I hereby give My Sanction to the Imperial Ordinance concerning the Welfare Committee Ordinance and cause the same to be promulgated.
Signed: HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This twelfth day of the ninth month of twenty-first year of Showa (september 12, 1946)
Countersigned: Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru
Minister of Welfare KAWAI Yoshinari
Imperial Ordinance No. 426
The Welfare Committee Ordinance
Art. 1. The Welfare Committee shall, for the promotion of social welfare, be engaged in the matter of protection and guidance, with the spirit of benevolence.
Art. 2. The welfare Committee shall be established in the district of a city (where there are wards in the Metropolis of Tokyo, the district shall mean the district of a ward; and the same shall apply hereinafter), town village.
Art. 3. The fixed number of a Welfare Committee shall be decided by the Prefectural Governor for each district of cities, towns and villages, upon collecting the opinion of the headman of the city, town or village concerned (where there are wards in the Metropolis of Tokyo, the headman shall mean the headman of a ward).
Art. 4. The Welfare Committee shall be commissioned by the Minister of Welfare, upon recommendation of the Prefectural Governor.
The recommendation of the Prefectural Governor as provided in the preceding paragraph shall be given of those whom the Committee to recommend the Welfare Committee, set up in the city, town and village, has recommended, and after the opinion of the Committee to select the Welfare Committee, set up in the Metropolis, Hokkaido and Prefectures, has been collected.
The respective organizations of the Committee to recommend the Welfare Committee and the Committee to select the Welfare Committee, which are provided in the last paragraph, shall be decided by the Minister of Welfare.
Art. 5. The Welfare Committee shall be honorary posts, and their tenure of office shall be for two years, provided that, if there is any special reason, the Committee may be relieved even during the tenure of office.
Art. 6. The members of the welfare Committee shall perform their functions accrding to the districts and matters in their charge in the district of the city, town or village in question.
Art. 7. The functions of the member of the Welfare Committee shall be as follows:
1) To make investigation into the condition of life.
2) To give proper protection and guidance to those who need protection.
3) To keep close contact with social institutions, and to aid the functions thereof.
The members of the Welfare Committee shall, in addition to the functions as provided in the preceding paragraph, give guidance of life, in compliance with necessity.
Art. 8. The Welfare Committee shall be under the command and superintendence of the Prefectural Governor in the matter of their functions.
Art. 9. The Welfare Committee shall be organized in every district which the Prefectural Governor shall decide, upon collecting the opinion of the headman of the city, town or village concerned (where there are wards in the Metropolis of Tokyo, the headman shall mean the headman of a ward).
In case of deciding the district, in which the Welfare Committee shall be organized as provided in the preceding parrgraph, a city district shall be a divided district of the whole district of the city, and a town or village district shall be the whole district of the town or village, except where any special circumstances exist.
Art. 10. The Prefectural Governor may, if he thinks it necessary, cause the headman of the city, town or village concerned (where there are wards in the Metropolis of Tokyo, and in the Cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya, the headman shall mean the headman of a ward; and the same shall apply hereinafter) and other proper persons to join the Welfare Committee.
The headman of the city, town or village concerned, or a person so authorized by the said headman may attend the Welfare Committee and state his opinion.
Art. 11. The duties of the Welfare Committee shall be as follows:
1) To decide the district or the matter in charge of the members of the Welfare Committee.
2) To keep the connection and control concerning the functions of the members of the Welfare Committee.
3) To collect necessary data and information.
4) To cause the members of the Welfare Committee to mutually encourage, study and cultivate concerning their functions.
5) To deal with any other matters necessary for the performance of the functions by the members of the Welfare Committee.
The Welfare Committee may submit to the various Governments concerned such opinions as considered necessary in respect of the functions of the members of Welfare Committee.
Art. 12. The headman of the city, town or village concerned may give the members of the Welfare Committee such indications as necessary in respect of their functions.
Art. 13. The expenses concerning the members of the Welfare Committee, the Committee to recommend the Welfare Committee, the Committee to select the Welfare Committee and the Welfare Committee itself shall be borne by the Metropolis, Hokkaido and Prefectures.
Art. 14. Such provisions of the present Imperial Ordinance as concern a town or village shall be applied to what corresponds to a town or village, where the Town and Village system has not as yet been enforced, and the provisions concerning the headman of a town or village shall be applicable to a person who corresponds to the headman of a town or village.
Supplementary Provisions:
The present Imperial Ordinance shall come into force as from the day of the enforcement of the Livelihood Protection Law.
The District Committee Ordinance shall be repealed.
Those who actually hold the posts of the District Committee at the time of the enforcement of the present Imperial Ordinance shall be deemed to have been commissioned to be the Welfare Committee, provided that their tenure of office shall be for two months starting the day of the enforcment of the present Imperial Ordinance.
Even in the case of the last paragraph, the application of the proviso of Article 5 shall not be prevented.
A part of the Enforcement Ordinance of the Juvenile Reformation Act shall be amended as follows:
Para. 1 and Para. 2 of Article 9, shall be amended to read as the following.
The members of the Juvenile Reformation Committee shall be concurrently held by the members of the Welfare Committee.
In addition to those as provided in the preceding paragraph, the Prefectural Governor may, if he thinks it necessary, select other members of the Juvenile Reformation Committee.
The Juvenile Reformation Committee shall honorary posts.
The tenure of office of the Juvenile Reformation Committee selected under the provisions of paragraph 2 shall be for two years, provided that, if there is any special reason, the Committee may be relieved even during the tenure of office.