Article 1.(Object of the present Law)　Examination by the people into the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court shall be governed by the present Law.

Article 2.(Date of Examination)　Examination shall be carried out for each of the judges on the date of the first general election of members of the House of Representatives following their appointment.

Article 3.(Districts where examination is to be carried out)　Examination shall be carried out throughout the districts of all of the Metropolis, District, Special Prefectures and Prefectures.

Article 4.(Right of examination)　Any person who has right to vote for members of the House of Representatives has the right of examination.

Article 5.(Notification of the date of examination and of the full names of judges)　The people's examination of the supreme court judges administration committee must notify the date of examination and the full names of judges to be examined in the Official Gazette at least twenty-five (25) days prior to the date of_examination.

Article 6.(Manner of examination)　Examination shall be conducted by means of ballot.

Article 7.(Voting districts and ballot counting districts)　Voting districts and ballot-counting districts for examination shall coincide with voting districts and ballot-counting districts for election of members of the House of Representatives.

Article 8.(Lists of the persons having right of examination)　For examination, the poll books for election of members of the House of Representatives shall be used.

Article 9.(The People's Examination of the Supreme-Court Judges Administration Committee)　There shall be established the People's Examination of the Supreme-Court Judges Administration Committee (hereinafter to be referred to as People's Examination Administration Committee) in order to have it administer the business pertaining to the examination.

Article 10.(Supervision of business partaining to examination)　The People's Examination of judges administration committee shall control and supervise the electoral administration committees of the Metropolis, District, Special Prefectures and Prefectures with respect to the business pertaining to examination.

Article 11.(Where judges have retired and so forth)　Where any of the judges to be examined has lost his office or died prior to the date of examination, no examination shall be carried out with respect to the appointment of such judge.

Article 12.(Taking charge of the business pertaining to voting)　Voting overseers at the election of members of the House of Representatives shall take up the post of voting overseers in the case of examination and shall take charge of the business pertaining to voting for examination.

Article 13.(Time and place of voting)　Voting for examination shall be conducted at polling-places for the election of members of the House of Representatives and simultaneously with voting for the election.

Article 14.(Form of the ballot paper)　The ballot paper shall bear the full names of the Judges to be examined printed in the order as determined by the People's Examination Administration Committee by drawing.

Article 15.(Manner of voting)　Each examiner shall personally mark the ballot paper within the column opposite the names of the judges whose dismissal is considered desirable, and leave the column in blank in regard to the judges whose removal he does not consider desirable, and cast it into the ballot-box.

Article 16.(Voting by braille points)　In the case of the voting in braille points, each examiner shall personally enter on the ballot paper the name of a judge whose dismissal is considered desirable, and leave it in blank in regard to the judges whose dismissal is not sought, and cast it into the ballot box.

Article 17.(Record of voting)　Voting overseers shall make records of voting, shall state thereon the state of affairs concerning the voting and shall sign their names thereon together with the voting witnesses concerned.

Article 18.(Secrecy of voting)　No person shall be obliged to state anything about the contents of the examiner's voting for examination.

Article 19.(Taking charge of the business pertaining to counting of ballot)　Ballot-counting overseers at the election of members of the House of Representatives shall take up the post of ballot-counting overseers in the case of examination and shall take charge of the business pertaining to ballot-counting of examination.

Article 20.(Time and place of ballot-counting)　Ballot-counting of examination shall be conducted at polling-places for the election of members of the House of Representatives on the voting day or on its following day (if there are two or more voting districts within one ballot-counting district, then on the day when all of the transmitted ballot-boxes have been received by the ballot-counting authorities concerned or on its following day.)

Article 21.(Examination of voting and the report of results)　Ballot-counting overseers shall, upon having completed the examination of voting for examination, forthwith report the results thereof to the chairman of the examination branch council concerned.

Article 22.(Validity of a vote)　The following votes cast for the examination shall be null and void.

Article 23.(Record of ballot-counting)　Ballot-counting overseers shall maks records of ballot-counting, shall state thereon the state of affairs concerning the ballot-counting and shall sign their names thereon together with the ballot-counting witnesses concerned.

Article 24.(Preservation of ballots and so forth)　Ballots cast in the case of examination shall be preserved by the electoral administration committees of the cities, towns or villages concerned for a period of ten (10) years from the date for examination, having been classified into the valid and invalid ballots, and together with the records of voting and those of ballot-counting of examination.

Article 25.(Where no voting for election is carried out)　In case where no voting for election is carried out by virtue of the provisions of Article 71 of the Law for Election of Members of the House of Representatives, examination shall be carried out.

Article 26.(Other matters relating to voting and ballot-counting)　With the exception of the matters provided in the present Law or in an order to be issued in pursuance thereof, matters pertaining to voting and ballot-counting shall conform to those pertaining to voting and ballot-counting in the case of election of members of the House of Representatives.

