Article 1.　This Law aims to contribute to the improvement of public health and also to the education or study of medicine (including dentistry, hereinafter the same) by making the dissection and preservation of the dead body (including the dead fetus of not less than 4 months;hereinafter the same) and the investigation of the cause of death appropriate.

Article 2.　One who is going to dissect the dead body shall receive the permission of the director of the health centre of the place where the dissection is going to be done. However, when it comes under one of the following items, this rule shall not apply:

2　The director of the health centre shall not give the permission according to the preceding paragraph, unless it is considered to be especially necessary for the improvement of public health or for the education or study of medicine.

3　Necessary matters concerning the permisssion according to the provision of par.1 shall be fixed by Ministerial Ordinance.

Article 3.　The Minister of Welfare may, in case one who has been authorized according to item 1 of par.1 of the preceding Article comes under one of the following items, cancel the authorization:

Article 4.　The Minister of Welfare shall, in doing authorization according to Art.2, par.1, item 1 or cancellation thereof, hear beforehand the opinion of the Committee for the Examination of the Qualification of the Dissection of the Dead Body.

2　The Minister of Welfare shall, in case he did authorization according to Art.2, par.1, item 1, deliver the certificate of authorization.

3　Necessary matters concerning the authorization according to Art.2, par.1, item 1 and the cancellation thereof shall be fixed by Ministerial Ordinance.

Article 5.　The Committee for the Examination of the Qualification of the Dissection of the Dead Body (hereinafter referred to as the Examination Committee) under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Welfare shall be established in order to investigate and deliberate upon matters concerning the authorization according to Art.2, par.1, item 1 and the cancellation thereof answering the inquiry of the Minister of Welfare.

2　Necessary matters concerning the construction of the Examination Committee, the tenure of office of the members, the method of making decision, etc. shall be fixed by Cabinet Order.

Article 6.　In case it comes under one of the items of Art.2, par.1, the report shall be submitted by one who did dissection to the director of the health centre of the place where the dissection was done, within 5 days after dissection. However, in case of the dissection which has been done in colleges concerning medicine or in General Hospitals under the Medical Service Law (Law No.205 of 1948)(hereinafter referred to as General Hospitals) or the dissection done according to the provision of Art.8, this rule shall not apply. And in this case, the report shall be submitted by the directors of colleges or General Hospitals or the medical examiners thereof every month (in the case of the dissection done for the purpose of making clear the legitimate construction of the human body, every 3 months) to To, Do, Fu or prefectural governor of the place where they are located or the dissection was done.

2　Necessary matters concerning the report according to the provision of the preceding paragraph shall be fixed by Ministerial Ordinance.

Article 7.　One who wishes to dissect the dead body shall have the consent of its bereaved family. However, in case it comes under one of the following items, this rule shall not apply:

Article 8.　To, Do, Fu or prefectural governor of the place fixed by Cabinet Order may appoint the medical examiner and may make him examine or, in case the cause of death does not become clear even by examination, dissect the dead body whose cause of death is suspected to be infectious disease, poisoning, accident or unknown for the purpose of making the cause of death clear. However, concerning the dead body whose cause of death is unnatural or is suspected to be unnatural, the examination or dissection mentioned above shall not be done until the examination according to the provision of Art.229 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been finished.

2　The examination or dissection according to the preceding paragraph shall not obstruct the dissection for the purpose of verification or judgment according to the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Article 9.　The dissection of the dead body shall be done in the special room for dissection. However, in case there are special circumstances and the permission of the director of the health centre of the place where the dissection is going to be done has been given or in case it comes under Art.2, par.1, item 4, this rule shall not apply.

Article 10.　The dissection done for the purpose of making the legitimate construction of the human body clear shall be done in colleges concerning medicine.

Article 11.　One who has dissected the dead body shall, in case he considered that there was abnormality connected with the crime in the dead body, make a report to the chief of the police-station of the place where the dissection was done with 24 hours.

Article 12.　With regard to the dead body which is unclaimed, the head of the city, town or village (meaning the head of the ward, in the area of Tokyo Metropolis where wards exist, and cities of Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe;hereinafter the same) where it is located may, in case the head of the college concerning medicine (hereinafter referred to as head of the school) claims its delivery for the education or study of medicine, deliver it after the confirmation of death.

Article 13.　The head of the city, town or village shall, in case he has delivered the dead body according to the provision of the preceding Article, deliver the certificate of authorization to deliver the dead body to the head of the school.

2　The delivery of the certificate according to the provision of the preceding paragraph shall be deemed to meet the requirement for the permission according to the provision of Art.5, par.1 of the Law regarding Grave-yards, Burial and Others (Law No.48 of 1948) concerning the burial or cremation by the head of the school, and the certificate shall be deemed to be the same in its effect as the certificate permitting burial or cremation according to the provision of Art.8, par.1 of the same Law.

Article 14.　The head of the school who has received the delivery of the dead body according to the provision of Art.12 shall, in case the claimant claims the delivery of it within 30 days after the confirmation of death, deliver it.

Article 15.　The whole or a part of the dead body shall, in case the bereaved family or other claimants who have due relation with the dead person claim the delivery of it, be delivered even after the lapse of term mentioned in the preceding Article. However, in case the dead body is especially difficult to be acquired in other times and places and it is necessary to preserve it for the education and study of medicine, this rule shall not apply.

Article 16.　With respect to the dead body which is delivered according to the provision of Art.12, the head of the city, town or village provided for in the Vagrant Sick and Vagrant Dead Persons Treatment Law (Law No.93 of 1899) shall go through the formalities, without delay, provided for in the same Law (excepting burial or cremation mentioned in the provision of Art.7).

Article 17.　The director of colleges concerning medicine or General Hospitals may, in case it is especially necessary for the education or study of medicine, preserve the whole or a part of the dead body as the specimen having consent of the bereaved family.

2　In case the whereabouts of the bereaved family is unknown or in case it comes under proviso to Art.15, the consent mentioned in the preceding paragraph need not be demanded.

Article 18.　One who is authorized to dissect the dead body according to the provision of Art.2 may, in case it is especially necessary for the education or study of medicine, preserve a part of the dead body (excepting the dead body delivered by the head of the city, town or village according to the provision of Art.12) as the specimen after dissection. However, in case the bereaved family claims the delivery of it, this rule shall not apply.

Article 19.　Except in the case of the preservation according to the provisions of the preceding two Articles, one who wishes to preserve the whole or a part of the dead body shall have the consent of the bereaved family and, in addition, receive the permission of To, Do, Fu or prefectural governor of the place where it is going to be preserved.

2　In case the whereabouts of the bereaved family is unknown, the consent mentioned in the preceding paragraph need not be demanded.

Article 20.　One who dissects the dead body or preserves the whole or a part of it shall be especially careful not to lose the respect in handling the dead body.

Article 21.　Concerning the dead body delivered according to the provision of Art.12, the head of the school shall bear those expenditures concerning conveyance, burial, cremation and a gravepost needed at the time of taking delivery of it and after that time, notwithstanding the provisions of Art.11 and Art.13 of the Vagrant Sick and Vagrant Dead Persons Treatment Law.

Article 22.　One who has offended against the provision of Art.2, par.1, Art.14 or Art.15 shall be liable to a penal servitude not more than 6 months or a fine not more than 30,000 yen.

Article 23.　One who has offended against the provision of Art.6, Art.9 or Art.19 shall be liable to a fine not more than 20,000 yen.