I hereby promulgate the Law for Partial Amendments to the Agricultural Cooperative Association Law.
Signed:HIROHITO, Seal of the Emperor
This first day of the fourth month of the twenty-sixth year of Showa (April 1, 1951)
Prime Minister YOSHIDA Shigeru
Law for Partial Amendments to the Agricultural Cooperative Association Law
The Agricultural Cooperative Association Law (Law No.132 of 1947) shall be partially amended as follows:
Article 4 paragraph 2 shall be deleted.
In the proviso to Article 10 paragraph 3. "total financial volume of business" shall be amended as "business volume" and the following statement "(40 percent in the case of medical facilities)" shall be added after "20 percent" .
The following one Article shall be added next to Article 13:
Article 13-(2). In addition to the investment under the provisions of the preceding Article, a cooperative association with capital stock, in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of incorporation, may make its members invest for a period of five years the whole or a part of the refund distributed to them in proportion to the business volume which each has done with the cooperative association.
Article 28 paragraph 2 shall be amended as follows: In addition to those mentioned in par.1, the Articles of incorporation shall include the period of duration of the cooperative association, in case such period is determined;the names of those who make investment of assets other than money, the kinds and prices of such assets and the number of shares to be given to them, in case such persons are determined;and the provisions with respect to payment of the investment under the provision of Art.13-(2)(hereinafter referred to as revolving capital), in case the cooperative association intends to make its members make such payment. And the following one paragraph shall be added next to paragraph 1 of the same Article:
In the provisions relating to the election of officers under item (10) of the preceding paragraph, such matters as date of election, notice of election, nomination of candidates, supervisor of election, referees of election, voting, opening of ballot-boxes, counting votes, and results of election shall be provided for, and in case it has been decided to hold the election of officers at any time and place other than at a general meeting of members, it shall be so provided for by the Articles of incorporation.
Article 30 paragraph 3 shall be amended as follows:
Officers shall be elected by the members at a general meeting (the constituent general meeting in the case of officers of the time of establishment) in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of incorporation. However, officers of an agricultural cooperative association (except the officers at the time of establishment) may, in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of incorporation, be elected at any time and place other than at a general meeting of members.
The following three paragraphs shall be added next to Article 30 paragraph 5:
A supervisor of election shall be in charge of each election of officers and there shall be supervisors of balloting at the polling places, and supervisors, of opening ballots at the ballot-counting places.
In case the election of officers has been carried out, the supervisor of election, the supervisors of balloting, and the supervisors of opening ballots shall prepare a report on the election, a report on balloting, and a report on opening ballots, respectively, and each shall sign his name thereto.
In case the election of officers in held at any time and place other than at a general meeting, voting places shall be established at such places as do not hamper the proper exercise of the right of members to vote in the election.
Article 31 shall be amended as follows:
Article 31. The term of office of officers shall be provided for by the Articles of incorporation, not exceeding three years.
Any cooperative association which has three years term of office for its officers shall elect about one-third of the fixed number of directors and auditors each year, unless otherwise provided for by the Articles of incorporation.
The term of office of the officers at the time of establishment shall be determined at the constituent general meeting of members (determined by organization committees, in the case of a cooperative association coming into existence in consequence of amalgamation), regardless of the provision of par.1. However, the term of office shall not be more than one year.
In Article 38 paragraph 2 item (4), "Amount of shares paid up" shall be amended as "Amount of investment paid up (excluding revolving capital;hereinafter the same)" .
The following one Article shall be added next to Article 41:
Article 41-(2). In case it is feared loss will result from suspension of business due to there being no person who performs the functions of officers, the administrative authorities may, at the request of members of the cooperative association or other interested persons, convene a general meeting of members for an election of officers and they may enable the cooperative association to hold an election of officers.
The provisions of Article 37 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the convocation of the general meeting specified in the preceding paragraph.
The following two items shall be added to Article 46:
(4) Authorizing the association to become one of the promoters for the establishment of a federation of agricultural cooperative associations or approving the resolution made at the preliminary meeting for the establishment of a federation:
(5) Joining or withdrawing from a federation of agricultural cooperative associations.
The following one Article shall be added next to Article 46:
Article 46-(2). In case a federation of agricultural cooperative associations intends to amend its Articles of incorporation in order to newly perform a function performed by another federation of agricultural cooperative associations which has the same business area, member associations shall adopt a resolution for or against the proposed amendment by vote of the members at the respective general meetings.
Matters under items (4) and (5) of the preceding Article shall be decided by vote of the members.
In Article 48 paragraph 4, "5" shall be amended as "8" .
In Article 52-(2), "the preceding two Articles" shall be amended as "the preceding three Articles" ;the same Article shall be made Article 52-(3);and the following one Article shall be inserted as Article 52-(2):
Article 52-(2). A cooperative association with capital stock may use revolving capital to cover losses.
Any balance remaining after losses have been covered with revolving capital shall be refunded after five years have elapsed reckoning from the beginning of the business year following the business year in which the surplus was obtained. However, in case, within the abovementioned period, a decision was made to make the refund to its members at a general meeting of members, or a member has withdrawn from the association, the balance shall be refunded to the members or to the retired member at the end of the business year in which the said decision was made or the said member withdrew.
The following one paragraph shall be added to Article 63:
If the cooperative association has failed to make the registration under the preceding paragraph within ninety days from the date of approval for the establishment under Art.59 par.1, the administrative authorities may cancel the approval concerned.
"Art.65, Par.4" in Article 83 paragraph 3 and "Par.4 of Art.65" in Article 85 paragraph 3 shall be amended as "Art.65 par.6" .
In Article 101 item (8), "or Art.65, Par.4" shall be amended as "(inclusive of cases where these apply mutatis mutandis in Art.65 par.6)" .
Supplementary Provisions:
1 This Law shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.
2 With regard to the term of office of officers of cooperative associations who hold office at the time of the enforcement of this Law, the former provisions shall still prevail.