Rules (Kisoku) of a Religious Corporation: Required Items Explained
The rules are the founding document of a religious corporation, like articles of association. See what Article 12 requires, who decides the content and how it fits the certification application.
Last updated: October 2026
The rules (kisoku, 規則) are the founding document of a religious corporation (shukyo hojin, 宗教法人), comparable to the articles of association of a company or association. Article 12 of the Religious Corporations Act (shukyo hojin ho, 宗教法人法) lists what they must contain: purpose, name, office, core assets, officers, property rules, dissolution and the method of public notice. The church itself decides the content.
This article is informational. The final drafting of the rules and the application to the competent authority (shokatsucho, 所轄庁) belong to a licensed administrative scrivener (gyosei shoshi, 行政書士), the professional who prepares the certification application. Church Manager JP organizes the data that feeds the content, but it does not draft or file the document on the church's behalf.
Who decides the content of the rules
The content is not written by the competent authority or by the administrative scrivener. It is decided by the church itself, meaning the community of believers. In practice the decision is formalized at the founders' meeting (hokkinin-kai, 発起人会), near the end of the preliminary consultation (jizen kyogi, 事前協議), where the draft rules (kisoku-an, 規則案) are approved. The scrivener turns what the church decided into the wording the law requires and handles the filing. The church is the author of the content, and the professional edits and files it.
The items Article 12 requires
Article 12 of the Religious Corporations Act lists in paragraph 1 what the rules must contain, in twelve numbered items. To make preparation easier we group the main points into eight blocks:
- Purpose: the kind of religious activity the organization carries out.
- Name: the official name of the religious corporation.
- Office address: the address of the principal office.
- Core assets: the assets that anchor the church, such as the property of the place of worship.
- Representative officer and responsible officers: how the officers are chosen, how long they serve and how they are replaced. The minimum number comes from Article 18 (three responsible officers in total, one of them the representative officer), but the rules must reflect that structure. See how many responsible officers the law requires.
- Property disposal: rules for managing and disposing of property.
- Grounds for dissolution: the situations in which the corporation may be dissolved.
- Method of public notice: how the church will issue its formal public notices.
When checking the wording, use the text of the law as the checklist, not this summary, because the scrivener works from the full list. No item is a blank to fill with anything: each must reflect the reality of the church. The officer structure and the method of notice often generate the most discussion with the competent authority during the preliminary consultation, because they define how the church will operate once incorporated.
What changes between an affiliated and an independent church
The content varies depending on whether the church is affiliated with an umbrella body (hihokatsu, 被包括), meaning a denomination or larger religious body, or independent (tanritsu, 単立). An affiliated church must include clauses on its relationship with the body that includes it. An independent church has no such clause, and the competent authority tends to look closely at whether the church alone shows continuity, group character and stability. Decide this early, because it shapes the structure of the rules from the start.
Where the rules fit in the process
The draft rules approved at the founders' meeting are used in the public notice (kokoku, 公告), which must be made at least one month before the certification application (ninsho shinsei, 認証申請), and then become part of the application itself. Until the content is mature, the later steps cannot move: it is the document the whole calendar turns on. The complete sequence is in the step-by-step guide to establishing a religious corporation, and the notice is explained in the public notice one month before the application.
What the church can prepare ahead
Even without drafting the final text, a church can do a lot: keep minutes organized, record who holds each leadership role, and document activities and property. This everyday data, gathered over time, becomes direct input for the rules when the moment comes to formalize with the administrative scrivener.
How Church Manager JP helps
Church Manager JP is a tool, not a law office. In the formalization journey it runs a nine-question questionnaire that produces versioned draft rules, with branches for affiliated and independent churches, and it treats the text as final only after professional review. It never files the certification application and never represents the church before the competent authority. The final preparation of the rules and the application are reserved acts for an administrative scrivener, hired and paid directly by the church.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Are the rules the same thing as articles of association? A. Their function is equivalent. The rules are the founding document of a religious corporation, as articles of association are for an association or a company.
Q. Can a church write the rules on its own, without professional help? A. It can, and should, decide the content: what it wants and how it is organized. The final wording, aligned with the law, and the filing with the competent authority call for the support of an administrative scrivener.
Q. Which item usually takes the most work? A. Usually the officer structure (how many responsible officers and how the representative officer is chosen) and organizing the history that proves continuity.
Q. Once the rules are ready, can we apply for certification right away? A. Not immediately. After the draft rules are approved, the public notice must be made at least one month before the certification application. Confirm the details with the competent authority during the preliminary consultation.
Official sources
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