Article 27.(Examination branch councils)　An Examination branch council shall be held at the office of the Metropolis, District, Special Prefectures or Prefectures concerned or at any other place fixed by the chairman of the examination council.

Article 28.(Record of the Examination Branch Council)　The Chairman of the Examination Branch Council shall make out a record of the said Council and describe thereon the state pertaining to the said Council and shall sign his name thereon together with the witnesses of the Examination Branch Council.

Article 29.(Report of the result of Examination Branch Council)　The Chairman of an Examination Branch Council, upon completion of the examination prescribed by the provisions of Paragraph 5 of the Article 27, shall forthwith report to the Chairman of Examination, for each of the judges, the number of the votes favoring his dismissal and of those opposed to the dismissal, with a copy of the minutes of the proceedings of the Examination Branch Council attached to such report.

Article 30.(Examination Council)　The examination council shall be held at a place designated by the chairman of examination.

Article 31.(Record of examination)　The chairman of examination shall make out a record of examination, shall describe thereon the state of the examination and shall sign his name thereon together with the examination witnesses.

Article 32.(A judge who has been voted for dismissal)　A judge about whom the votes favoring his dismissal exceed those opposing his dismissal shall be regarded as one to be dismissed, except where the number of the votes favoring his dismissal does not reach one-hundredth of the total number of the voters whose names appear in the poll-book for the election of Members of the House of Representatives as on the day of its determination.

Article 33.(Report and notification of the results of examination)　The chairman of examination shall, upon having completed the examination under the provisions of Article 30, paragraph 5 forthwith report to the People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges Administration Committee the full name of any judge who is favored to be dismissed, the number of votes favoring his dismissal, the number of votes opposed to his dismissal and other circumstances of the examination.

Article 34.(Other matters relating to examination branch councils and the examination council)　With the exception of the matters provided in the present Law or in an order to be issued in pursuance thereof, with respect to examination branch councils and the examination council, the provisions of Chapter VI of the Law for the Election of Members of the House of Representatives shall apply with the necessary modifications.

Article 35.(Effect of dismissal)　A judge whose dismissal has been favored shall be dismissed after the lapse of the time during which an action under Article 36 or Article 38 may be brought (and, in case where such action has been brought on the day when the case has ceased to be pending in the Court or on the day on which a Judgment overruling the objection become final).

Article 36.(Action for the nullity of examination)　Any person having the right for examination or the judge whom the votes prescribed in paragraph 1 of the preceding Article have favored to dismiss may, if he has objection as to the validity of such examination, bring an action against the chairman of the People's Examination Administration Committee to the Tokyo High Court within thirty (30) days of the date on which the notification under the provisions of Article 33, paragraph 2 has been effected.

Article 37.(Judgment pronouncing examination null and void)　In an action brought in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article, if any contravention of the present Law or an order issued thereunder is made in regard to examination, the Court shall render a judgment pronouncing the whole or a part of the examination null and void, only in cases where there is apprehension that the result of the examination might be changed owing to such contravention.

Article 38.(Action for the nullity of dismissal)　A judge whose dismissal has been favored may, if he has objection as to the validity of the dismissal, bring an action against the chairman of the People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges Administration Committee to the Tokyo High Court within thirty (30) days of the date on which the notification in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 Paragraph 2 has been effected.

Article 39.(Order of judgment)　With respect to actions brought in accordance with the provision of Article 36 or the preceding Article, the Court shall speedily render judgment thereon, giving such actions priority irrespectively of the order of other actions.

Article 40.(Notice concerning actions)　If an action under the provisions of any of Articles 36 and 38 has been brought or has ceased to be pending at a Court, or a judgment has become final and conclusive on the said action, the president of the Court concerned shall forthwith give notice to that effect to the Prime Minister and the People's Examination Administrative Committee.

Article 41.(Procedure)　Except as otherwise provided in Article 36 to the preceding Article inclusive, with respect to an action brought in accordance with the provisions of any of Articles 36 or 38, the rules of civil procedure (except renewal of prodecure) shall govern.

Article 42.(Notification of nullity of examination and so forth)　If, as a result of an action brought in accordance with the provisions of any of Articles 36 or 38, a judgment pronouncing examination or dimissal null and void has become final and conclusive, the People's Examination Administration Committee shall forthwith notify to that effect in the Official Gazette.

Article 43.(Renewal of Examinations)　In cases where the whole or a part of an examination has become null and void as a result of an action brought in accordance with the provisions of any of Articles 36 or 38, another examination shall be carried out again except as the result of the examination may be fixed without conducting another voting for examination in accordance with the provision of Paragraph 5.

