I hereby promulgate the Law for Business of Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery, Judo-Orthopaedy etc.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This twentieth day of the twelfth month of the twenty-second year of Showa (December 20, 1947)
Prime Minister KATAYAMA Tetsu
Law for Business of Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery, Judo-Orthopaedy etc.
Article 1. Except a physician, one who wants to do business of Massage (including "Massage," and hereinafter the same), Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery or Judo-Orthopaedy shall receive licence for Massage Technician:Acupuncture Technician, Moxa-Cautery Technician or Judo-Orthopaedy Technician (hereinafter to be called simply licence).
Article 2. The licence shall be given by the governor of urban or local prefecture to one who is a graduate of an accredited school or training institution and who have passed the examination held by the governor of urban or local prefecture.
Those who are allowed to enter the school or the training institution mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be those provided in Art.47 of the School Education Law.
The lessons in the school or the training institution mentioned in Paragraph 1 shall include anatomy, physiology, pathology and hygiene, and the minimum course of the instruction shall be 2 years on Massage, and 4 years on Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery and Judo-Orthopaedy.
Article 3. The licence shall not be given to one who comes under any one of the following items:
1. One who is suffering from a mental disease;
2. One who suffering from an infectious disease, is unsuitable for practising business mentioned in Art.1;
3. One who is unsuitable for practising business mentioned in Art.1, having committed a crime or done wrong deed concerning the business, mentioned in Art.1;
4. One who is unsuitable for practising business mentioned in Art.1, being of notoriously bad character.
Article 4. A technician who does business of Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery or Judo-Orthopaedy (hereinafter to be called the technician) shall not perform any conduct such as surgical operation, prescription and administration of drugs.
Article 5. Massage Technicians and Judo-Orthopaedy Technicians shall not, unless having gotten the consent of the doctor, be permitted to treat in the part of dislocation or fracture of a bone. However, this is not applicable when Judo-Orthopaedy Technicians give the first aid.
Article 6. When a Acupuncture Technician applies Acupuncture, he or she shall sterilize the needle for Acupuncture, fingers and the part of body where the treatment is done.
Article 7. Concerning the business of Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery and Judo-Orthopaedy, any one shall not advertise what are concerned in technical ability, procedures of treatment or career for the business.
Article 8. The governor of urban or local prefecture may, when he considers that it may be harmful from the hygienical point of view, give necessary indications to the technician concerning his or her business.
Medical associations may present the opinion to the governor of urban or local prefectures regarding indications above mentioned.
Article 9. When the technician comes under any one of the items of Art.3 the governor of urban or local prefecture shall suspend the business during a fixed term or cancel the licence.
Article 10. The governor of urban or local prefecture may cause the technician to report concerning necessary matters or cause competent officials to visit a place of such treatment and make necessary inspection of the cleanliness and structure of the place.
The competent officials who make the inspection under the provision of the preceding paragraph shall take the certificate with him.
Article 11. Except for what is provided for by this Law, necessary matters concerning the licence, subject and procedure etc., of examination, the cleanliness and the standard structure of the place for treatment will be fixed by the Ministerial Ordinance.
When the place for treatment violates the Ordinance under the preceding paragraph, or are deemed to be harmful in the view point of hygiene, the governor of urban or local prefecture may restrict or forbid the use of all or a part or order to repair or reconstruct tham.
Article 12. Anyone shall not do businees of the Quasi Medical Practice, except those mentioned in Art.1.
Article 13. The central and local consultative committees for the business of Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery and Judo-Orthopaedy shall be established from among technicians medical doctors and men of learning and experience to investigate and deliberate important matters concerning the accrediting and examination provided in Art.2, Par.1, the indication provided in Art.8 and the measure provided in Art.11, Par.2, answering an inquiry of the Minister of Welfare or the governor of urban or local prefecture.
The said committee shall be in concurrence with the Minister of Welfare or governor of urban or local prefecture.
