The Science Council of Japan Law
法令番号: 法律第121号
公布年月日: 昭和23年7月10日
法令の形式: 法律

審議経過

I hereby promulgate the Science Council of Japan Law.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This tenth day of the seventh month of the twenty-third year of Showa (July 10, 1948)
Prime Minister　ASHIDA Hitoshi
Law No.121
The Science Council of Japan Law
The Science Council of Japan shall hereby be established, on the conviction that science provides the basis of a cultural country and with a view to fulfilling its mission of contributing by the joint will of the scientists throughout Japan to the peaceful rehabilitation of this country and promotion of the welfare of human society as well as to the advancement of science of the world, in co-operative relations with academic societies of foreign countries.
Chapter I. Establishment and Aim
Article 1.　The Science Council of Japan shall be established by this Law which shall be called the Science Council of Japan Law.
2.　All transactions of the Science Council of Japan with the Government shall be through the Prime Minister.
3.　Expenditure on the Science Council of Japan shall be defrayed from the National Treasury.
Article 2.　The Science Council of Japan shall aim at promoting the development of science and permeate it into administration, industry and nation's life as the representative organ, internal and international, of the scientists of this country.
Chapter II. Functions and Powers
Article 3.　The Science Council of Japan shall perform the following independently:
1)　To discuss important matters concerning science, and to make exertion for the realization thereof;
2)　To co-ordinate scientific researches for the enhancement of their efficiency.
Article 4.　The Government may seek the opinions of the Science Council of Japan on the following matters:
1)　Compilation of budget for and distritution of the government grants and subsidies in order to help scientific researches and experiments or to promote science in general;
2)　The policies on the compilation of budgets concerning the expenditures of the institutes, laboratories under the jurisdiction of Government and of commissioned researches;
3)　Important measures particularly requiring deliberations by expert scientists;
4)　Other matters recognized as proper to be referred to the Science Council of Japan for deliberation.
Article 5.　The Science Council of Japan shall place itself available to the Government for recommendations on the following:
1)　The schemes for promotion of science and advancement of technology;
2)　Measures for the utilization of the results of scientific researches;
3)　The schemes concerning the training of scientific researchers;
4)　Reflection of science on administration;
5)　Permeation of science into national life and industry;
6)　Other matters necessary for the fulfilment of the aims of the Science Council of Japan.
Article 6.　The Government on request from the Science Council of Japan, may submit data or explanations or set forth their views.
Chapter III. Structure
Article 7.　The Science Council of Japan shall consist of 210 elected members of the Science Council of Japan (To be called hereinafter "members" ).
2.　The tenure of office shall be 3 years and re-election shall be unobjectionable.
3.　Members of the Council may get compensatory allowances for their office.
Article 8.　The Science Council of Japan shall have one President and two Vice-presidents.
2.　The President shall be a member elected by mutual vote of the members.
3.　Vice-presidents shall be elected from each of the cultural science department and the natural science department by mutual vote of the whole members.
4.　The President and Vice-presidents shall hold office for the tenure of their present term as members, but re-election shall be unobjectionable.
5.　In event of President's or Vice-president's post becoming vacant a new election by members for the office shall be held.
Article 9.　The President shall supervise the Council affairs and represent the Council.
2.　The Vice-presidents shall assist the President and in event of the President being incapacitated, the Vice-president nominated by the President shall deputize for the President.
Article 10.　The following seven division shall be set up in the Science Council of Japan according to the following classification:
Cultural Science Department:
The First Division (Literature, philosophy and history)
The Second Division (Law and politics)
The Third Division (Economics and commerce)
Natural Science Department:
The Fifth Division (Engineering)
The Sixth Division (Agriculture)
The Seventh Division (Medicine, dentistry and pharmacology)
Article 11.　Every member shall belong to one of the above divisions, and the fixed number of the members of each division shall be 30.
2.　As is shown in the annexed table, the fixed number of each division shall consist of the fixed number from the nation-wide constituency and that from the district constituency and the fixed number from the nation-wide constituency shall consist of fixed number by profession and fixed number regardless profession.
3.　Fixed number from district constituency shall consist of each one member selected from each district constituency.
Article 12.　Each Division shall have one chief, one vice-chief and two managers who shall be chosen by mutual vote from among the members of the division concerned.
