Will filing an objection annoy the court or make things worse for me?

No. 督促異議 is a legal right and you do not have to give any reason. Filing it simply stops the fast-track procedure and moves the case to a normal lawsuit, where you can explain your situation.

Can I just ignore it and hope it goes away?

No, and ignoring it is the worst option. Once the objection period passes, a provisional execution order can be attached and your salary, bank account or receivables can be seized. Refusing delivery or pretending to be out does not help either, as the court can treat the document as served by other legal methods.

Is a 支払督促 the same as a court judgment against me?

No. It is issued by a court clerk based only on what the creditor wrote in the application. That is exactly why it can contain errors, and why the objection procedure exists.

The debt is so old it must be time-barred. Can I leave it?

No. In Japan, the statute of limitations does not apply automatically; it must be invoked through a procedure called 時効の援用. If the demand becomes final because you did nothing, you may lose that argument permanently. File the objection in time, then consult a lawyer or certified 司法書士.

Legal / Court

支払督促 (Payment Demand) from a Summary Court: What to Do

A 支払督促 (shiharai tokusoku, "payment demand order") is a document issued by a court clerk at a 簡易裁判所 (Summary Court) when someone claims you owe them money. It is not a judgment: no judge examined evidence, and you were not called to a hearing. It arrives by 特別送達 (tokubetsu sōtatsu), a special court delivery handed to you in person by a postal worker, in an envelope printed with the court's name. Inside is a form called 督促異議申立書 (objection form). If you file that objection within two weeks of receiving the document, the payment demand loses effect and the matter moves to an ordinary lawsuit where you can state your side. If you do nothing, the creditor can obtain a provisional execution order (仮執行宣言) and move to seize your wages or bank account. Whether or not the amount looks correct, you must respond before the deadline.

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Watch for scams

A genuine 支払督促 always arrives by 特別送達, handed over in person by a postal worker (or collected at the post office with a delivery notice). Anything labelled "支払督促" or "訴訟最終通告" that comes as ordinary mail dropped in your mailbox, a postcard, an SMS or an email is fake. A real one always encloses the 督促異議申立書 form and shows the court name and case number. A real one never asks you to phone a number to settle privately, never asks for transfers to a personal bank account, convenience store payments, e-money, prepaid cards, or your My Number or cash card details. Do not call the number printed on a suspicious letter; look up the Summary Court yourself and ask about the case number. For a second opinion, call the Consumer Hotline 188 or the police consultation line #9110.

Who receives it

People with unpaid credit card balances, consumer loans, mobile phone bills, rent, scholarship (奨学金) repayments, online shopping charges or medical bills. It can also reach guarantors (連帯保証人), people whose name was used by a family member or former housemate, and people whose old debt was bought by a debt collection company. Anyone with an address in Japan can receive one, regardless of nationality.

What to do

1Keep the envelope and write down the exact date you received it from the postal worker (or the date you collected it at the post office).
2Check the court name, case number (a genuine one uses the code (ロ)), creditor's name, amount claimed and the stated reason for the claim printed on the document.
3Verify independently: look up the Summary Court's phone number on the courts' website or a phone directory - never the number printed on the letter - and ask whether that case number exists.
4If you disagree with any part of it, or do not recognise the claim at all, complete the enclosed 督促異議申立書 and get it to the issuing Summary Court before the deadline (send by tracked or registered mail and keep a copy).
5Even if you intend to pay or want to arrange instalments, meet the deadline first, then contact the creditor or consult 法テラス (Japan Legal Support Center), a lawyer, or a certified 司法書士.

About the deadline

The period is two weeks from the day the 支払督促 was served on you, and the wording appears in the body of the document as a warning about filing 督促異議. The clock starts from the day you actually received it, not the issue date printed at the top. After two weeks with no objection, the creditor can apply for a 仮執行宣言 (provisional execution declaration); you get one more two-week window after that version is served, but seizure of wages or bank accounts becomes possible during it. Weekends and holidays count, so act in the same week the letter arrives.

If you hold permanent residence

If you hold 永住者 (permanent resident) status, here is how this differs from a public charge. Under the guideline the Immigration Services Agency issued on 1 October 2026 and begins applying on 1 April 2027, "intentionally not paying 公租公課" is one of the grounds for revoking the status. 公租公課 there means taxes such as income, residence and fixed asset tax, together with public premiums such as National Health Insurance, employees' health insurance, National Pension and Employees' Pension; fees, usage charges, fines and administrative penalties are stated to be outside it. So where a 支払督促 is claiming a civil debt — a card balance, rent, a phone bill, a student loan — that is not 公租公課, and this document in itself is not a ground for revoking your status. If you also have unpaid tax or insurance premiums at the same time, however, those are 公租公課. Even then it applies only where it is "clearly recognised that there is no intention to pay" (receiving a demand or reminder and making no enquiry at all about payment, repeatedly breaking an instalment agreement, and the like), and "being unable to pay for unavoidable reasons such as illness, disaster or unemployment" and "having shown an intention to pay in response to a reminder, and being on an instalment or deferral arrangement" are listed as not applying. If you cannot pay, ask the relevant desk about instalments. And even where a ground does apply, the stated rule is that the Minister of Justice permits a change to another status such as 定住者 (long-term resident) rather than revoking the status outright.

The Immigration Services Agency guideline (Japanese) →

Common misunderstandings

Will filing an objection annoy the court or make things worse for me?: No. 督促異議 is a legal right and you do not have to give any reason. Filing it simply stops the fast-track procedure and moves the case to a normal lawsuit, where you can explain your situation.
Can I just ignore it and hope it goes away?: No, and ignoring it is the worst option. Once the objection period passes, a provisional execution order can be attached and your salary, bank account or receivables can be seized. Refusing delivery or pretending to be out does not help either, as the court can treat the document as served by other legal methods.
Is a 支払督促 the same as a court judgment against me?: No. It is issued by a court clerk based only on what the creditor wrote in the application. That is exactly why it can contain errors, and why the objection procedure exists.
The debt is so old it must be time-barred. Can I leave it?: No. In Japan, the statute of limitations does not apply automatically; it must be invoked through a procedure called 時効の援用. If the demand becomes final because you did nothing, you may lose that argument permanently. File the objection in time, then consult a lawyer or certified 司法書士.

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