I hereby promulgate the Law concerning Improvement and Promotion of Agriculture. Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor This fifteenth day of the seventh month of the twenty-third year of Showa (July 15, 1948) Prime Minister ASHIDA Hitoshi Law No.165 Law concerning Improvement and Promotion of Agriculture Chapter I General Provisions

(Purpose of the Law) Article 1. The purpose of this Law is to promote the public welfare by providing for the acquisition, dissemination and exchange, among farmers, of useful, impartial and practical information on subjects related to agriculture in order to develop more efficient farming methods, increase agricultural production and improve farm living conditions. This Law shall not apply to the research, experiment and extension work relative to sericulture.

Chapter II Promotion of Experiments and Researches relative to Agriculture

(Standard of government aid) Article 2. The government shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, provide prefectures and other institutions with grant-in-aid or money in trust (hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as "funds" ) in order to promote scientific research and experiments on the principles and application of agricultural science. The funds mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be appropriated to promote the specific research or experiment on such subject as may be deemed not only advisable from the full consideration of the agricultural conditions and needs of the respective locality but also directly concerned to agriculture and farm living and urgent from the standpoint of the national agricultural situation without undesirable duplication. The number of research and experiment institutions which receive the funds according to the provisions of this Chapter shall not exceed 75 throughout Japan in any fiscal year. The total amount of funds to be granted to research and experiment work conducted by the research and experiment institutions other than prefectural agricultural experiment stations shall not exceed the amount equivalent to twenty (20) per-cent of the total amount of funds mentioned in Paragraph 1 of this Article.

(Duty of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry) Article 3. In order to avoid overlapping and puplication, and to encourage high standards of achievement as well as uniformity in reporting results, in rescarch work of agricultural experiment stations and other institutions, it shall be the duty of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry to provide procedures as practicable for reporting results of research and experiments;to indicate, from time to time, such lines of inquiry as to him shall seem most important:and, in general to furnish such advice and assistance as will best promote the purposes of this Law.

(Application for government aid) Article 4. It shall be the duty of each prefecture or institution receiving or desirous of receiving the fund in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter to submit every year by the end of January to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry an application for the funds along with the plans and the estimate of the required funds for agricultural research and experimental activities to be carried on in the succeding fiscal year as well as a report covering those activities for the past year, respectively in a form as may be prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. The report mentioned in the preceding paragaaph shall be approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry before the allotment of funds for the next fiscal year to the prefectures or other institutions is decided in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. The allotment of the funds for the next fiscal shall not be made to such prefecture or institution as has failed to obtain the said approval from the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Allotment of funds) Article 5. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall, after inspecting the documents submitted in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article, decide the allotment of the funds to be appropriated for each project to the respective prefectures or institutions within the limit of total budget settled for the purpose of this Chapter every year by the end of March;provided however, in case when the said allotment can not be decided by the daid date on account of delay in formulating budget, the allotment shall be decided within one month after the formulation of the budget.

(Acceptance of the allotment of funds) Article 6. The prefectures or other institutions shall, in case they have received the decision of allotment in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article and intend to accept it, submit without delay to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry the letter of acceptance to the effect that they will enforce it pursuant to the decision of allotment. The letter of acceptance shall be attached with the following documents: 1. The plan for carrying out the projects; 2. The statement of budget for receipts and disbursements (the estimate of expenditure in case of the trust).

(Alteration of plan) Article 7. The prefectures or other institutions shall, if they intend to make any important alteration to the matters described in the document mentioned in any item of the preceding Article after having submitted the letter of acceptance, obtain deforehand an approval of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Prohibition upon misappropriation of funds) Article 8. The fund granted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall not be used directly or indirectly for the purchase, erection, preservation or repair of any building or buildings, or the purchase or rental of land nor shall it be ured for any project other than those designated by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, not shall it be diverted form one project to other even though both the projects are designated by the said Minister.