2.　The provisions of Paragraphs 4 and 5, Article 8 shall be applied to the chief of division, Vice-chief of division and the manager.
Article 13.　The Chief of the division shall take charge of the division affairs.
2.　The vice-chief of the division shall assist the chief, and exercise the function of the chief when the chief is incapacitated.
3.　The manager shall engage in division affairs by order of the chief of the division.
Article 14.　The management committee shall be set up in the Science Council of Japan in order to deliberate on matters with respect to the management of the Council.
2.　The Committee shall be composed of the President, the Vice-presidents, chiefs and vicechiefs and managers of respective divisions.
Article 15.　The Science Council of Japan shall be able to create standing or temporary committee within itself.
2.　Members of the committee referred to above in the preceding paragraph may get compensatory allowances for their office.
Article 16.　The Science Council of Japan shall maintain an office where the business of the Council is to be executed.
2.　The Council office shall have a director and other necessary officers in accordance with the Cabinet Order.
3.　The Director and officers referred to in the preceding paragraph and the officials of 1st and 2nd class shall be appointed or discharged by the Prime Minister with the due consideration for the recommendation of the President of the Council and officials of 3rd class and of lower grades shall be appointed or discharged by the Director.
Chapter IV. Election of the Members
Article 17.　The scientists having any one of the following qualifications shall have suffrage of the members and eligibility:
1)　Persons two or more years after graduation from a university under the School Education Law (Law No.26, 1947) or the University Ordinance (Imperial Ordinance No.388, 1918).
2)　Persons four or more years after graduation from a college under the College Ordinance (Imperial Ordinance No.61, 1903), a teacher training school under the Normal Education Ordinance Imperial Ordinance No.109, 1943), or any school or teacher training institute on or above the level of such schools.
3)　Others having five or more years of research experiences.
2.　The scientists referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be those researchers of science or technology who have certification by research treatise or achievement report or substituting certificate of responsible persons of professional societies or research bodies to which they belong.
Article 18.　Those persons who have suffrage according to the provisions of the preceding Article (to be called voters hereinafter) shall not use their suffrage before making an entry in the division register at the Business Office.
Article 19.　Election of the members shall consist of election from the nation-wide constituency and election from the district constituency and shall be conducted by division simultaneously.
Article 20.　The Returning Committee shall be established in the Science Council of Japan to conduct screening of the qualification of voters, execution of election decision of the effect of votes and other business regarding election.
Article 21.　Necessary matters concerning election of members besides those provided for in the four preceding Articles, shall be stipulated by the Election Regulations of the Science Council of Japan.
Chapter V. Meetings
Article 22.　The Science Countil of Japan shall have General Meetings,Division Meeting and Joint Division Meetings.
2.　The General meeting shall be the highest legislative organ of the Science Council of Japan and shall be convocated by the President twice year regularly, and at any other time if necessary.
3.　The Division Meeting shall deliberate on matters concerning respective divisions and shall be convocated by the division chief concerned.
4.　The Joint-Division Meetings shall deliberate on matters concerning two or more divisions and shall be convocated by the joint will of the division chiefs concerned.
Article 23.　The quorum of the general meeting of the Science Council cf Japan shall be one half or more of the total members of the Council.
2.　Decisions of the general meeting shall be made with at least the majority present.
3.　To the division meeting and the joint-division meeting shall be applied the provisions of the above two preceding paragraphs.
Chapter VI. The Japan Academy
Article 24.　The Japan Academy shall be set up in the Science Council of Japan for the purpose of giving preferential treatment to the scientists who made a remarkable contribution to the country.
2.　The Japan Academy may, for the purpose of promoting scientific research, make commendation on the specially excellent treatises, works, or other achievements in specific researches.
3.　The Japan Academy shall consist of members of the Japan Academy.
4.　The number of the members of the Japan Academy shall be,150, selected by the Science Council of Japan.
5.　Members of the Japan Academy shall be of life membership.
6.　Members of the Japan Academy can get pension, the amount specified by the Prime Minister and in accordance with budgetary provisions.
