We hereby give Our Sanction to the Ordinance for the Restriction or Prohibition on Dividends of Corporations and Others No. of the twenty-first year of Showa (1946) concerning the Orders to be issued in consequence of Our Acceptance of the Declaration of Potsdam, and cause the said Ordinance to be promulgated.
Signed: Hirohito, Seal of the Emperor April 1945
This twenty-sixth day of the fourth month of the twenty-first year of Showa (26 April, 1946).
Countersigned: Baron Kijuro Shidehara Prime Minister
Viscount Keizo Shibusawa Minister of Finance
Sankuro Ogasawara Minister of Commerce and Industry
Sempachi Soejima Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
Giichi Murakami Minister of Transportation
Imperial Ordinance No. 243
Ordinance relating to the Restriction or Prohibition on Dividends of Corporations and Others.
Article 1. Judicial persons (excluding banks, trust companies, insurance companies, and others stipulated by ordinance) whose capital (hereafter referring to subscriptions, stocks or the total of subscriptions and stocks) exceeds two hundred thousand (200,000) yen and who have received or have claim for war insurance payments or government indemnity or who possess overseas assets or who are specified by the Minister of Finance according to the provisions of Article 1-(2) of the Imperial Ordinance No. 675 of 1945 may not pay dividends of profits and surplus in the following cases;
(1) if the rate of dividend is in excess of five (5) per cent.
(2) if the total amount of dividend payments is in excess of the net profit of the business year concerned calculated in the manner prescribed by ordinance.
(3) Other case stipulated by ordinance.
War insurance, government indemnity and overseas assets stated in the preceding paragraph shall be fixed by ordinance.
Article 2. The Minister of Finance may, if deemed necessary, order judicial persons designated by him from among those stated in Paragraph 1 of the preceding Article to have their settlement of accounts audited by competent officials.
Judicial persons, if received orders according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph with reference to auditions of profits and surplus until audited according to the provisions of the preceding Article.
Article 3. The Minister of Finance may, if deemed necessary, prohibit or restrict, during a certain period of time, the dividend payments of judical persons under stated in Article 1 Paragraph 1 who have distributed profits or surplus for the business year ending before the enforcement of this Ordinance, after August 15th, 1945.
Judicial persons concerned, if prohibited or restricted according to the preceding Paragraph cannot distribute profits or surplus violating the prohibition and restriction.
Article 4. The Minister of Finance, if deemed necessary, prescribe by ordinance the submission of reports concerning status of business or property of judical person under stated in Article 1 Paragraph 1 or the despatch of competent officials to inspect necessary places and to examine books, documents and other objects.
Article 5. A director or corresponding member of a judicial person under stated in Article 1 Paragraph 1 shall be subject to penal servitude of five (5) years or less or to a fine of fifty thousand (50,000) yen or less in the following cases:
(1) if a judicial person violates the provisions of Article 1 Paragraph 1.
(2) if a judicial person violates the provisions of Article 2 Paragraph 2.
(3) if a judicial person violates the provisions of Article 3 Paragraph 2.
Article 6. Any person who has failed to submit a report according to Article 2, who has made a false statement or who has refused or prevented the inspection and examination by competent officials shall be subject to penal servitude of one year or less or a fine of ten thousand (10,000) yen or less.
Article 7. In case, a representative, agent employee, or other worker has committed an illegal act violating the preceding two articles, the judical person himself shall be servitude to a fine of the preceding two articles in addition to the punishment given to the actual offender.
Supplementary Provision:
The present Ordinance shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.