I hereby give My sanction to the Regulations concerning the amendments of the Imperial Govvernment Railway Special Account 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 thirty-first day of the third month of the twenty-second year of Showa (March 31, 1947)
Countersigned: Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru
Minister of Finance ISHIBASHI Tanzan
Minister of Transportation MASUDA Kaneshichi
The Government Railway Special Account Law
Article 1. For the purpose of conducting the Government railways business on the basis of a business undertaking and also to achieve healthy development of traffic utilities of the country, Special Account for the Government railways shall be established independent of the General Account.
The term "Government railway business" employed in the present Act shall comprehend the business of the Government railways (the shipping business operated by the Government shall be included in the term Government railway business) and the motor traffic business operated by the Government, and the incidental or accessory undertakings in connection with the principal undertakings herein.
Article 2. The present Account shall be administered by the Minister of Transportation in pursuance to the laws and government ordinances.
Article 3. In the present Account, the sum total of the assets belonging to the present Account shall be the amount of capital.
The capital referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be classified into the fixed capital and the borrowed capital, and again the fixed capital shall be subdivided into the capital proper, the reserve and the reserve for depreciation, while the borrowed capital shall be subdivided into the public bonds, the borrowings and other liabilities.
Article 4. In the present Account, the principle of accual basis shall be resorted to for the purpose of insuring accuracy and exectitude of the rerults of operation, financial condition of the Government railway business.
Article 5. The present Account shall be authorized or empowered to issue public bounds or make borrowing, when such bonds or borrowings are necessary for the purpose of making payment for construction and improvement, supplement to the store expense for materials and supplies, or investment.
The present Account shall have power to make borrowings when there is deficit in the resources for the payment of expenses needed for the execution of the business thereof.
The amount of such public bonds and borrowings hereinbefore provided for in the preceding two paragraphs shall have the approval of the Diet in the Budget.
Article 6. In the present Account it is able to make temporary borrowing or issuance of accommodation bond when the cash thereof is insufficient to meet payments.
The limit of temporary borrowings or accommodation bond in the preceding paragraph shall be approved by the Diet in the Budget.
The temporary borrowings and accommodation bond as prescribed in the first paragraph herein shall be redempted within the current fiscal year, provided the amount that remained unpaid due to demmished revenue, may be converted into temporary borrowings or accommodation bond.
Such borrowing and accommodation bond as provided for in the proviso to the preceding paragraph shall be redempted within one year.
Artcle 7. The matters in reference to the issue or redemption of pulic bonds, borrowings, temporary borrowings and accommodation bond as provided for in the two preceding Articles shall be conducted by the Minister of Finance.
Articl e8. The national bonds hereinafter shall be borne by the present Account:
1. All public bonds and borrowings charged on or borne by the former Imperial Government Railway Special Account.
2. All public bond, borrowings, temporary borrowings and accommodation bonds by the provisions of Article 5 or Article 6.
3. All public bonds or other liabilities that shall be borne by the Government, the same having been issued for the purchase of, or for the compensation to, railway or railways, tramway or tramways, automobile passenger taffic business or motor truck transportation business operated on regular or definite road.
4. All public bonds, borrowings, temporary borrowings and accommodation bonds issued or borrowed, in accordance with the provisions public bonds, borrowings, temporary borrowings and accommodation bonds, issued or borrwed, in accordance with the provisiocus under the preceding three paragraphs.
The amount necessary for the disbursement of redemption, interest and expenses for issuance and redemption of public bonds, borrowings temporary borrowings or accommodation notes provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be transferred to the Special Account for National Bond Consolidation Fund in each fiscal year, except the amount of redemption of temporary borrowing and accommodation notes to be refunded within the current fiscal year. However, the borrowings made in pursuance to the second paragraph of Article 5 or temporary borrowings or accommodation notes made issued or in pursuance of the proviso in the third paragraph of Article 6, when or if conversion must be resorted to for refunding such temporary borrowings or accommodation notes aformentioned, the amount of public bonds and Consolidating National Bonds.
Article 9. The Minister of Transportation shall prepare, every fiscal year, the plans for budgetary execution of annual revenues and expenditures, and the documents asking for the approval of acts that bind Treasury, and forward such plans and documents to the Minister of Finance.
The plans for budgetary execution of annual revenues and expenditures as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be divided into assets, liabilities, profit or loss, construction and improvement, and other internal accounts.
Article 10. The budgetary items of this account in accordance with the nature of the revenues and the purpose of the expenditures, shall be classified under "titles" and "sub titles" resprectively.
Article 11. The Cabinet shall submit the budget of the present Account together with that of the General Account to the Diet.
The budget of the present Account referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be accompanied with the undermentioned documents or exhibits:
1. The plans for budgetary execution of annual revenues and expenditures and the documents asking for the approval of national liability.
2. The profit and loss statement, the balance sheet and the inventory of two years prior to the current fiscal year.
3. The estimated profit and loss statement and the estimated balance sheet for both the preceding and the current fiscal year.
4. Concerning the expenses resulting from the acts binding the Treasury, when such expenses are to be paid extending over to the following fiscal year, the payment of such expenses mape up to the preceding fiscal year, estimated amount to be so paid, estimated amounts for the current fiscal year and thereafter and in case such expenses extend over several fiscal years, the entire plan of the work or enterprise and conditions of the progress of such work shall be stated.
Article 12. In the present Account, in order to make up the deficit of the budgetary amount due to the increase of traffic volume and other unavoidable circumstances, contingency fund may be up and maintained.
The Minister of Transportation may make appropriation from the contingency fund so set up in accordance with the provision of the preceding clause, in conformity with Cabinet Orders, so far as such appropritation shall be operating expenditure, notwithstanding the provision of Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 35 of the Financial Administration Law, and the amount so appropriated and the reason therefore shall be reported to the Minister of Finance and the Board of Audit.
Article 13. To supplement shortage in the expenses for construction and improvement of the enterprise, the Adjustment Fund is established and maintained in the present Account.
The Adjustment Fund provided in the preceding paragraph shall be set aside out of surplus and the same shall be in the Budgetary estimate.
The Adjustment Fund provided in the first paragraph herein shall be expended as is specified in the Budget.
Article 14. The budgetary items in the annual revenues and expendituress of the present Account, notwithstanding the provision of Article 31, paragraph 2 of the Financial Administration Law, shall be classified on the basis as is provided in the plans for budgetary execution under Article 11, clauses 2, paragraph 1.
Article 15. The plans of making payments on the budget of the present Account shall be divided into two undermentioned heads:
1. By drawing cheques or by issuing transfer notes on the Treasure.
2. By official cashiers of railway offices, authorized to make payments under Article 16.
The plan of making payments referred to in the second paragraph of the preceding clause need not be reported to the Bank of Japan.
Article 16. The official accountant in charge of expenditures of the present Account shall be authorized to make payments of expenditures by issuing cheques or transfer notes on the Treasury, and he shall also be authorized, in accordance with the provisions of the Cabinet Order, to issue orders to the official cashiers of railway offices to make payments.
The Minister of transportation may, if he deems it necessary, appoint assistant official accountants to share the duties with the official accountant.
The official accountant, within limits as are prescribed in paragraph 1, item 2 of the preceding Article, may issue orders to assistant official accountants, specifying the amount to be so paid, that the said assistant official accountants may direct official cashier to issue order to make payment in conformity with the provisions of the Cabinet Order.
The Minister of Transportation shall make report to the Minister of Finance and Board of Audit when such assistant official cashier is established and appointed in accordance with the paragraph 2 herein.
Article 17. The Minister of Transportation may, in accordance with the provisions of the Government ordinances, authorize official cashiers of the railway offices to make payment out of revenues in the custody of said official cashiers for the expenditures of the present Account pursuant to the orders issued by official accountants or assistant official accountants.
Article 18. In the present Account, the profit as resultant of account settling shall be disposed of by transferring the same to surplus, while the loss, if any, shall be subtracted from surplus.
Article 19. The Minister of Transportation shall forward to the Minister of Finance the statement of the actual results of the plans for budgetary execution no the annual revenues and expenditures as referred to in Article 11 paragraph 2 item 1 of the present Law, in corresponding classifications and items as set forth in the said plans.
Article 20. The Cabinet shall, in each fiscal year, submit to the Diet the statement of settled account of the Special Account of the Government Railway, accompanied with that of the General Account.
The statement of settled account referred to herein in the preceding paragraph shall be accompanied with the undermentioned documents or exhibits:
1. The statement of the actual results on the annual revenues and expenditures.
2. The profit and loss statement, balance sheet inventory, comparative table showing increases, and decreaeses of assets, and comparative table showing increases and decreases of capital, all for the current fiscal year.
3. The statement concerning liabilities.
Article 21. The amount of the budgetary estimate for expenditures in the present Account, if the same became payable, yet remained unpaid in the current fiscal year, may be carried forward to the next fiscal year and therein may be appropriated.
The amount so carried forward to the next fiscal year in accordance with the preceding paragraph, need not have sanction of the Minister of Finance, notwithstandings the provision of Article 43 of the Financial Administration Law.
The Minister of Transportation shall, in case the amount is carried forward to next fiscal year as prescribed in the first paragraph herein, report such matter to the Minister of Finance and the Govenment Board of Auditing.
Article 22. The Adjustment Fund prescribed in the provision of Article 13 may be invested in public bonds or deposited with the Deposit Section of the Finance Ministry.
The surplus cash of the present Account, if any, may be deposited with the Deposit Section of the Finance Ministry.
Article 23. So far as the operation of the enterprise is not disturbed or hampered with, the Government Railway may, at the request of the general public, manufacture, repair, supply or furnish machinery, tools or other articles, or execute construction and other work for land transportation in the present Account.
Article 24. The expenses for the supervision, promotion, and control of railway, tramways, and other land transportation business, manufacture and repair of machines and implements for land transportation use (automobile manufacture being excluded) and other similar under takings and warehousing business (port warehouse being excluded) shall be defrayed by this Account.
Article 25. All necessary regulations for the enforcement of the Present Act shall be prescribed by the Cabinet Order.
Supplementary Provisions:
Article 1. The present Law shall come into force as from April 1, 1947. The provision of Article 4 in supplementary provisions, however, shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.
Article 2. The Borrowings made by the Imperial Government Railway Special Account by virtue of Imperial Ordinances No.111, No.180, and the Law No.55 promulgated in 1946, and the unpaid debts as on March 31, 1947 shall each and all be incorporated in the borrowed capital of the present Account.
Article 3. All cash not belonging to the revenues and expenditures in the hand of the official cashiers, all money deposited in the Bank of Japan by the said cashiers and all articles and goods not belonging to capital of the Imperial Government Railway Special Account on March 31, 1947 shall be transferred to the assets of the present Account.
Article 4. The Imperial Government Railway Special Account may, in the Materials Subaccount thereof, store materials exceeding the amoutn allowed for materials, only for 1946 fiscal year.
The amount so exceeded in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall be dealt with as borrowed from othe Subaccount.
Article 5. The expenses in the Budget for 1946 fiscal year that have accrued and yet remain cut standing on March 31, 1947, may be transferred to the Budget for 1947 fiscal year and therein disbursed.
Article 6. All payment of expenditures for the purpose of supplementing cash which was paid out by substitution up to March 31, 1947, and all receipt of public bonds or borrowing consequent on such supplement hereinbefore mentioned and all disbursement of the annual revenues to the Treasury, the same received by official cashiers, up to March 31, 1947, shall be treated as the portion or 1946 fiscal year.
The receipt and payment provided in the preceding paragraph herein may be made not later than May 31, 1947.
The public bonds annd borrowings prescribed in the first clause herein shall be considered that such public bonds or broowings were issued or made in accordances with the first paragraph in the first paragraph of Article 8 of the Government Railway Special Account Law.
Article 7. The provision of Article 2 of the Imperial Government Railway Special Account Law shall yet be effective with regard to the issuing of public bonds to be applied for the payment of expenditures of 1946 fiscal year.
Budget for the expenditures payable by the public bonds or the borrowings as precribed in Article 2 of the Imperial Government Railway Special Account Law, if transferred for the Budget for 1947 fiscal year by the provision of Article 5 in Suplementary Provisions, may issue public bonds or make borrowings notwithstanding the provision of Article 5 of the Government Railway Special Account Law. However, the amount to issue public bonds or make borrowings shall be within the Budget for the public bonds or borrowings in 1946 fiscal year, together with the amount of the public bonds and the borrowings issued or made in 1946 fiscal year.
Article 8. All public bonds issued in pursuance of the provision of the preceding Article and all borrowings that shall be made after the present Law has taken effect, in accordance with the Law No.55 promulgated in 1946 shall all be considered as public bonds or borrowings issued or made in pursuance of Article 8 paragraph 1, item 2 of the Government Railway Special Account Law.
Article 9. All payments out of Reserve Fund prior to the date on which the present Act goes into effect, and all matters in connection with account settlement for the fiscal year of 1945 and 1946 shall be dealt with in manners and methods as under the former Imperial Government Railway Special Account Law.
Article 10. The words "The Diet" , "The Cabinet" and "The Cabinet Order" employed in the provisions of the present Law shall read, prior to the date of the enforcement of the Constitution of Japan, "The Imperial Parliament" , "the Government" and "The Imperial Ordinance" respectively.
Article 11. Law No.19 promulgated in 1945 shall be revised as follows:
In Artifle 2, "The Capital Account of the Imperial Government Railway Special Account" and "The Revenue Sub Account of the Imperial Government Railway Special Account" shall read "Special Account of the Gobernment Railway."
Article 12. Law No.55 promulgated in 1946 shall be partly revised as follows:
The fourth paragraph of the Law shall be deleted.