It became effective yesterday as the country prepares for next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

The legislation was approved by the National Diet – Japan's bicameral legislature – in December and bans the resale of tickets at a higher price than they were originally sold for.

The law is applied to concerts and sporting events and also prohibits the purchase of tickets with an intention of scalping.

Violations of the legislation could result in a fine up to ¥1 million (£7,316/$9,211/€8,213), a possible jail term up to one year, or both.

The ban also includes online reselling.

Tickets that designate seats or the names of spectators in advance, as well as QR codes and IC cards that serve as electronic tickets, are subject to the ban.

Event organisers are also required to make efforts to identify ticket holders under the guidelines.

Although ticket scalping on the streets near event venues had already been prohibited under local ordinances, an increase in the online resale of tickets has posed a problem in Japan since 2001.

Invitation tickets and those distributed for free are exempt from the new law.

Anyone who becomes unable to attend an event they have already paid for will be able to resell their tickets through the organisers' official website.

The results of the Olympic ticket lottery were announced on Thursday. 

Assigned tickets must be purchased by July 2.