Arson - Houkazai

The crime of burning down buildings or other objects with fire, causing a public danger, i.e. danger to the lives, bodies, and important property of many or an unspecified number of people. This crime is a type of crime against social legal interests, and is called a public endangerment crime. In Japan, it is punished severely, but it also has the characteristics of a property crime.

(1) Arson of an occupied structure, etc. (Article 108 of the Penal Code) This is the crime of setting fire to a structure, train, electric train, ship, or mine that is actually used as a residence or in which people are actually present. It is punishable by death or life imprisonment or imprisonment for not less than five years.

(2) Arson of uninhabited buildings (Article 109 of the same law) This is the crime of setting fire to a building that is not currently being used as a residence and is currently unoccupied, and is punishable by imprisonment for a definite term of not less than two years. If the object is one's own property, imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than seven years is punishable only if a public danger is caused.

(3) Arson of other than buildings, etc. (Article 110 of the same Law) If a person sets fire to an object other than those listed in (1) or (2) above and burns it, thereby causing a public danger, he or she will be punished with imprisonment for not less than one year but not more than ten years, and if the object is one of the person's own property, he or she will be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine of 100,000 yen.

(4) Crime of spreading fire (Article 111 of the same Law): If a person sets fire to a non-residential building or a non-building that he or she owns and causes the fire to spread to a building or structure owned by another person, he or she will be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than three months and not more than ten years, and if the fire spreads to something other than a building owned by another person, he or she will be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years.

In these crimes, "arson" refers to burning an object, and is interpreted as including not only intentional arson but also "arson by omission," i.e., when the person who should put out the fire does not put it out. Next, regarding the meaning of "burning," opinions differ, since this crime is based on a public danger crime and also includes a property crime element. The independent combustion theory interprets it as a state in which the fire leaves the medium and spreads to the object, and can burn independently, while the loss of utility theory interprets it as an important part of the object being burned and losing its utility.

In addition, with regard to the crime of arson of occupied or unoccupied buildings, etc., attempted crimes (Article 112 of the same law) and preparatory crimes (Article 113 of the same law) are also punishable (however, this does not apply when the object is a non-occupied building, etc. that the perpetrator owns).

[Tetsuro Nawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

火力によって建造物その他の物件を焼損して、公共の危険、すなわち不特定または多数人の生命、身体、重要な財産に対し危険を生じさせる罪。本罪は社会法益に対する罪の一種であり、公共危険犯とよばれ、日本では重罰で臨まれているが、財産犯的な性格をも備えている。

(1)現住建造物等放火罪（刑法108条）　放火して、現に人の住居に使用し、または現に人がいる建造物、汽車、電車、艦船もしくは鉱坑を焼損する罪であり、死刑または無期もしくは5年以上の懲役に処せられる。

(2)非現住建造物等放火罪（同法109条）　放火して、現に人が住居に使用せず、かつ現に人がいない建造物等を焼損する罪であり、2年以上の有期懲役に処せられる。客体が自己の所有物であるときには、公共の危険を生じさせた場合に限り、6月以上7年以下の懲役に処せられる。

(3)建造物等以外放火罪（同法110条）　(1)(2)に記載された物以外に放火してこれを焼損させ、公共の危険を生じさせた場合は1年以上10年以下の懲役、その目的物が自己の所有物の場合には1年以下の懲役または10万円の罰金に処せられる。

(4)延焼罪（同法111条）　自己所有の非現住建造物または建造物以外に放火して、他人の建造物等に延焼させた場合は3月以上10年以下の懲役、他人の建造物以外の物に延焼させた場合は3年以下の懲役に処せられる。

　これらの罪において「放火」とは、目的物を燃焼させることをいい、作為のほか「不作為による放火」、すなわち消火すべき者が消火しない場合も含まれうる、と解されている。次に「焼損」の意義につき、本罪が公共危険犯を基本とし、財産犯的要素も含まれるところから、見解が分かれる。火が媒介物を離れ目的物に燃え移り、独立して燃焼を営みうる状態と解する独立燃焼説、目的物の重要な部分を焼失し、その効用が失われたと解する効用喪失説などがそれである。

　なお、現住・非現住建造物等放火罪については、未遂罪（同法112条）と予備罪（同法113条）も処罰される（ただし、客体が自己の所有する非現住建造物等である場合は除く）。

［名和鐵郎］

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