I hereby promulgate the Law concerning the Establishment of the Construction Board.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month of the twenty-second year of Showa (December 26, 1947)
Prime Minister KATAYAMA Tetsu
The Law concerning the Establishment of the Construction Board
Article 1. The Construction Board shall, under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, take charge of affairs concerning national land-planning, local-planning and city-planning;affairs concerning topography;affairs concerning expropriation of land, affairs concerning civil engineering such as rivers, roads, sand control, and public-owned water surfaces (with the exception of those within harbors) and streams, affairs concerning housing, residential lots, construction, maintenance of buildings to be defrayed by the National Treasury and contract business of civil engineering and construction works (except as otherwise provided by law) and technical supervision and inspection of all construction works required by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in order to prevent undue expenditure of governmental funds.
Article 2. The Construction Board shall consist of the President's Secretariate and the following six Bureaus:
Special Construction Bureau.
Article 3. The President's Secretariate shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning confidences;
2. Matters concerning the appointment, dismissal and status of personnel;
3. Matters concerning the inspection of the administration under the charge of the Board;
4. Matters concerning the receiving, forwarding, compiling and safe-keeping of official documents;
5. Matters concerning the budget, settlement of accounts, and account;
6. Matters concerning enlightment, publicity and liaison business.
Article 4. The General Affairs Bureau shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning national land-planning and local-planning;
2. Matters concerning geographical survey;
3. Matters concerning materials, machines and tools;
4. Matters concerning funds and labour;
5. Matters concerning statistics and investigations pertaining to administration under the charge of the Board and matters concerning the coordination and adjustment of administration of the Board;
6. Matters concerning the contract business of civil engineering and architecture;
7. Matters concerning the supervision over the business of the Tohoku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha;
8. Matters concerning the execution of the Law for Controlling Moving-in of people to Municipal Areas;
9. Matters not under the charge of the President's Secretariate or the other Bureaux.
Article 5. The Rivers and Canal Bureau shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning rivers;
2. Matters concerning sand control;
3. Matters concerning public owned water surfaces (with the exception of those within harbors) and streams;
4. Matters concerning canals;
5. Matters concerning flood prevention associations.
Article 6. The Roads and Land Bureau shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning roads;
2. Matters concerning the franchise and supervision of tramways;
3. Matters concerning motor road works;
4. Matters concerning the management, use and expropriation of land;
5. Matters concerning residental lots;
6. Matters concerning the disposition of land and other property in the areas damaged by the war and other calamities.
Article 7. The City Bureau shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning city-planning;
2. Matters concerning the execution of city-planning works;
3. Matters concerning the execution of waterworks and sewage works.
Article 8. The Building Bureau shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning buildings;
2. Matters concerning housing.
Article 9. The Special Construction Bureau shall be in charge of the following business:
1. Matters concerning technical supervision and inspection of all kinds of construction and installation work as required by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in order to prevent undue expenditure of governmental funds;
2. Matters concerning the maintenance of buildings to be defrayed out of the National Treasury.
Article 10. The post of the head of the Construction Board shall be filled by a Minister of State.
Article 11. The Prime Minister may, in places where necessary, set up Public Works Branch Offices to take charge of public-works under government control, Construction Branch Offices to take charge of business concerning the control of construction, etc. in accordance with the provisions of Article 1, Item 1 of the Temporary Material Demand and Supply Adjustment Law, and Special Construction Branch Offices to take charge of business concerning affairs specified in Art.9.
Article 12. The Construction Board shall, if necessary, have Technical Research Institutes, which shall take charge of investigations, experiments and studies concerning civil engineering, architecture and city-planning, and also training of technicians.
The Construction Board shall have a Geographical Survey Institute, which shall take charge of land-surveying, map-making, etc.
Article 13. Necessary matters concerning the personnel of the Construction Board shall be provided by Cabinet Order.
The detailed organization of the Construction Board shall be determined by its head.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Art.3 to Art.9, inclusive. part of business assignment to each Bureau may, when necessary, be changed in individual cases as determined by the head of the Construction Board.
Supplementary Provisions:
The present Law shall come into force as from January 1, 1948.
With respect to those matters concerning the construction and maintenance of buildings to be defrayed from the National Treasury which belong to the jurisdiction of the various ministries at the time of the enforcement of the present Law, the present arrangements shall be continued until May 2, 1948, except as otherwise provided by law.