The said committee shall consist of one chairman and members not more than 12, who shall be appointed by the Minister of Welfare or governor of urban or local prefecture on nonpaid basis.
Except for what is provided for in the preceding three paragraphs, necessary matters concerning the said committee shall be fixed in a Cabinet Order.
Article 14. One who comes under any one of the following items shall be liable to a fine not more than 5,000 yen:
1. One who did business of Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery or Judo-Orthopaedy in violation of the provision of Art.1;
2. One who violated Arts.5 to 7 inclusive or Art.12, or the indication provided in Art.8, Par.1;
3. The technician who did business during suspension of business under the provision of Art.9;
4. One who neglects report or makes faise reports or refuses, disturbs or challenges such inspection as provided in Art.10, Par.1;
5. One who violated the Ministerial Ordinance concerning the licence or the cleanliness and standard structure or place for treatment under the provision of Art.11, Par.1 or measures under the provision of Art.11, Par.2.
Supplementary Provisions:
Article 15. This Law shall come into force as from January 1, 1948.
Article 16. Measures of the licence or suspension of the business that has been done according to the Home Ministry Ordinance No.10, 1911 (the Massage Business Control Regulation), the Home Ministry Ordinance No.11, 1911, (the Acupuncture, Moxa Cautery Business Control Regulations), the Welfare Ministry Ordinance No.47, 1946, (the Judo-Orthopaedy Business Control Regulations) or the Welfare Ministry Ordinance No.28, 1946 (Ordinance for special dealing concerning the Massage Business Control Regulations and t Acupuncture and Moxa-Cautery Business Control Regulations and Judo-Orthopaedy Business Control Regulations) shall be deemed as having been done according to corresponding provisions of this Law.
Article 17. Until June 30, 1948, the governor of urban or local prefecture may give the licence to one who is qualified to be licenced according to provisions mentioned in the preceding Article and could not have received it by some unavoidable reasons, in spite of the provision of Art.2.
Article 18. To one who has received the licence for Massage, Acupuncture, Moxa-Cautery or Judo-Orthopaedy in places other than Japan proper according to their regulations in those places and has repatriated to Japan prper on and after August 15, 1945, the governor of urban or local prefecture may give the licence, notwithstanding the provision of Art.2, investigating his or her personal history without examination, until December 31, 1948.
Article 19. One who has been practising business of the Quasi-Medical Practice except those mentioned in Art.1 for more than 3 months prior to the enactment of this Law and who reports to the governor of urban or local prefecture concerning matters fixed by Ministerial Ordinance within 3 months after the enforcement of this Law, may practise its business of the Quasi-Medical Practices until December 31, 1955, notwithstanding the provision of Art.12.
Provisions of Art.4, Art.7, Art.8, Art.10 and Art.11 shall be applicable to one mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
The governor of urban or local prefecture, when he deems it specially harmful from the hygienical point of view or when one mentioned in Par.1 comes under Art.3, may suspend the business for a fixed term or forbid all or a part of the business.
Article 20. Committees provided in Art.13 shall have the right to investigate and deliberate important matters concerning the prohibition of the business provided in Art.19, Par.3 answering an inquiry of the Minister of Welfare or the governor of urban or local prefecture.
Article 21. One who comes under any one of the following items, shall be liable to a fine not more than 5,000 yen:
1. One who violated the provision of Art.7 which is applicable by Par.2 of Art.19;
2. One who did business during suspension of business by Art.19, Par.3 or did business being forbidden by the same paragraph;
3. One who neglects report or makes false reports, disturbs or challenges an inspection provided in Art.10, Par.1, which is applicable by Par.2 of Art.19;
4. One who violated the ordinance concerning the cleanliness and standard structure of places for treatment under the provisions of Art.11, Par.1 or the indication provided in Art.8, Par.1 which is applicable by Par.2 of Art.19 or measures under the provisions of Art.11, Par.2.
Minister of Education MORITO Tatsuo
Minister of Welfare HITOTSUMATSU Sadayoshi
Prime Minister KATAYAMA Tetsu