Law concerning the Establishment of the Ministry of Construction Chapter I. General Provisions

(Establishment) Article 1. The Ministry of Construction shall be established by this Law. 2. The Head of the Ministry of Construction shall be the Minister of Construction.

(Organs) Article 2. The Ministry of Construction shall have the Local Construction Bureaus as local branch offices in addition to the Ministry Proper.

Chapter II. Ministry Proper

(specific Functions of the Ministry proper, its Authority and Responsibility) Article 3. The scope of specific functions of the Ministry Proper shall be the following, and its authority and responsibility shall be exercised and assumed within such limits in accordance with law (inclusive of order in conformity with law): 1. Research and planning concerning national land planning and local planning; 2. Survey of land, making of maps and execution of other works accessory to these; 3. Control of affairs concerning the control of moving-in of people to municipal areas; 4. Supervision of business of the Tohoku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tohoku Industrial Co., Ltd.) and control of affairs relative to the enforcement of the Law concerning the Tohoku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Law No.15 of 1936); 5. Control of affairs concerning city planning and city planning works, and execution of city planning works; 6. Control of affairs concerning the enforcement of the Law regulating advertisements (Law No.70 of 1911); 7. Guidance and supervision of water-works and sewerage works; 8. Utilization, improvement, maintenance and management of rivers, streams and water-surfaces (except water-surfaces in harbors), and also their furtherance and supervision; 9. Execution, furtherance and supervision of works concerning sand-control and control of affairs concerning the enforcement of the Sand Control Law (Law No.19 of 1897); 10. Control of affairs concerning the reclamation of the public water surfaces (except those in harbors); 11. Control of affairs concerning canals; 12. Encouragement of the development and improvement of flood control, and furtherance and supervision of flood prevention associations; 13. Building, improvement, maintenance and management of roads, and furtherance and supervision thereof; 14. Damage restration of rivers, roads, sand-controllers, seaside embankments and its furtherance; 15. Control of affairs concerning the supervision of tramways; 16. Control of affairs concerning the supervision of motor-road works; 17. Control of affairs concerning the use and condemnation of land; 18. Investigation and planning concerning the readjustment of utilization of residential land; 19. Control of affairs concerning rights on land and things in war-damage areas or other stricken districts; 20. Control of affairs concerning the buildings in urban areas; 21. Control of affairs concerning the improvement of defective residential areas; 22. Encouragement of the development and improvement of building and superintendence concerning building; 23. Construction, supply, improvement and control of dwelling houses, etc. and assistance and superintendence thereof; 24. Control of affairs concerning the housing emergency measures; 25. Encouragement of the development and improvement of general contractors'work; 26. Construction and maintenance of the buildings to be defrayed by the National Treasury (except those provided by separate Law); 27. Disposal of the articles, etc. returned to the Government by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers; 28. Conduct of affairs concerning the inspection of the administration under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Construction; 29. Conduct of affairs concerning research statistics, experiment study and the collection, arrangement and compilation of materials with regard to the administration under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Construction; 30. Conduct of affairs concerning enlightenment and imformation service in regard to the administration under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Construction, and personnel, accounts and general affairs of the Ministry. The personnel affairs, however, shall be conducted in accordance with the National Public Service Law (Law No.120 of 1947).

(Internal Subdivisions of the Ministry Proper and their Specific Functions) Article 4. The Ministry Proper shall have the following six Bureaus as well as the Minister's Secretariats: General Affairs Bureau River Bureau Road Bureau City Bureau Building Bureau Special Construction Bureau 2 The Minister's Secretariat shall administer the affairs prescribed in items 28 and 30 of the preceding Article. 3 The General Affairs Bureau shall administer the affairs prescribed in items 1, 3, 4, 17, 25 and 27 of the preceding Article and the affairs prescribed in item 29 of the said Article except those concerning experiment and study. 4 The River Bureau shall administer the affairs prescribed in items 8 to 12 of the preceding Article and the affairs prescribed in item 14 of the said Article except those concerning guidance in the damage restoration works of roads. 5 The Road Bureau shall administer the affairs prescribed in items 13, 15 and 16 of the preceding Article and, of the affairs prescribed in item 14 of the said Article, those concerning guidance in the damage restoration works of roads. 6 The City Bureau shall administer the affairs prescribed in items 5 to 7 of the preceding Article and, of the affairs prescribed in item 20 of the said Article, those concerning the designation of zones and quarters in accordance with the Urban Building Law. 7 The Building Bureau shall administer the affairs prescribed in items 18, 19 and 21 to 24 of the preceding Article and the affairs prescribed in item 20 of the said Article except those concerning the designation of zones and quarters in accordance with the Urban Building Law. 8 The Special Construction Bureau shall administer the affairs prescribed in item 26 of the preceding Article and in Article 12.

