I hereby promulgate the Law for Temporary Establishment of Liaison and Coordination Offices.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This thirty-first day of the first month of the twenty-third year of Showa (January 31, 1948)
Prime Minister KATAYAMA Tetsu
Law for Temporary Establishment of Liaison and Coordination Offices
Article 1. Liaison and Coordination Offices shall be temporarily established under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, to take charge of liaison and contact with the Allied Power authorities, and also integration and coordination of the business of the various offices in connection therewith.
Article 2. The Liaison and Coordination Offices shall comprise a Central Liaison and Coordinaton Offices and Local Liaison and Coordination Offices.
The Local Liaison and Coordination Offices shall, besides the affairs mentioned in the preceding paragraph, handle the business concerning special properties and reparations.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Director-General of the Board of Reparations shall direct and supervise the directors of the Local Liaison and Coordination Offices with respect to the business mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Article 3. The Central Liaison and Coordinaiton Offices shall have a Director-General's Secretariat and three Divisions.
Article 4. The Director-General's Secretariat shall be in charge of matters respecting personnel, documents and accounts as well as other miscellaneous affairs of the Central Liaison and Coordination Office.
Article 5. The First Division shall be in charge of correspondence and liaison in general with the Allied Powers authorities as well as matters concerning the Local Liaison and Coordination Offices.
Article 6. The Second Division shall be in charge of integration and coordination of the business of the various offices in connection with liaison with the Allied Powers authorities.
Article 7. The Third Division shall be in charge of liaison concerning the military tarial conducted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the military trials conducted by members of the Allied Powers.
Article 8. Local Liaison and Coordination Offices shall be established in the cities of Yokohama, Sapporo, Sendai, Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Kure, Takamatsu, and Fukuoka.
The Prime Minister may, when and where it is necessary, establish branch offices of Local Liaison and Coordination Offices, which will handle part of the business of Local Liaison and Coordination Offices.
Article 9. The Central Liaison and Coordination Offices shall have one Director-General.
The Director-General shall manage the affairs of the Office and direct and supervise the personnel under him as well as effect at his discretion any change to be made in the status of third class officials of the Central and the Local Offices.
Article 10. Necessary matters concerning the personnel of the Liaison and Coordination Offices shall be provided for by Cabinet Order.
The detailed organization of the Liaison and Coordination Offices shall be prescribed by the Director-General.
Article 11. For the purpose of deliberating on matters concerning integration and coordination of the business of the various offices in connection with liaison with the Allied Powors authorities, Liaison and Coordination Committees may be organized within the Liaison and Coordination Offices, as provided for by Cabinet Order.
Supplementary Provisions:
Article 12. The present Law shall come into force as from February 1, 1948.
Article 13. The branch offices of Local Liaison and Coordination Offices to be established at the time of enforcement of this Law shall be as follows:
The branch offices of the Yokohama Liaison and Coordination Offices, -
The branch offices of the Kyushu Liaison and Coordination Office, -
Article 14. The following Imperial Ordinance are hereby repealed:
The Imperial Ordinance concerning the Organization of Liaison Offices and
The Imperial Ordinance for Temporary Establishment of the Reparations Division in the Central Liaison Office.
Article 15. The Imperial Ordinance concerning the Organization of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall partially be amended as follows:
In Article 1, "emigration and overseas colonization enterprises" shall read "emigration and overseas colonization enterprises and affairs relative to special properties."
In Article 3, "four offices" shall read "five offices," and "The Office of Special Properties" shall be added next to "The Offce of Control."
In Article 7, "affairs as well as" shall read "affairs," "and affairs relative to repatriation" shall be added next to"such other affairs concerning the said areas as may be specified by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Article 8 shall read Article 9, Article 9 shall read Article 11 and Article 10 shall read Article 12.
Article 8. The Offices of Special Properties shall be in charge of affairs relative to investigation, custody and disposition of the object to be restituted to the Allied Powers as required by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers as well as affairs relative to special properties.
Article 10. There shall be established in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs the Offices of Special Records to take charge of affairs relating to compilation and study of the records concerning the occupation of Japan. The Office of Special Records shall have one Director who shall be appointed from among the first class officials of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and who shall, under the direction of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, manage the Affairs of the Office.
Article 16. Law No.239, 1947 (Law concerning Adjustment of Laws and Ordinance Consequent on the Abolition of the Imperial Ordinance governing the Organization of the Ministry for Home Affairs, etc.) shall partially be amended as follows: