[Ask a Lawyer] Are “Cannabis Experience Tours” Allowed in Japan?

"Is it permissible to recruit in Japan for a 'cannabis experience tour' that visits countries where the ban on cannabis has been lifted?" , possession, sale, etc. are strictly prohibited. However, in the U.S., by February 2018, recreational cannabis had reached the capital and nine states (Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Maine, and Vermont). ), and by December 2020, only three states will not allow medical marijuana and 15 states will allow recreational marijuana." (Wikipedia). It has been banned in the Netherlands for a long time and recently in Canada as a luxury item.

Therefore, in Japan, the number of young people who are interested in cannabis is increasing, and the number of arrests is also increasing.

Is cannabis use a legal travel service?

　Those who are qualified as a travel business handling manager will immediately think of Article 13 of the Travel Agency Law.

Paragraph 3 of the same article, under the title of "prohibited acts", states that travel agents and their employees must "encourage travelers to act in violation of laws and regulations enforced at travel destinations." mediation, or providing convenience in carrying out such acts”. However, in countries (states) where the ban has been lifted, the use of cannabis as a recreational item is legal, so it is clear that it does not fall under "violation of laws and regulations enforced at travel destinations."

Pay attention to the "overseas crime" provision

　If there is no problem under the Travel Agency Act, then you may think about how to avoid social criticism, but what you have to be careful about is the punishment It is a foreign crime provision in the law.

　In principle, criminal laws and regulations are applied to crimes within Japan (territorial principle), but as an internationally common idea, supplementary crimes (arson, murder, injury, etc.) Individualism that punishes (Article 3 of the Penal Code) and foreign crimes that harm the special interests of one's own country (civil strife, currency counterfeiting, murder of Japanese citizens, injury, etc.) are punished regardless of the nationality of the offender. Protectionism (Article 2 of the Penal Code, etc.) has been adopted. It should be noted that the provisions for foreign offenses are not limited to the Penal Code, but are also applied mutatis mutandis to special laws, including the Penal Code, in the form of "following the example of Article 2 of the Penal Code."

　Looking at the Cannabis Control Law, Article 24-8 says, "The crimes of Article 24, Article 24-2, Article 24-4, Article 24-6 and the preceding article are examples of Article 2 of the Penal Code. obey.” Article 2 of the Penal Code, as mentioned above, means that criminals are punished regardless of their nationality.

Article 24-2 of the Cannabis Control Act stipulates, "A person who possesses, receives, or transfers cannabis without good reason shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than five years." If a traveler who participates in a "cannabis experience tour" purchases cannabis for use and possesses it, he or she violates the same regulations and returns to Japan. will be subject to punishment.

On the other hand, Article 8 of the Penal Code states that "the provisions of this section shall also apply to crimes under other laws and regulations." "This part" refers to the general provisions of Part 1 of the Penal Code. The “general rule” of the penal code means that it becomes a general rule common to all penal laws. Article 62 of the Penal Code stipulates that "a person who assists the principal offense shall be an accomplice," and Article 63 of the Penal Code states, "The punishment of the accomplice shall be reduced from that of the principal offense." A “principal” is a person who commits a crime. According to Article 24-2 of the Cannabis Control Law, a person who possesses cannabis or receives it is a principal offender. Since "assistance" refers to the act of mentally and physically assisting the execution of the principal offense, the travel agency that implemented the "Cannabis Experience Tour" has facilitated the transfer of cannabis in foreign countries. He is an accomplice to the crime of transfer. If you actively encourage people who do not intend to consume cannabis to participate in tours, and have them participate in the cannabis transfer locally, you have incited them to commit cannabis transfer crimes, so they should be considered an abettor (Article 61 of the Penal Code). will be questioned. The abettors are to be punished as the principal offenders, and a heavier punishment is planned than for the accomplices.

　In this way, there are acts that are not criminalized in foreign countries but are criminalized in Japan. I don't know. Even if you don't call it a "cannabis experience tour," you can simply explain in a pamphlet, etc. that "the use of cannabis is legalized at your destination," without mentioning the possibility of being punished in Japan. In such cases, there is a risk of being accused of aiding or aiding others, and in civil matters, there is a risk of being held accountable for breach of duty of explanation, so caution is required.

Masao Miura Lawyer Passed the bar exam in 1975. 1976 Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Meiji University. In 1978, he registered as a lawyer with the Tokyo Bar Association. In 1991, the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) “Consideration on Travel Industry Laws in the 1990s”; In 2002, he successively served as a member of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Tourism Act Study Group". February 2015 Japan Tourism Agency "OTA Guideline Formulation Review Committee" member, November 2015 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism / Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare "Study Group on "Minpaku Service"" Member, January 2016 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism "Karuizawa bus accident countermeasures" In October of the same year, he was appointed as a member of the Japan Tourism Agency's "Study Group on Travel Industry Legislation for a New Era", in June 2017 he was appointed vice-chairman of the Shinjuku Ward Private Lodging Review Committee, and chairman of the Setagaya Ward Private Lodging Review Committee. .