Chapter 1. General Provisions
Article 1.(Object of this law.) The object of this law is to contribute to smooth economic activity-of the people by furnishing there with the postal transfer savings service universally and impartially as a simple and sure means of remittance and settlement of credit and debit.
Article 2.(Postal transfer savings service as state function and duties of Minister of Communications.) Postal transfer savings service shall be conducted by the state under the administration of the Minister of Communications.
The Minister of Communications shall, in order to attain the object of this law, be responsible for the following:
1. To issue Ministerial Ordinances in accordance with the provisions of treaties and laws relative to the postal transfer service;
2. To designate the post offices which treat postal transfer and fix the hours of attendance to postal transfer at post office, not inconsistent with law;
3. To establish or discontinue transfer office, not inconsistent with law;
4. To direct and supervise persons engaged in postal transfer service with reference to their duties;
5. Not inconsistent with law, to provide welfare, health and other necessary facilities for increase of efficiency of persons engaged in postal tranfer service, and to train such persons;
6. To make necessary contracts for the performance of the postal transfer service in accordance with the provisions of laws and ordinances relative to finance and accounting;
7. To perform any other duties relating to postal transfer service which are imposed by laws and ordinances.
Article 3.(Authorization of duties of Minister of Communications.) The Minister of Communications may delegate his authority to the Director of Communications Bureau or postmaster with respect to the performance of minor details of his duties provided for by this law, fixing necessary conditions therefor.
Article 4.(Government officials engaged in postal transfer service.) Matters concerning the status, compensation and performance of duty of goverment officials engaged in the postal transfer service shall be specially prescribed by law.
Article 5.(Exemption from stamp duty.) Documents concerning the postal transfer shall be exempted from stamp duty.
Article 6.(Treaties with respect to postal transfer sayings.) Any provision, with respect to postal transfer savings, contained in treaties shall preferentially apply.
Article 7.(Contens of service.) The postal transfer service shall be to transact the following business through an account of the postal transfer prepared for an account owner:
1. To credit to the occount the amount paid in by an account owner or other person.
2. To transfer the deposit from the account of an account owner to the other designated by him.
3. To debit against the account of an account owner and effect the payment to him or other person.
Article 8.(Name of account.) The name of ownership of an account shall be that of an account owner.(incase of juridical person, the name thereof, herein after the same in this Article.)
The trade name, shop name or any other name than the proper name of an account owner shall not be used as that of the account without the approval of Ministry of Communications Organization.
The name mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be limited to one per account.
In case an account owner has got the approval mentioned in Paragraph 2, he shall pay five yen as charge.
Article 9.(Seal.) An account owner or agent for seal shall put the seal which has been notified to Ministry of Communications Organization when he makes an application of any kind concerning the postal transfer.
In the case mentioned in the preceding paragraph, if there is a participant sealer designated by an account owner, the former also shall put the seal notified to Ministry of Communications Organization.
The seal mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs shall he limited to one per account respectively.
Article 10.(Agent for seal.) An agent for seal designated by an account owner may apply for the transfer and pay-out for the account owner.
Only one agent for seal shall be allowed.
Article 11.(Participant sealer.) Only one participant sealer shall be allowed.
Article 12.(Representative of nonjuridical person organization.) With respect to the postal transfer of nonjuridical person organization, one representative of the organization shall be established.
With respect to the rights and duties concerning the postal transfer mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the representative shall be regarded as an account owner.
Article 13.(Transfer of right of account owner concerning postal transfer.) The right of account owner concerning postal transfer may be transferred after getting approval of the Minister of Communications.
When the transfer under the provision of the preceding paragraph hasn bee effected, a transferee shall succeed all the obligations which the transferee has owed to Ministry of Communications Organization in connection with the account.
On approval mentioned in Paragraph 1, twenty yen shall be collected as charge at the transfer office by deducting the sum from the account.
Article 14.(Evidence.) Ministry of Communications Organization may require any account owner, agent for seal, participant sealer, the payee of the amount of pay-out or balance of deposits, or a person to whom the amount of pay-in is to be refunded, of presentation of necessary evidence for ascertaining his identity.
Article 15.(Legal transfer etc.) In case the deposit has been transferred, paid out, the amount of payout or balance of deposit has been paid or the amount of pay-in has been refunded through the procedures provided for by this law and regulations based on this law, such transfer, pay-out, payment or refundment shall be assumed as having been effected legally.
Article 16.(Exemption from responsibility.) In the following cases, Ministry of Communications Organization shall not compensate for the loss caused by the delay in transaction of the postal transfer:
1. When the delivery of documents concerning pay-in, transfer or pay-out has been delayed;
2. When the documents concerning pay-in, transfer or pay-out are defective;
3. When the amount of pay-out, balance of deposit or amount of pay-in to be refunded can not be paid at the paying post office, on account of insufficiency of fund or of force majeure.
Article 17.(Interest.) The interest on postal transfer savings shall be allowed on the amount above yen unit of the lowest balance of account (in case there are two or more balances in a day, the last one;hereinafter the same in this Article), among those of the days from beginning to end of month, at the rate of 2.28% per annum. However, no interest shall be allowed for the month having the day that has no balance, and on the excess, in case a balance exceeds 100,000 yen.
