I hereby give My sanction, with the advice of the Privy Council, to the Imperial House Economy Law, for which the concurrence of the Imperial Diet has been obtained, and cause the same to be promulgated.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This fifteenth day of the first month of the twenty-second year of Showa (January 15, 1947)
Countersigned: Prime Minister and concurrently Minister for Foreign Affairs YOSHIDA Shigeru
Minister of State Baron SHIDEHARA Kijuro
Minister of Justice KIMURA Tokutaro
Minister for Home Affairs OMURA Seiichi
Minister of Education TANAKA Kotaro
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry WADA Hiroo
Minister of State SAITO Takao
Minister of Communications HITOTSUMATSU Sadayoshi
Minister of Commerce and Industry HOSHIJIMA Niro
Minister of Welfare KAWAI Yoshinari
Minister of State UEHARA Etsujiro
Minister of Transportation HIRATSUKA Tsunejiro
Minister of Finance ISHIBASHI Tanzan
Minister of State KANAMORI Tokujiro
Minister of State ZEN Keinosuke
The Imperial House Economy Law
Article 1. State property which is assigned, or which has been determined to be assigned, to the official use of the Imperial House (called the Imperial House Use Property hereafter) shall be treated as government use property under the State Property Law, and matters pertaining to it will be handled by the Imperial House Office.
In case an item of state property is assigned, or is to be determined to be assigned to the official use of the Imperial House, the matter must be passed by the Imperial House Economy Council. So shall it be also in case the use of any Imperial House Use Property is discontinued or altered.
The Imperial House Use Property shall not be property intended for revenue.
The Imperial House Economy Council shall make the necessary survey concerning the Imperial House Use Property at an interval of not more than five years and make a report to the Cabinet.
When the report of the preceding paragraph has been made, the Cabinet shall report to the Diet the content thereof.
Article 2. In the cases of sale or purchase for reasonable price and of other ordinary private economic transactions, and in any of the cases specified below, a property may be alienated to, or received by, the Imperial House, or a gift can be made therefrom without authorization by the Diet each time:
1. Giving or receiving of properties not exceeding a certain amount in value as fixed by law separately.
2. Giving or receiving of properties exceeding the amount of the preceding sub-paragraph, but not exceeding a certain amount in value as fixed by law separately, which has been passed by the Imperial House Economy Council.
When the giving and receiving of property takes place more than once during one year between the same parties, the provisions of the sub-paragraphs of the preceding paragarph shall apply to the aggregate amount of such transactions.
In case the amount in value of the properties given by or to a member belonging to the Imperial House under the provisions of 1 or 2 of paragraph 1 in a period less than one year has reached the amount as fixed separately by law, the above provisions do not apply to the giving or receiving of property by such member during the remainder of the year.
Article 3. The appropriation for the expenditures of the Imperial House to be made in the budget shall be divided into the Inner Court Appropriation, the Imperial Court Appropriation and the Imperial Family Appropriations.
Article 4. The Inner Court Appropriation shall apply to the daily expenditures of the Emperor and Empress, the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, the Kotaishi and his consort, the Kotaison and his consort, and other Imperial Family members belonging to the Inner Court, and to other miscellaneous expenditures of the Inner Court;a fixed sum shall be appropriated annually as is determined by law separately.
The sums provided as the Inner Court Appropriation shall constitute the Privy Purse and shall not be treated as public money to be administered by the Imperial House Office.
In case the Imperial House Economy Council deems it necessary to change the fixed sum of paragraph 1, it must submit to the Cabinet its opinion thereon.
When the opinion of the Council has been submitted, as under the preceding paragraph, the Cabinet shall report to the Diet the content thereof at the earliest opportunity.
Article 5. The Imperial Court Appropriation shall apply to all the expenditures of the Imperial Court other than those of the Inner Court and shall be administered by the Imperial House Office.
