Japan: Act on the Promotion of Cancer Registries (Act No. 111 of 2013)

Japan, がん登録等の推進に関する法律 (Act No. 111 of 2013, promulgated 13 December 2013, per Japan's e-Gov law database; last amended with effect from 1 October 2026). Article 1 places it under the Cancer Control Act (がん対策基本法, Act No. 98 of 2006) and sets its purpose: running a national cancer registry, governing the use, provision and protection of its information, promoting hospital-based registries, and using registry information to advance research and cancer control.

Article 2 distinguishes the national cancer registry (全国がん登録), a database kept by the state for use by the state and prefectures, from hospital-based cancer registries (院内がん登録) kept by hospitals that treat cancer. Article 6 requires the manager of every hospital, and of clinics designated by the prefectural governor, to report each primary cancer at its first diagnosis in that hospital (including at metastasis or recurrence) to the governor within the period set by ministry ordinance, with the patient's name, sex, date of birth and address, the diagnosis date, cancer type, stage, how it was found, the treatment given and, where known, the date of death. Chapters on use and provision, information protection and penalties follow.