(Field Organs of the Ministry Proper) Article 5. The Ministry of Construction shall have necessary Research Institutes. which shall be charged with the research, experiment and study concerning civil engineering, architecture and city planning, and also administer the affairs concerning the training of technical workers. 2 The Ministry of Construction shall have the Geographical Survey Institute, which shall administer the affairs prescribed in item 2 of Article 3. 3 The Ministry of Construction shall have the Headquarters of Construction Works, which shall administer the affairs prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 11.

Chapter III. Local Branch Offices

(Local Construction Bureaus) rticle 6. The Local Construction Bureaus shall be under the control of the Minister of Construction and partially administer affairs concerning the execution of engineering works such as river, road and sand-control works and other works under the direct control of the Government. 2 The names, locations, areas of jurisdiction, and other necessary matters of the Local Construction Bureaus shall be determined by Cabinet Order. 3 In order to make them administer a part of affairs of the Bureaus, the Minister of Construction may establish Work Offices where they are necessary. Their names, locations and other necessary matters Shall be determined by the Minister of Construction.

Chapter IV. Personnel and Details of Orgaization

Article 7. Necessary matters concerning the personnel of the Ministry of Construction shall be determined by Cabinet Order. 2 Details of the organization of the Ministry of Construction not prescribed in the present Law shall be determined by the Minister of Construction.

Supplementary Provision:

Article 8. The present Law shall come into force as from July 10, 1948.

Article 9. The Law concerning the Establishment of the Construction Board (Law No.237 of 1947) and Imperial Ordinance No.51 of 1946 concerning Execution by the Minister of Transportation of Entrusted Reconstruction Works in War-damaged Areas shall be deleted. Unless, however, otherwise proscribed by law (inclusive of ordinance in conformity with law), the existing organs and their personnel shall be corresponding organs and their personnel belonging to the Ministry of Construction in accordance with the present Law and continue to exist with the same nature as heretofore.

Article 10. Construction and maintenance of buildings to be defrayed by the National Treasury (except those prescribed by separate law) under the jurisdiction of each Minister on the day of the enforcement of the present Law shall be the same as heretofore for the time being.

Article 11. Until March 31, 1949, the Minister of Construction may, when entrusted by some person, execute works relative to the rehabilitation of war-damage areas and other urgent works. 2 The Minister of Construction may, when he deems it necessary, cause the truster to pay the funds to the National Treaury to be used for prosecuting affairs prescribed in the preceding paragraph. 3 The Minister of Construction may, in case of his conducting payment business of the truster in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1, cause the competent government official to handle the cash following the cash of government officials handling the cash when the cash is paid in advance.

Article 12. Until December 31, 1948, the Minister of Construction may execute the following business. All business mentioned in item 1, however, is to be transferred to the Special Procurement Authority as, even before the said date, preparations to absorb such work are completed: 1. Technical supervision and inspection of construction works and installation works required by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, which are being prosecuted at the time the present Law is enforced, for the purpose of preventing unreasonable disbursements from the National Treasury. 2. Assessment and liquidation of contract price for the construction works required by the Suprems Commander for the Allied Powers and completed prior to September 1, 1947.

Article 13. Until August 31, 1948, the Ministry of Construction shall have the Building Branch Offices as local branch offices. 2 The Building Branch Offices shall be under the control of the Minister of Construction and shall partially administer the affairs concerning the supervision of building and the allocation of materials under the jurisdiction of the Ministry Proper. 3 The names, locations, areas of jurisdiction and other necessary matters of the Building Branch Offices shall be determined by the Minister of Construction.

Article 14. The Law concerning the Adjustments of Laws and Ordinances relative to the Abolition of the Regulations governing the Organization of the Ministry for Home Affairs and Others (Law No.239 of 1947) shall partially be amended as follows:

Article 3. Deleted.

Article 15. The Road Transportation Law (Law No.191 of 1947) shall partially be amended as follows: In Paragraph 1 of Article 4, "the Minister for Home Affairs" shall read "the Minister of Construction."

Article 16. The Administrative Office Law (Law No.69 of 1947) shall partially be amended as follows: In Article 13, "ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, ministers extraordinary and plenipotentiary and the head of the Construction Board" shall read "ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary and ministers extraordinary and plenipotentiary" .