Article 44.(Crimes of giving interests and so forth)　Any person who commits any of the acts enumerated in any of the following items, shall be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labor for a term not exceeding three (3) years or to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand (20,000) yen:

Article 45.(confiscation and additional imposition)　In any of the cases mentioned in the preceding Article, any interest received by or delivered to the offender shall be confiscated. In case the confiscation thereof is impracticable in whole or in part, the value of such interest shall be additionally imposed upon the offender.

Article 46.(Crimes obstructing freedom of examination)　Any person who commits any of the acts enumerated in any of the following items, shall be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labor for a term not exceeding four (4) years or to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand (30,000) yen:

Article 47.(Crimes abusing official powers and so forth)　If, with respect to examination, any governmental or local official or any of the persons mentioned in the former part of Article 44, Paragraph 2 intentionally neglect to perform his official duties, or obstructs freedom of examination with the abusive exercise of his official power, he shall be liable to imprisonment without hard labor for a term not exceeding four (4) years.

Article 48.(Crimes of publishing false matters)　No matter whether by means of speech or by means of newspapers, magazines, handbills or posters or by any other means, any person who commits any of the acts enumerated in the following items shall be liable to imprisonment without hard labor for a term not exceeding two (2) years or to a fine not exceeding ten thousand (10,000) yen;and in the case of publication by means of newspapers or magazines, any of their editors or of the persons who actually have taken charge of the editing also shall be punished in the same manner:

Article 49.(Application on with the necessary modifications of the penal provisions in the Law for the Election of Members of the House of Representatives)　With respect to examination, the provisions of Articles 117 to 125 inclucive,127,128,138 and 147 of the Law for the Election of Members of the House of Representatives shall apply with the necessary modifications. In this case, the following modifications shall be made, as the case may be;namely;in Article 117 of the same Law, for "Article 8" there shall be substituted the words "the former part of Article 44, Paragraph 2 of the Law of the People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges" ;for "the full name of the eligible person who has been voted" the words "the contents of vote" ;in Article 118 of the same Law, for "the full name of the eligible person" the words "the contents of vote" ;in Article 119 of the same Law, for "the chairman of election" the Words "any of the chairman of examination branch councils, the chairman of the examinations" ;for "the places of election councils" the words "the places of examination branch councils and the place of examination council" ;in Article 120 of the same Law, for "Article 115, Item 1 or the preceding Article" the words "Article 46, Item 1 or the preceding Article of the Law of People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges" ;in Article 122 of the same Law, for "the places of election Council" the words "the places of examination branch councils and the place of the examination council" ;in Article 125 of the same Law, for "Articles 112 and 113, Article 115" the words "Articles 44 and 46 of the Law of the People's Examination the Supreme Court Judges as well as the present Law" ;in Article 127, Paragraph 4, for "Article 8" the words "the former part of Article 44, Paragraph 2 of the Law of the People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges" ;and in Article 147, for "Chapter XII" the words "Chapter VII of the Law of the People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges."

Article 50.(Loss of office of the People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges Administration Commissioner and so forth)　Any People's Examination of the Supreme Court Judges Administration Commissioner, any voting overseer, any ballot-counting overseer, any chairman of an examination branch council or any chairman of examination shall lose his office in case he has lost his right to examine.

Article 51.(Expenses)　The expenses concerning the execution of examination shall be borne by the state.

Article 52.(Posting up a notice of the full names of the judges to be reviewed)　Electoral adminstration committees of Cities, Towns and Villages shall post up a notice of any of the full names of the judges to be reviewed, in accordance with the provisions which may be made by a Cabinet Order.

Article 53.(Issue of Official Bulletin concerning Examination)　Electoral Administration Committee of the Metropolis, District, Special Prefectures or Prefectures shall issue Official Bulletin concerning the examination stating therein the full names, careers and other matters that may have bearings on the examination.

Article 54.(Application to Special Examination Wards and so forth)　The provisions relating to Cities in the present Law shall apply to Special Wards, Administrative Wards and Wards, so far as the area in Tokyo Metropolis divided into Wards, Special Cities and the Cities mentioned in Article 155, Paragraph 2 of the Local Self-Government Law are concerned.

Article 55.(Exceptions as to associations of towns and villages and so forth)　With respect to the applications of the present Law, a whole-affairs-association or an office-affairs-association shall be deemed as a single town and village, and electoral administration committees and electoral admininstration commissioners of such association shall respectively be deemed as electoral administration committees and electoral administration commissioners of town and village.

Article 56.(Exceptions as to places most difficult of access and so forth)　Special provisions may be made by a Cabinet Order in regard to matters to which the psovisions of the present Law are difficult to apply on islands or such other places most difficult of access.

Article 57.(Provisions with respect to the enforcement)　Provisions which may be necessary in connection with the enforcement of the present Law shall be fixed by a Cabinet Order.