results to a specific law type. Leave blank for all types. ## `lawId` (type: `string`): Fetch a specific law by its e-Gov ID (e.g. 321CONSTITUTION). Overrides other filters. ## `repealStatus` (type: `string`): Filter by repeal status. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of law records to return. Set to 0 for unlimited (fetches all 9,000+). ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): The e-Gov API is a Japanese government endpoint and does not require proxies. ## Actor input object example ```json { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "mode": "catalog", "lawType": "", "lawId": "", "repealStatus": "", "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "mode": "catalog", "lawType": "", "lawId": "", "repealStatus": "", "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "mode": "catalog", "lawType": "", "lawId": "", "repealStatus": "", "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "mode": "catalog", "lawType": "", "lawId": "", "repealStatus": "", "maxItems": 10, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }' | apify call jungle_synthesizer/elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jungle_synthesizer/elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Japan e-Gov Laws Scraper", "description": "Extract 9,000+ Japanese statutes from the e-Gov Law Search API. Get law titles, numbers, categories, repeal status, and amendment history. Full-text mode fetches complete law body text with articles and paragraphs. Covers Constitution, Acts, Cabinet Orders, Ordinances, and Rules.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "aCZmYBgpgN4NVfJ6z" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jungle_synthesizer-elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-jungle_synthesizer-elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-jungle_synthesizer-elaws-egov-japan-laws-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "sp_intended_usage": { "title": "What is the intended usage of this data?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler." }, "sp_improvement_suggestions": { "title": "How can we improve this crawler for you?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements." }, "sp_contact": { "title": "Contact Email", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you." }, "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "catalog", "fulltext" ], "type": "string", "description": "catalog = law metadata only (fast, 9000+ records). fulltext = also fetches full law body text and articles for each law (slow).", "default": "catalog" }, "lawType": { "title": "Law Type Filter", "enum": [ "", "Constitution", "Act", "CabinetOrder", "MinisterialOrdinance", "Rule" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter results to a specific law type. Leave blank for all types.", "default": "" }, "lawId": { "title": "Law ID", "type": "string", "description": "Fetch a specific law by its e-Gov ID (e.g. 321CONSTITUTION). Overrides other filters.", "default": "" }, "repealStatus": { "title": "Repeal Status Filter", "enum": [ "", "None", "Repeal", "RepealedBeforeEnforcement", "Suspended" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by repeal status.", "default": "" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of law records to return. Set to 0 for unlimited (fetches all 9,000+).", "default": 10 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "The e-Gov API is a Japanese government endpoint and does not require proxies." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```