Article 1.　This Law has for its purpose the insurance of the fair and just treatment of Government contracts by preventing a delay in payment therefor and others, and the promotion of the efficiency of the disposition of accounting affairs by the State, whereby to contribute toward the sound and steady operation of the national economy.

Article 2.　"Government contract" as used in this Law shall be construed to mean a contract to which the State forms one of the parties and under which the State must pay the expenses for the completion of a work or for the presentation of operations or other services or for the delivery of a thing effected by a person other than the State.

Article 3.　Parties to the Government contract shall conclude a fair and just contract on the basis of the agreement reached on equal terms and accomplish it in good faith and with sincerity.

Article 4.　The parties to the Government contract must, in concluding such a contract, manifestly indicate in writing, in conformity with the purport of the preceding Article, the matters specified below, besides the contents of the presentation, the amount of expenses to be paid, the time of completion of the presentation and other necessary matters. However this shall not apply to the contracts wherein the preparation of a written contract can be dispensed with by other law or order:

Article 5.　The time mentioned in item (1) of the preceding Article shall be a day within 14 days, in the case of a work, and within 10 days, in the case of any other kind of presentation, from the day on which the State has been informed by another party of the completion of the presentation.

2　If the State, in inspecting the presentation made by another party, discovers that the contents of the presentation are against the contract in whole or in part or unjustifiable, it may ask for the rectification or improvement thereof. In this case the time prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be between the day that the State has been informed by another party of the completion of rectified or improved presentation and the day stipulated in accordance with the preceding paragraph.

Article 6.　The time mentioned in Article 4 item (2) shall be within 40 days, in the case of payment for a work, and within 30 days, in the case of payment for any other presentation, from the day that the State, after finishing confirmation or inspection of the completion, has received a legitimate demand for payment from another party (hereinafter, the period stipulated in accordance with the provisions of this Article or Article 7 shall be called "stipulated period" ).

2　In case the State has discovered, after receiving the written demand of payment from another party, that the contents thereof are unjustifiable in whole or in part, it may return the demand to the latter setting forth the reasons. In this case, the period between the day on which the demand is returned and the day on which the demand as rectified by another party is received by the State shall not be included in the stipulated period. However, in case the injustice of the demand is caused deliberately or is caused through a serious negligence of the other party, it shall be considered that a legitimate demand for payment has not been presented.

3　In paragraph 1, "from the day that the State has received a legitimate demand for payment from the other party" shall be construed, in the case of a specified contract as prescribed in Article 1 of the Law concerning the Exceptions to Government Contracts (Law No.60 of 1946) where the amount of money to be paid has not been decided, as from the day when the amount is decided or when the State designated the definite amount of payment (in case a petition is filed for revision to the designated amount of money, from the day of its decision and in case a law suit is brought to court, as from the day of the final decision of the sentence).

Article 7.　In the case of a contract the special substance of which makes it remarkably difficult to conform to the provisions of the preceding two Articles, the parties to the contract may stipulate a period as a special exception;provided that the period be within such number of days as obtained by multiplying the longest period mentioned in the preceding two Articles by 1揃5.

Article 8.　The amount of interest in arrears in the case of the failure of the State to pay by the period stipulated for payment, shall not be less than the sum of money obtained by multiplying the outstanding amount by the rate of interest fixed by the Minister of Finance in consideration of the banks'current rate of interest, according to the number of days from the day following the day that the time stipulated for payment has arrived;however, in case the failure to make such payment for the stipulated period is caused by unavoidable circumstances such as a natural calamity, the period during which such circumstances continue shall not be included, unless specifically prescribed, in the stipulated period or in the days according to which the interest in arrears is to be paid.

2　Unless any specific provisions exist to govern the amount of interest in arrears worked out in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, such interest shall not be required to be paid in case of its amount being less than one hundred (100) yen, and if the amount contains a fraction less than one hundred (100) yen, the fraction shall be discarded.

Article 9.　In case the State fails to confirm or inspect the completion of the presentation by the stipulated time, the number of days covering the period from the day that has passed such time limit to the day on which the confirmation or inspection has been effected of the completion, shall be deducted from the number of days covering the stipulated period;and in case the length of time overdue exceeds the number of days covering the stipulated period, the stipulated period shall be deemed expired and the State must pay to another party the sum of money worked out by calculating according to the number of days in excess, and by the rate of interest stipulated on the delay in payment following the principle set forth in the preceding Article with necessary modifications.

Article 10.　In case the other party of the Government contract fails to clarify in writing the matters specified in Article 4 items (1) to (3) inclusive in compliance with the provisions of the proviso to the same Article, it shall be considered that the period specified in item (1) of the same Article has been set on a day within ten days from the day when the other party completed his presentation and the State received a notification to that effect, and that the period mentioned in item (2) of the same Article has been set on a day within fifteen days from the day when other party presented a demand for payment. And it shall also be considered that the interest in arrears, specified in item (3) of the same Article for the period during which the State does not settle its accounts after the time-limit of payment, has been set at the sum which is computed by the rate of interest fixed by the Minister of Finance as prescribed in paragraph 1 of the said Article following the example of calculation mentioned in Article 8. The same shall apply, excepting the case prescribed by the proviso to Article 4, to the case when the parties of the Government contracts do not clarify in writing the matters as mentioned in items (1) to (3) inclusive of the said Article.

Article 11.　In cases where the State made an advance or approximate payment if the sum paid exceeds the definite sum to be paid and the other party of the contract fails to return the sum in excess by the time he was notified to return it, he must, in addition to the sum in excess, pay a sum which is obtained by multiplying the interest specified in Article 8 paragraph 1 by the period of the time from the following day of the time-limit to the day when he settles his accounts to the Government.

Article 12.　The Minister of Finance may, in order to secure the proper enforcement of this Law and to prevent the delay of payment under Government contracts, request each Ministry or Agency (each Ministry and Agency as prescribed in Article 21 of the Finance Law (Law No.34 of 1947)) or Kodan to submit a report on the condition of payment, or conduct an investigation on the spot thereon, or to give necessary direction on the payment upon the decision of the Cabinet Meeting as occasion demands.

2　The Minister of Finance may cause the other party of the Government contract to report on the condition of payment or to conduct an investigation on the spot as occasion demands.

Article 13.　In case the official managing the national account business is recognized to have greatly delayed a national payment deliberately or delayed it through serious negligence, the person who has the appointment right of the official must take disciplinary measures.

2　When the Board of Audit has found out, as a result of audit, that the person who has the appointment right over the official managing the national account business has not punished him according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, calling him to account for a case in which he is recognized to have greatly delayed a national payment deliberately or delayed it through serious negligence, it must demand the person who has the appointment right to punish the official.

Article 14.　The provisions of this Law shall apply to the contracts made by the Japan Monopoly Corporation, the Japan National Railways and local public entities. However, the provisions of Article 12 and Article 13 paragraph 2, shall not apply to local public entities.