I hereby give My Sanction to the Imperial Ordinance concerning the surrender of foreign currencies, etc. to the Bank of Japan, under the Imperial Ordinance No. 542 of 1945 relating to the Orders to be issued in consequence of the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and cause the same to be promulgated.
Signed: HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month of the twenty-first year of Showa (December 28, 1946)
Countersigned: Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru
Minister of Finance ISHIBASHI Tanzan
Imperial Ordinance No. 634
Article 1. "The foreign currencies" referred to in this Imperial Ordinance shall mean all currencies other than currencies, small Japanese State notes, military notes issued by the Japanese Government and supplemental yen notes (type "B"), Bank of Japan, Central Reserve Bank of China, Federal Reserve Bank of China, Southern Development Bank, Bank of Mongolia and Bank of Manchou notes, including Bank of Chosen and Bank of Taiwan notes.
"The foreign exchange instruments" referred to in this Imperial Ordinance shall mean instruments expressed in foreign currencies coming under either of the following items:
1. Bills of exchange designated towards area outside of the bounds of this country (excluding remittance bills designated from this country).
2. Remittance bills of exchange, remittance checks, certificates of postal money orders and other similar bills to order designated from area outside of the bounds of this country.
3. Promissory notes or checks to be paid in area outside of the bounds of this country.
4. Travellers' checks and other similar ones.
5. Letters of credit issued in area outside of the bounds of this country or letters of credit directed for the issuance in area outside of the bounds of this country, and with respect to which, at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, there exist actually the credit which constitutes the cause of the issuance thereof (provided that the whole or part thereof stand as yet unused at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance).
The term "the Japanese residing within the bounds of this country" referred to in this Imperial Ordinance shall mean a person who comes under one of the following items:
1. The Japanese Government, local government or other public corporations;
2. The Japanese nationals who have their domiciles or residences within the bounds of this country;
3. The juristic persons which are established in accordance with the Laws and Ordinances of Japan, excluding the juristic persons as mentioned in the following:
A. The juristic persons of which shares or investments equivalent to more than half of the capital or of the investment at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance are owned by the non-Japanese nationals or juristic persons established in accordance with the Laws and Ordinances of a foreign country (excluding the juristic persons as stipulated in item 4).
B. With the exception of those as stipulated in the preceding item, those juristic persons whose operation at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance stands under the control of the non-Japanese nationals or juristic persons established in accordance with the Laws and Ordinances of a foreign country (excluding the juristic persons as stipulated in item 2).
4. The juristic persons as established in accordance with the Laws and Ordinances of a foreign country, and specified in the following:
A. The juristic persons of which shares or investments equivalent to more than half of the capital or of the investment, at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, are owned by the Japanese nationals or the juristic persons established in accordance with the Japanese laws and Ordinances (excluding the juristic persons as stipulated in A or B of item 3).
B. With the exception of those as stipulated in the preceding item, the juristic persons whose operation are at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, or were before the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, under the control of the Japanese nationals or juristic persons established in accordance with the Japanese laws and Ordinances (excluding the juristic persons stipulated in A and B of No. 3).
The term "this country" referred to in this Imperial Ordinance shall mean Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido and the islands appertaining thereto.
Article 2. The Japanese residing within the bounds of this country who, at the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, possess or keep in custody foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments in this country, in spite of other laws, Ordinances or contracts, shall surrender the foreign currencies of foreign exchange instruments to the Bank of Japan and have the Bank of Japan take custody thereof, by 31 January, 1947. This shall be the same in the case of non-Japanese nationals residing within the bounds of this country who, at the time of promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, possess or keep in custody the foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments belonging to the Japanese.
The Japanese residing within the bounds of this country who have got to possess or keep in custody after the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance, in spite of other laws, ordinances or contracts, shall surrender the foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments to the Bank of Japan and have the Bank of Japan take custordy thereof, within ten days from that time (in case that time be earlier than 22 January, 1947, then by 31 January). This shall be the same in case of non-Japanese nationals residing within the bounds of this country who have got to possess or keep in custody after the time of the promulgation of this Imperial Ordinance the foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments belonging to the Japanese.
The Bank of Japan shall issue the receipt for each person who has surrendered foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs.
The form of the receipt stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be designated by the Minister of Finance.
Article 3. Paragraph 1 of the preceding Article shall not be applied to the foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments coming under either of the following items:
1. Foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments in the custody of the Allied Forces.
2. Foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments seized or captured in connection with criminal cases.
3. Foreign currencies of foreign exchange instruments in the custody of the Custom Office or the Bank of Japan, which have been brought back with Japanese repatriates from abroad.
4. Foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments surrendered from Koreans, Formosans, Loochoo people, inhabitants of Amami Oshima and other foreign repatriates leaving from this country and kept in custody of the Custom Office.
6. The Bank of Chosen notes held by the Bank of Japan for the purpose of exchanging money of Korean repatriates leaving from this country to Korea.
7. Unissued bank notes (excluding those coming under issue amount at the Account of Head Office of the Bank of Chosen and the Bank of Taiwan).
8. Foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments held or charged by government, schools and other public corporations, as specimens, which have been approved by the Minister of Finance.
9. Bills of exchange unexpected to collect, which have been approved by the Minister of Finance.
10. Others which have been approved by the Minister of Finance.
Persons, who desire to obtain the approval of the Minister of Finance pursuant to the provisions of items 8-10, shall submit applications to the Minister of Finance through the Bank of Japan not later than 31 January, 1947, in case prescribed by the provision of the preceding Article, item 1 or not later than the time prescribed by the provision of the preceding Article, item 2 in case prescribed by the provision of the preceding Article, item 2.
The form designated by the preceding paragraph shall be designated by the Minister of Finance.
In case the Bank of Japan has received the applications prescribed by paragraph 2 of this Article, the surrender prescribed by paragraph 1 of the preceding Article shall be granted delay to the date designated by the Minister of Finance.
Article 4. Persons who have not surrendered foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments to the Bank of Japan against this Imperial Ordinance shall be liable to penal servitude or imprisonment for three years or less, or to a fine of 10,000 yen or less.
In the case of the preceding paragraph, the foreign currencies or foreign exchange instruments relating to the illegal action shall be confiscated.
Article 5. Any representative of a juristic person, any agent, employee or other worker of a juristic person or an individual who commits an illegal action prescribed in paragraph 1 of the preceding Article, regarding the business or property of the juristic person or individual, the juristic person or individual himself shall be subject to the fine prescribed in paragraph 1 of the preceding Article, in addition to the punishment imposed on the actual violator.
Supplementary Provision:
This Imperial Ordinance shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.