(Refund of funds) Article 9. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry may order the prefectures or other institutions which have been granted the funds in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter to refund the whole or part of the funds, in case there they come under any of the following items: 1. They have violated the provisions of Article 7 or 8. 2. The amount of actual expenditure has been less than the amount of the budget. Unless the said prefectures or other institutions complete without justifiable reason the refund of the sum instructed by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, no subsequent appropriation shall be apportioned or paid to the said prefectures or other institutions by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Statement of final account of receipts and disbursements) Article 10. The prefectures or other institutions which have been granted the funds in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry the statement of final account of receipts and disbursements for the last fiscal year by the end of June of the next year in a form prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Annual report) Article 11. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall review and coordinate the research works of the prefectures or other institutions made by the aid of funds granted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, and the research works of the national agricultural institutions. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall prepare an annual report on the results of review and coordination prescribed in the preceding paragraph and on the disbursements of the budget appropriated to the purpose of this Chapter, and submit it to the Minister of Finance. The cabinet shall present the annual report prescribed in the preceding paragraph to the Diet as an enclosure to the settlement of revenue and expenditure prescribed in Article 40 of the Finance Law.(Law No.34 of 1947).

(Raise of objection) Article 12. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, in the event he does not allot or grant to the prefecture or other institution the funds which have already been made available by the National Diet as necessary for carrying out those research activities for which the Minister has made commitment to furnish funds for two or more successive years, because the prefecture or other institution falls under any of the items mentioned below, shall without belay submit a report to that effect together with the reasons therefor to the Prime Minister and at the same time inform the prefecture or other institution of the same. 1. Lack of approval mentioned in Article 4. Paragraph 2. 2. Lack of justifiable reason for failure to refund the funds as ordered in accordance with the provisions of Article 9, Paragraph 1. 3. When the contents of submitted plans of activities are not adequate. Prefecture or other institution that received the information mentioned in the preceding paragraph may, when discontented with reasons informed, raise an objection to the Prime Minister within one month from the day when it received the information. When the objection mentioned in the preceding paragraph has been raised, the prime Minister shall decide whether the objection is justifiable or not within one month after the day when he received that objection. When a decision has been made that justifies the objection, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall allot or grant the funds concerned. When no objection has been raised within the term prescribed in Paragraph 2 or a decision has been made that makes the objection as unreasonable, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry may allot the funds concerned to other prefecture or other institution.

Chapter III Promotion of the extension works relative to agriculture

(Purpose of Government aid) Article 13. The government shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, provide prefectures with grant-in-aid in order to promote the agriculture extension works which may be carried on by the prefectures in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, so as to aid the farmers in obtaining and exchanging useful and practical information on subjects relating to improvements in agriculture and farm life and to encourage the application of the same. Nothing in this Law shall be construed to discontinue or discourage extension activites that are supported by private contributions, agricultural cooperative associations, or other nongovernmental or non-prefectural organizations.

(Cooperative agricultural extension work) Article 14. Cooperative agricultural extension works on which the grant-in-aid is appropriated in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall consist of the giving of instruction and practical demonstrations to improve agriculture and farm living to farmers by the consultation of technical abvisors and circuiting guidance, field demonstrations at farms, distribution of publications and other media. The extension works mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be conducted according to the principles decided by consultation between the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and the Prefecture which receives the grant-in-aid in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

(Application for government aid) Article 15. It shall be the duty of each prefecture receiving or desirous of receiving grant-in-aid in accerdance with the provisions of this Chapter, to submit every year by the end of January to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry an application for grant-in-aid along with the plans and the estimate of the required funds for activities to be carried on in the succeeding fiscal year as well as a report covering extension activities for the past year, respectively in a form as may be prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. The report mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in any year before the allotment of grant-in-aid for the next fiscal year to the prefectures is decided in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. The allotment of grant-in-aid for the succeeding fiscal year shall not be made to the prefecture where the report of which is not approved.

(Allotment of grant-in-aid) Article 16. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall, upon inspection of the documents submitted to him in accordance with the preceding Article, becide, by the end of March in every year, the allotment of the sum to each prefecture, in accordance with the provisions of the following items, within the limit of total budget appropriated for the purpose of this Chapter. However, in case when the said allotment can not be decided by the said date owing to delay in formulating budget, it shall be decided within one month after the formulation of the budget: 1. Forty-five (45) per cent of the sum shall be divided to each prefecture in proportion to the farming population in each prefecture; 2. Forty-five (45) percent of the sum shall be divided to each prefecture in proportion to the cultivated acreage in each prefecture; 3. Ten (10) per cent of the sum shall be divided among the prefectures which, due to natural disasters or poorly developed agricultural resources, are hard to support the cooperative extension works essential to agricultural improvement or prefectures required to carry on the cooperative extension works essential to the development of certain phase of agriculture. When the amount of grant-in-aid divided to prefecture according to the provisions of (1) and (2) in the preceding paragraph exceeds the from sum two times as much as the sum to be appropriated in that year public funds in the prefecture for maintaining the cooperative agricultural extension works, the prefecture concerned cannot receiv the excessive amount.

(Acceptance of the allotment of grant-in-aid) Article 17. The prefectures, in case they have received the decision of allotment in accordance with the provision of the preceding Article and intend to accept it, shall without delay submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry the letter of acceptance to the effect that they will enforce it based on the decision of allotment.The letter of acceptance shall be accompanied by the following documents: 1. The plan for carrying out the activities; 2. The stetement of budget of receipts and disbursements.

(Alteration of plan) Article 18. The prefectures shall, if they intend to make any important alteration to the matters described in the document mentioned in any item of the preceding Article after having submitted the letter of acceptance, obtain beforehand an approval of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Prohibition upon misappropriation of grant-in-aid) Article 19. The grant-in-aid granted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall not be used, directly or indirectly, for the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings, or for the purchase or rental of land, nor shall it be used for the operation of research or extension farms, nor for the administration of regulativy activities, nor for any other purpose not specified in this Chapter.

(Refund of grant-in-aid) Article 20. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry may order the prefectures, which have received the grant-in-aid in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, to refund the whole or part of the grant-in-aid, in case they fall under any of the following items: 1. In case they have violated the provisions of Article 18 and Article 19. 2. In case the amount of actual expenditure had been less than the amount of the budget. Unless the said prefectures complete without justifiable reason the refund of the sum instructed by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the grant-in-aid shall not be alloted or granted to the prefectures by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Statement of final accounts of receipts and disbursements) Article 21. The prefectures which have received grant-in-aid in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry the statement of final accounts of receipts and disbursements by the end of June of next year in a form prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

(Annual report) Article 22. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall prepare an annual report on the disbursements of the budget appropriated to the purpose of this Chapter and on the results of activities carried out by the grant-in-aid provided in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, and submit it to the Minister of Finance. The cabinet shall present the annual report prescribed in the preceding paragraph to the Diet as an enclosure to the settlement of revenue and expenditure prescribed in the provisions of Article 40 to the Finance Law.

(Raise of objection) Article 23. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, in the event he does not allot or grant to the prefecture the grant-in-aid divided in accordance with the provisions of Items 1 and 2, Paragraph 1, Article 16 because the prefecture falls under any of the items mentioned below shall without delay submit a report to that effect together with the reasons therefor to the Prime Minister and at the same time inform the prefecture of the same. 1. Lack of approval mentioned in Paragraph 2, Article 15. 2. Lack of justifiable reasons for failure to refund the grant-in-aid as ordered in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 Paragraph 1. The prefecture that has received the information mentioned in the preceding paragraph may, when discontented with the reasons informed, raise an objection against the Prime Minister within one month from the day when it received the information. When the objection mentioned in the preceding paragraph has been raised, the Prime Minister shall decide whether the objection in justifiable or not within one month after the day when he received that objection. When a dicision that justifies the objection has been made, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall allot or grant the grant-in-aid concerned. When no objection has been raised within the term prescribed in Paragraph 2 or a decision that makes the objection as unreasonable has been made the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall return the grant-in-aid concerned to unappropriated national funds.

Supplementary provisions:

Article 24. The enforcement date of this Law shall be provided by Cabinet Order within three months from the day of its promulgation.

Article 25. Only for the fiscal year 1948-49, the matters relative to submission of the documents mentioned in Paragraph 1, Article 4 and Paragraph 1, Article 15 shall be conducted regardless of the provisions of the same Article in accordance with the indication made by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. The provisions of Paragraph 2, Article 4 and Paragraph 2, Article 15 shall not apply only for the fiscal year 1948-49.

Article 26. The provisions relating to the date of allotment in Article 5 and Paragraph 1, Article 16 shall not apply only for the fiscal year 1948-49.

Article 27. The provisions of Paragraph 2, Article 16 shall not apply only for the fiscal year 1948-49.

Article 28. The Law for Subsidize from Natioal Treasury for Industrial Experiments and Training Short Courses (Law No.9 of 1906) shall be abolished.

Minister of Finance KITAMURA Tokutaro Minister of Agriculture and Forestry NAGAE Kazuo Prime Minister ASHIDA Hitoshi