Chapter VII. Miscellaneous Rules
Article 25.　Members of the Science Council of Japan may resign by the decision of the general meeting when necessitated by illness or other inevitable reasons.
Article 26.　Members of the Science Council of Japan are subject to dismissal by the decision of two-thirds or more of the total members present at the general meeting when their conducts bring disgrace on their position.
Article 27.　Whether it be the nation-wide constituency or the district electorate, when there occurs a vacancy in membership, the candidate who obtained the next highest votes and who was designated as such by the Returning Committee beforehand shall fill the vacancy.
2.　The tenure of office of the substituted member referred to above shall be the remaining period of that of the former.
Article 28.　The President of the Council may lay down management rules necessary for the operation of the Science Council of Japan through the decision of the general meeting of the Council.
Supplementary Provisions:
Article 29.　The provisions of Articles 34 and 35 of the present Law shall come into force on the day of its promulgation, and the provisions of the other Articles of the present Law shall come into force on January 20, 1949.
Article 30.　The Japan Academy Regulations (Imperial Ordinance No.149 of 1906), the Regulations governing the Organization of the National Research Council (Imperial Ordinance No.297 of 1920) and the Provision for matters concerning Treatment of Members of the Japan Academy (Imperial Ordinance No.258 of 1914) shall be abolished.
Article 31.　The Science Council of Japan shall dispose of all the affairs which are left unsettled by the old Japan Academy and the National Research Council on the day of their abolishment.
Article 32.　Those who have been appointed members of the Japan Academy regulations on the day of enforcement of the stipulation of Articles 24 and 30 shall remain members of the Japan Academy regulated by the present Law.
Article 33.　The tenure of office of the members of the Science Council of Japan who will be selected by the first election shall be two years despite the stipulation of Paragraph 2, Article 7.
Article 34.　The first election of the members shall be held by the Renewal Committee for the Organization of Science based on the provisions of Chapter IV, and "The Science Council of Japan" mentioned in Chapter IV, in this case, shall read "The Renewal Committee for the Organization of Science."
2.　The first general meeting of the Science Council of Japan shall be convoked by the chairman of the Renewal Committee for the Organization of Science.
3.　The expenses necessitated by the activities referred to in the two preceding paragraphs shall be defrayed from the National treasury.
Article 35.　The Returning Committees for the first election of the members shall be the Central Returning Committee and the District Returning Committees.
2.　The District Returning Committees shall be set up in each district and shall cooperate with the Central Returning Committee in the execution of election business.
3.　The number of the members of the Central Returning Committee shall be 104 who shall be selected by the Renewal Committee for the Organization of Science and 7 among them shall be selected from among the members of the District Returning Committees.
4.　The number of the members of the District Returning Committees shall be 14 or less in each district, and they shall be selected by the respective District Liaison Committees of the Renewal Committee for the Organization of Science.
Annexed Table
Division
Nation-wide Fixed Number
District
Total
Fixed number according to specialities
Fixed number Regardless of Profession Fixed Number
1st Division
Philosophy
4
11
7
30
History
4
Literature
4
2nd Division General
Laws
2
13
7
30
Public Laws
2
Civil Laws
2
Criminal Laws
2
Politics
2
3rd Division
Economics
5
13
7
30
Commerce
5
4th Division
Mathematics
1
12
7
30
Astronomy
1
Physics
1
Geophysics
1
Chemistry
1
Zoology
1
Botany
1
Geology
1
Mineralogy
1
Geography
1
Anthropology
1
5th Division
Applied Physics
1
14
7
30
Machine Engineering
1
Electric Engineering
1
Naval Architecture
1
Civil Engineering
1
Architecture
1
Mining
1
Metallurgy
1
Applied Chemistry
1
6th Division
Agriculture
1
15
7
30
Agricultural Chemistry
1
Forestry
1
Fishery
1
Agriculture Economics
1
Agricultural Engineering
1
Zootechny
1
Sericulture
1
7th Division
Fundamental Medicine
4
8
7
30
Clinical Medicine
4
Public Hygiene
2
Dentistry
2
Pharmacology
3
Grand Total
75
86
49
210
Minister of Finance　KITAMURA Tokutaro
Minister of Education　MORITO Tatsuo
Prime Minister　ASHIDA Hitoshi