Article 6. The Imperial Family Appropriations shall apply to the sums which are provided as annuities for the maintenance of the dignity of the members of the Imperial Family and those which are provided to the persons who leave the status of the Imperial Family member for the maintenance of dignity as persons who have been members of the Imperial Family, in one time payment to be made at the time when they leave their status. The sums of such annuities or one time payments shall be calculated on the basis of a fixed sum as will be determined by law separately.
The annuities shall be calculated according to the stipulations set forth under the following numbers and in paragraphs 3 to 5;and they shall be paid annually to the members of the Imperial Family other than those specified in Article 4.
1. Shinno shall receive:
Married The whole of the fixed sum.
Of age and unmarried. One half of the fixed sum.
Under age and unmarried. One quarter of the fixed sum.
2. The consort of a Shinno shall receive one half of the fixed sum.
3. Naishinno shall receive:
Of age. One half of the fixed sum.
Under age. One quarter of the fixed sum.
4. O, the consort of an O, and Jo-o shall receive sums corresponding to 70 percent of the amount of the annuities calculated respectively on the basis of Shinno, the consort of a Shinno, and Naishinno.
A married Shinno or O, even after the cessation of marital relationship, shall receive the same amount as before.
A member of the Imperial Family who is the Regent, shall receive 5 times the fixed sum during the term of his office.
A person, possessing more than one status, shall be paid according to the status commanding the highest annuity.
A person who leaves the status of the member of the Imperial Family according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law shall receive a sum in one time payment, as determined by the Imperial House Economy Council, and within the limit of not exceeding the amount corresponding to 15 times the amount of the annuity due to the said person to be calculated according to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 and the preceding paragraph.
In calculating the sum for one time payment as under the preceding paragraph, an unmarried or under-age Shinno or O shall be considered as a married Shinno or O;and Naishinno or Jo-o under age as a Naishinno, or Jo-o, of age.
The provision of Article 4, paragraph 2 shall apply to the sums provided as the Imperial Family Appropriations.
The provisions of Article 4, paragraphs 3 and 4 shall apply to the fixed sum of paragraph 1.
Article 7. The Imperial Heir upon his accession to the Throne shall receive such traditional properties as are to be handed down with the Throne.
Article 8. The Imperial House Economy Council shall be composed of 8 members.
The members shall be the Presidents and VicePresidents of the House of Representatives and of the House of Councillors, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the head of the Imperial House Office and the head of the Board of Audit.
Article 9. There shall be appointed 8 reserve members in the Imperial House Economy Council.
Article 10. The Imperial House Economy Council, unless there are present 5 members or more, may not open deliberations and make decisions.
The deliberations shall he decided by a majority vote. In case of a tie, the chairman shall make the decision.
Article 11. The provisions of Article 29;Article 30, paragraphs 3-7;Article 31;Article 33, paragraph 1;Article 36 and Article 37 of the Imperial House Law shall apply to the Imperial House Economy Council mutatis mutandis.
The post of the reserve member for the Minister of Finance in the Council shall be filled by the Vice Minister of Finance;and that of the reserve member for the head of the Board of Audit by an official of the Board of Audit, who shall be designated by the Prime Minister.
Supplementary Provisions:
The present Law shall come into force as from the day of the enforcement of the Constitution of Japan.
Those items of the former Imperial Household Property which are in the use of the Imperial House at the time of the enforcement of the present Law and which have become state property under the State Property Law shall be considered, without a decision of the Imperial House Economy Council, as the Imperial House Use Property, regardless of the provision of Article 1, paragraph 2.
The necessary matters relating to the transitional disposition of the rights and obligations which belong to the former Imperial House Account at the time of the enforcement of the present Law, and which are to be carried over by the State, shall be provided for by cabinet order.
The Inner Court Appropriation and the sum of annuities under the Imperial Family Appropriations for the fiscal year in which the present Law takes effect shall be provided for on the basis of monthly quotas.