The interest computed in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall he credited to the principal at the end of March every year. However, when the account is closed in accordance with the provisions of Article 55 or Paragraph 2 of Article 56, the interest shall be credited to the principal on each occasion.
Article 18.(Charges for pay-in, transfer and pay-out). The charges for pay-in, transfer and pay-out are as follows:
1. Pay-in:
Telegraphic pay-in:
For above 10,000 yen, 10 yen shall be charged additionally for every 10,000 yen or fraction thereof, besides 50 yen.
2. Transfer:
Telegraphic transfer:
Between accounts within the same transfer office \5.00
Between accounts in different transfer offices \10.00
3. Pay-out:
Ordinary cash payment and check payment
For above 10,000 yen, 2 yen shall be charged additionally for every 5,000 yen or fraction thereof, desides 8 yen.
Telegraphic cash payment:
In case a notice as to the telegraphic pay-in, telegraphic transfer or telegraphic cash payment is sent by urgent telegram, the charges for telegraphic pay-in, telegraphic transfer or telegraphic cash payment shall be double as much as the charges prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
In case of making an inquiry by telegraph regarding the check payment, the charge for check payment shall be as much as the total of the charges provided in Paragraph 1 (in case by urgenf telegram, double as much as the charge provided in the same paragraph) and the amount to be fixed by Ministerial Ordinance, basing on the rate of telegram charge.
Article 19.(Deduction of and exemption from charges for pay-in, and pay-out.) In case an account owner makes a pay-in to his own account, applies for ordinary cash payment, designating himself as a payee, or applies for check payment by a check issued on himself, he shall be exemption from charges of preceding Article. However, in case of making telegraphic pay-in, ten yen per application;and in case of applying for an inquiry by telegraph regarding the payment by check which is issued on himself, the amount, resulted from the deduction of the charge for check payment prescribed in Paragraph 1 of preceding Article from that of Paragraph 3 of the same Article, shall be collected as charge from the account owner.
In case mentioned in the preceding paragraph, when the account owner has transferred to some one else the right of the payee for the amount of pay-out, the charge for pay-out provided in preceding Article shall be collected from the account owner.
In case the account owner, whose transfer office is in the locality of a clearing house, designating a bank as the payee, a check which is to be paid through the clearing house, the charge for pay-out thereof shall be two yen regardless of the provision of preceding Article.
In case the bank owing an account applies for ordinary cash payment by simple procedures providid for by Ministerial Ordinance with the purpose of crediting the amount of pay-out to the amount of the current deposit in the bank designated by the Minister of Communications, the charge for pay-out shall be the same as that for ordinary transfer regardless of the provision of the preceding Article.
In case the pay-out applied for has not been realized owing to the lack of the balance on the account or for other reasons, the charges for telegraphic cash payment subject to inquiry by telegraph shall be subject to the rate fixed by Ministerial Ordinance basing on the telegram charges, regardless of the provision of the preceding Article.
Article 20.(Way of collecting charges.) The charge for pay-in shall be collected from the payer-in at the time of pay-in;as for transfer or pay-out, it shall be collected by deducting from the deposit of the account at the time when the deposit is withdrawn from the account. However, the charge for pay-in prescribed in Paragraph 5 of the preceding Article shall be collected by deducting from the deposit of the account of the account owner at the transfer office when it receives the information under the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 38 or the inquiry under the provision of Paragraph 3 of the same Article.
As regards the ordinary pay-in which is made with the pay-in slip with an indication to the effect that the charge is to be borne by receiving account owner, the charge thereof shall be collected by deducting from the account.
The charges or prices concerning the postal transfer other than the charges for pay-in, transfer and pay-out which are to be collected from the account owner, may be collected by way of deducting from the deposit of his account.
In the treatment of C. O. D. mail matter, when the collection is paid in to the account of the sender by Ministry of Communications Organization according to the sender's designation, the charge for the pay-in shall be collected by deducting from the deposit of his account.
Article 21.(Refundment of charges.) Of the charges concerning the postal transfer which have been already paid, only the following shall be refunded at the request of the payer:
1. Charges overpaid or mispaid;
2. The differences between the charges for the telegraphic pay-in, telegraphic transfer or telegraphic cash payment and the ordinary pay-in, ordinary transfer or ordinary cash payment, when the treatment of telegraphic pay-in, telegraphic transfer or telegraphic cash payment has proved no more effective than the treatment of ordinary pay-in, ordinary transfer or ordinary cash payment, through the negligence on the part of persons engaged in the postal transfer service;
3. Charges for the application the purpose of which has not been realized through the negligence on the part of persons engaged in the postal transfer service, excepting the case mentioned in the preceding item.
The application mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not be allowed after the lapse of one year from the date of payment of the charges.
Article 22.(Restriction on utilization and suspension of service.) In case of natural disasters or force majeure, if necessary, the Minister of Communications may restrict the utilization of the postal transfer or suspend a part of the service designating transfer office or post offices and fixing period, to ensure the essential services in operation.
Article, 23.(Treatment for emergency.) In case of natural disasters or extraordinary calamity if it is necessary to meet the urgent needs of the afflicted account owners or payees, the Minister of Communications may exempt the charges or make the expedient treatment concerning the postal transfer, designating post offices and fixing period, in accordance with the provisions as may be provided for by Ministerial Ordinance.