I hereby give My sanction to the Law concerning the amendment of the Law No.78 of 1939 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 eleventh day of the fourth month of the twenty-second year of Shows (April 11, 1947)
Countersigned: Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru
Minister for Home Affairs UEHARA Etsujiro
Minister of Finance ISHIBASHI Tanzan
Minister of Education TAKAHASHI Seiichiro
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry KIMURA Kozaemon
The Law No.78 of 1939 shall be amended as follows:
Art.1. The national properties, the title of which has devolved upon the State through the Land Tax Reform, restitution of religious properties, endowment (in case of an endowment in the name of a local public body, only such part as has in truth caused no charge upon the local public body), or purchase by contributed money (in case the money is contributed in the name of a local public body, only such part as has in truth caused no charge upon the local public body), and which are, at the time of enforcement of the present Law, either leased free of charge to shrines, temples, or Buddhist churches (hereinafter called religious institutions) in accordance with the National Property Law or placed under the custody of religious institutions in accordance with the National Forest and Field Law, may, with the decision of the competent Minister after consulting with the Precincts Disposition Committee or Custodial Forests Disposition Committee, be given free of charge to the religious institution upon its application made within a year from the date of enforcement of the present Law, provided the property in question be essential to the performance of religious functions.
The regulations relating to the Precincts Disposition Committee and Custodial Forests Disposition Committee shall be fixed by Imperial Ordinance.
Art.2. The national properties which are leased free of charge to religious institutions in accordance with the National Property Law of the time of enforcement of the present Law and which are not to be given in accordance with the provision of the paragraph 1 of the preceding Article, may, with the decision of the competent Minister after consulting with the Precincts Disposition Committee, be sold in private contract at one half market price to the religious institutions upon its application made within six months from the date of receipt of a refusal in case an application has been made in accordance with the paragraph 1 of the preceding Article and otherwise within a year from the date of enforcement of the present Law, provided the property in question be essential to the performance of religious functions.
Those who have submitted an administrative appeal upon administrative action as provided by par.1 of the preceding Article may apply for sale in accordance with the preceding paragraph within three months from the date of receipt of the decision on the appeal, even after the expiration of the terms set in the preceding paragraph.
Art.3. The criteria of the national properties which may be given or sold as provided by the provision of Art.1, par.1 or par.1 of the preceding Article shall be fixed by Imperial Ordinance.
Art.4. When a national property which may be given or sold in accordance with the provision of Art.1, par.1 or Art.2, par.1 (hereinafter called the former land) happens, before its grant or sale, to make part of an area affected by an adjustment of agricultural land as provided by the Land Adjustment Law or by an adjustment of city-lots as provided by the City Planning Law or Special City Planning Law and the State acquires as the result of an exchange between the former land and another the right to a liquidation money or compensation money, the religious institutions on the former land may, upon its application made within a year of the date of announcement of the administrative action regarding the exchange and with the decision of the competent Minister, be given the claim in case the former land comes within the provision of Art.1, par.1 or a claim to one half of the said money in case the former land comes within the provision of Art.2, par.1.
When the State is to be charged with a levy or liquidation money for an exchange between the former land and another in accordance with the provisions of the Land Adjustment Law, City Planning Law, or Special City Planning Law, the religious institution concerned shall be charged with the liability in case the former land comes within the provision of Art.1, par.1 or with a liability to one half of the levy or liquidation money in case the former land comes within the provision of Art.2, par.1.
Art.5. When the former land happens, before its grant or sale, to make part of an area affected by an adjustment of agricultural land as provided by the Land Adjustment Law or by an adjustment of city-lots as provided by the City Planning Law or Special City Planning Law and it is considered necessary for the religious institutions on the former land to move to a place other than that offered in exchange, the land offered in exchange and the State-owned things attached to the former land may, upon the application made within a year from the date of announcement of the administrative action regarding the exchange and with the decision of the competent Minister, be given free of charge to the religious institutions in case the former land comes within the provision of Art.1, par.1, or sold at one half market price in case the former land comes within the provision of Art.2, par.1.
The grant or sale in accordance with the provision of the preceding paragraph shall be made after consulting with the Precincts Disposition Committee or Custodial Forests Disposition Committee.
Art.6. Those who are dissatisfied with administrative actions taken in accordance with the provisions of the present Law may institute an administrative appeal.
In dealing with an administrative appeal provided by the preceding paragraph, the Precincts Disposition Committee or Custodial Forests Disposition Committee shall be consulted with.
Art.7. With regard to the payment for the sale in accordance with the provisions of Art.2, par.1 or Art.5, par.1, it may be permitted to fulfil it by annual instalments not extending over more than ten years or to offer other lands as may be provided by Ordinance.
Supplementary Provisions:
Art.8. The date of enforcement of the present Law shall be fixed by Imperial Ordinance.
Art.9. The National Property Law shall be partly amended as follows:
Art.5, item 3 shall be deleted.
Art.10. As to national properties belonging to shrines, temples, or Buddhist chapels involved in an amalgamation of religious institutions which has taken place before the enforcement of the present Law, the provisions of the Art.5, item 3 of the National Property Law shall continue in force notwithstanding the provision of the preceding Article, provided that the religious institutions which has absorbed other institutions or newly emerged from the amalgamation apply therefor not later than the enforcement of the psesent Law and that the property in question be essential to the performance of religious functions.
The grant provided by the preceding paragraph shall be made after consulting with the Precincts Disposition Committee.
With regard to those properties about which a decision of grant or sale has been given in accordance with the provisions of Art.1, par.1, Art.2, par.1, or Art.5, par.1, the provisions of Art.24 of the National Property Law shall continue in force notwithstanding the provision of the preceding Article until the day of grant or sale.
Art.11. The National Forest and Field Law shall be partly amended as follows:
Art.3, par.3 shall be deleted.
Art.12. The forest cultivated by a shrine or temple shall, upon its application made within six months from the date of enforcement of the present Law, be regarded as being placed under the profit-sharing system in accordance with the provisions of the National Forest and Field Law as from the date of enforcement of the present Law, if the competent Minister consider it particularly necessary for the administration and management of the forest.
Art.13. When a former custodial forest is neither to be given in accordance with the provision of Art.1 nor to be placed under the profit-sharing system in accordance with the preceding Article, the shrine or temple will be compensated for the cost of improvements thereupon as may be provided by Imperial Ordinance.
To allow the compensation in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the Custodial Forests Disposition Committee shall be consulted with.
Art.14. In case an Imperial Household property, as provided by the Imperial Household Property Ordinance, which is leased free of charge to a religious institution at the time of enforcement of the present Law is to be converted into a miscellaneous property as provided by the National Property Law, the present Law shall be applicable to the property from the time when it becomes a miscellaneous property. In this case, however, in Art.1, par.1, "the title of which has devolved upon the State" shall read, "the title of which has devolved upon the Imperial Household," and, "in the name of a local public body" shall read, "in the name of the State or a local public body."
The miscellaneous property as indicated in the preceding paragraph, in case it is decided to be given or sold in accordance with the provisions of Art.1, par.1, Art.2, par.1, or Art.5, par.1, shall be regarded as leased free of charge to the religious institution from the date when it becomes a miscellaneous property up to the date of grant or sale.