I hereby promulgate the Precious Metals Special Account Law. Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor This twenty-fifth day of the fourth month of the twenty-fourth year of Showa (April 25, 1949) Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru Law No.34 Precious Metals Special Account Law

(Establishment and definition) Article 1. A Special Account shall be established and managed separately from the General Account for the purpose of clearing the management concerning the purchase, sale or custody of the precious metals by the Government. 2 In the present Law, "precious metals" shall mean gold, silver, platinum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and iridosmin.

(Management) Article 2. The present Account shall be managed by the Minister of Finance in accordance with laws and ordinances.

(Annual revenues and expenditures) Article 3. In the present Account, revenues shall be precedes from the sale of precious metals, and accessory sundry receipts, and expenditures shall be expenses for purchase of precious metals, expenses for managing business, interests on temporary borrwings and other miscellaneous expenses.

(Preparation of the statement of the estimated revenues and appropriations) Article 4. The Minister of Finance shall prepare the statement of the estimated revenues and appropriations of the present account every fiscal year.

(Classification of the budget of revenues and appropriations) Article 5. The budget of revenues and appropriations of the present Account shall be classified into titles and items in accordance with the source of the revenues and the purpose of the expenditures.

(Preparation and submission of the budget) Article 6. The Cabinet shall prepare the budget of the present Account for every fiscal year and submit it to the Diet together with the budget of the General Account. 2 The budget referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be accompanied with the statement of the estimated revenues and appropriations.

(Deposit of cash available) Article 7. In case there arises any surplus of cash in the present Account, the said surplus may be deposited in the Deposits Bureau, Ministry of Finance.

(Temporary borrowings and diversion) Article 8. In case there arises any deficit in cash for payment in the present Account, the temporary borrowings may be made or the Treasury's cash available may be diverted on the burden of the present Account. 2 The temporary borrowings or the diversion under the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be redeemed within the fiscal year concerned. 3 The maximum amount of the temporary borrowings and the diversion under the provisions of paragraph 1 shall be approved by the Diet in the form of the budget.

(Transfer of the interest on the temporary borrowings) Article 9. The amount necessary for disbursement of the interest on the temporary borrowings on the burden of the present Account shall be transferred to the Special Account for National Debt Consolidation Fund every fiscal year.

(Preparation of the final statement of revenues and expenditures) Article 10. The Minister of Finance shall prepare the final statement of revenues and expenditures of the present Account in accordance with the same classification as that of the statement of the estimated revenues and appropriations every fiscal year.

(Preparation and submission of the settlement of revenues and expenditures) Article 11. The Cabinet shall prepare the settlement of revenues and expenditures of the present Account for every fiscal year and submit it to the Diet together with the settlement of revenues and expenditures of the General Account. 2 The settlement of revenues and expenditures referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be accompanied with the final statement of revenues and expenditures.

(Transfer of surplus) Article 12. In case there arises any surplus on the settlement of account for every fiscal year in the present Account, the said surplus shall be transferred to the annual revenues for the following fiscal year.

(Business concerning the purchase, custody and sale of precious metals) Article 13. The Government shall be authorized to make the Bank of Japan manage the business concerning the purchase, custody and sale of precious metals. 2 In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Government shall be authorized to deliver the fund necessary for purchasing precious metals to the Bank of Japan. 3 The provisions of Article 36 of the Accounts Law (Law No.35 of 1947) shall apply to the receipts and payment of the fund delivered under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

(Carrying over of undisbursed amount) Article 14. the amount of appropriations of the present Account, which became due and was not yet disbursed until the conclusion of account for the fiscal year concerned, may be carried forward to and disbursed in the following fiscal year. 2 The provisions of Article 43 of the Finance Law (Law No.34 of 1947) shall not apply to the carrying over under the provisions of the preceding paragraph. 3 In case the Minister of Finance made the carrying forward under the provisions of paragraph 1, he shall notify it to the Board of Audit. 4 In case the carrying forward was made under the provisions of paragraph 1, the approprations shall be deemed as the budget allocated under the provisions of Article 31, paragraph 1 of the Finance Law.

