Article 31Keeping and Inspection of Articles of Incorporation

①The incorporator (or the stock company after the formation of relevant stock company) must keep articles of incorporation at the place designated by the incorporator (or at the head office or branch office of the stock company after the formation of that stock company).

②The incorporator (or, after the formation of that stock company, the shareholder and creditor of that stock company) may submit the following request at any time during the hours designated by the incorporator (or, after the formation of the stock company, during the business hours of relevant stock company); provided, however, that the fees designated by the incorporator (or, after the formation of the stock company, relevant stock company) are required to be paid in order to submit the requests set forth in item (ii) or item (iv):

③After the formation of a stock company, if it is necessary for the purpose of exercising the rights of a member of the parent company (meaning the shareholders and other members of the parent companies; the same applies hereinafter) of relevant stock company, the relevant member of the parent company may, with the permission of the court, make the requests set forth in each item of the preceding paragraph with respect to the articles of incorporation of relevant stock company; provided, however, that, in order to make the requests set forth in item (ii) or item (iv) of that paragraph, the fees designated by relevant stock company is required to be paid.

④If articles of incorporation are prepared as an electronic or magnetic record, for the purpose of the application of the provisions of paragraph (1) with respect to a stock company which adopts the measures prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order as the measures that enable its branch offices to respond to the request set forth in paragraph (2), item (iii) and item (iv), the phrase "head office and branch office" in paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "head office".