(Enforcement provision) Article 15. Necessary proceducal and administrative matters for enforcement of the present Law shall be prescribed by a cabinet order.

Supplementary Provisions: 1. The present Law shall come into force as from the day when the budget of the present Account for the fiscal year 1949-50 is approved and shall apply as from the fiscal year 1949-50 except the provisions of paragraphs 2, 10 and 11 of the Supplementary Provisions. 2. The Gold Fund Special Account Law (Law No.61 of 1937) shall be abolished;provided, that the said Law shall apply to the receipts and disbursements of the Gold Fund Special Account for the fiscal year 1948-49 and settlement of account of the said Account for the fiscal years 1947-48, 1948-49 and 1949-50. 3. In case the budget of the present Account for the fiscal year 1949-50 is approved, the provisional budget of the Gold Fand Special Account for the fiscal year 1949-50 shall be null and vold, and the disbursements or incurring of obligations in accordance with the provisional budget concerned shall be deemed as those in accordance with the budget of the present Account for the fiscal year 1949-50 and the annual revenues received within the term of effect of the provisional budget concerned shall be deemed as the annual revenues of the present Account. 4. In case the budget of the Present Account|for the fiscal year 1949-50 is approved, as regards the receipts (part of the surplus of the Gold Fund Special Account transferred to the Gold Fund within the said term shall be deemed as the receipts.) and payment of the Gold Fund concerning the operation under the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Gold Fund Special Account Law from April 1, 1949 to the date of abolishment of the said Law, the receipt concerned shall be deemed as the revenues of the present Account for the fiscal year 1949-50, while the payment concerned shall be deemed as the expenditures in accordance with the budget of the present Account for the said fiscal year. 5. The assets (exclusive of the cash) and liabilities (inclusive of obligations of borrowing under the provisions of paragraph 2 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Gold Fund Special Account Law) belonging to the Gold Fund shall revert to the present Account as on the date of abolishment of the Gold Fund Special Account Law. 6. Assets and liabilities belonging to the Gold Fund Special Account as on the date of conclusion of business concerning receipts and disbursements of the Gold Fund Special Account for the fiscal year 1948-49 (inclusive of business of transfer of the surplus on the settlement of account to the Gold Fund under the provisions of Article 7, paragraph 1 of the forwer Gold Fund Special Account Law) shall revert to the present Account, and the cash thereof shall be summed up to the revenues. 7. For the time being, in the present Account, the account may be made concerning securities, foreign currency deposits, loans and other assets belonging to the former Gold Fund, which became attached to the present Account under the provisions of Paragraph 5 of the Supplementary Provisions. 8. The Government may transfer the necessary amount to the present Account from the General Account, for the time being, for the Purpose of covering the deficit in revenues of the present Account as prescribed in the budget. 9. With repest to the transfer under the provisions of the preceding paragraph and the transfer to the Gold Fund from the General Account under the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 1 of the former Gold Fund Special Account Law, the amount equivalent to the said transfers shall be transferred to the General Account from the present Account as prescribed in the budget, in future. 10. A part of the Gold Production Law (Law No.59 of 1937) shall be amended as follows: In Article 11-(3), "shall belong to the operation of the Gold Fund" shall read "shall be made by the Precious Metals Special Account" . 11. A part of the Law concerning the Delivery to the Allied Occupation Forces of Bullion of Precious Metals to be substituted for the Precious Metals, etc. released from the Custody of the Allied Occupation Forces (Law No.119 of 1948) shall be amended as follows: In Article 1, "held for operation of the Gold Funds pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1, Article 4 of the Gold Funds Special Account Law (Law No.61 of 1937)" shall read "belonging to the Precious Metals Special Account" . In Article 2, paragraph 2, "held for operation of the Gold Funds" shall read "belonging to the Precious Metals Special Account" . In Article 4, "the Gold Funds" shall read "the Precious Metals Special Account" . Minister of Finance IKEDA Hayato Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru