A stock company may acquire shares issued by relevant stock company only in the following cases:

①A stock company must prescribe the following matters by a resolution at a shareholders meeting in advance in order to acquire for value own shares by agreement with its shareholders; provided, however, that the period under item (iii) cannot exceed one year:

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to the cases set forth in item (i) and item (ii), and in item (iv) through item (xiii) of the preceding Article.

①Whenever a stock company intends to acquire its shares in accordance with a determination pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, it must prescribe the following matters:

②A company with board of directors must determine the matters set forth in each item of the preceding paragraph by a resolution of the board of directors meeting.

③The conditions prescribed for the acquisition of shares under paragraph (1) must be uniform for each determination made under the provisions of that paragraph.

①A stock company must notify its shareholders (or, for a company with class shares, the class shareholders of the classes of the shares it intends to acquire) of the matters set forth in each item of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article.

②A public company may substitute a public notice for the notice under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

①If a shareholder who receives a notice pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article intends to make an offer to transfer the shares the shareholder holds, the shareholder must disclose to the stock company the number of shares (or, for a company with class shares, the classes of the shares and the number of the shares for each class) relating to that offer.

②A stock company is deemed to have accepted, on the date provided for in Article 157, paragraph (1), item (iv), the transfer of shares that the shareholders under the preceding paragraph offered; provided, however, that if the total number of shares that the shareholders under that paragraph offered (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "total number of shares offered") exceed the number provided for in paragraph (1), item (i) of that Article (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "total number of shares to be acquired"), it is deemed that the stock company has accepted the transfer of the shares in the number obtained by first dividing the total number of shares to be acquired by the total number of shares offered, and then multiplying relevant product by the number of the shares offered by the shareholders under the preceding paragraph (if the number so obtained includes a fractional share, this fractional share is to be rounded off).

①In conjunction with the determination of the matters set forth in each item of Article 156, paragraph (1), a stock company may, by a resolution at a shareholders meeting under that paragraph, make a determination to the effect that notice under the provisions of Article 158, paragraph (1) may be given to specific shareholders.

②If a stock company intends to make a determination under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it must give notice to the shareholders (or, for a company with class shares, the class shareholders of the classes of the shares to be acquired), by the time prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order, to the effect that the shareholders may make the requests under the provisions of the following paragraph.

③The shareholders under the preceding paragraph may, by the time prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order, request that they be added to the specific shareholders provided for in paragraph (1) for the proposal for the shareholders meeting under that paragraph.

④The specific shareholders under paragraph (1) may not exercise voting right at the shareholders meeting provided for in Article 156, paragraph (1); provided, however, that this does not apply if all shareholders other than the specific shareholders under paragraph (1) may not exercise the voting right at relevant shareholders meeting.

⑤If specific shareholders are prescribed under paragraph (1), for the purpose of the application of the provisions of Article 158, paragraph (1), the phrase "shareholders (or, for a company with class shares, the class shareholder of the classes of the shares it intends to acquire)" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "specific shareholders under Article 160, paragraph (1)".

The provisions of paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of the preceding Article do not apply if, if the shares to be acquired are shares with a market price, the amount of the monies, etc. to be delivered in exchange for the acquisition of one relevant share does not exceed the amount of the market price of one relevant share calculated by the method prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order.

The provisions of Article 160, paragraphs (2) and (3) do not apply if a stock company acquires, from general successors of the shareholders, including their heirs, the shares of the stock company that the same acquired by general succession including inheritance; provided, however, that this does not apply if it falls under any of the following:

If a stock company acquires shares in relevant stock company that are held by its subsidiary company, for the purpose of the application of the provisions of Article 156, paragraph (1), the phrase "shareholders meeting" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "shareholders meeting (or board of directors meeting for a company with board of directors)". In these cases, the provisions of Article 157 through Article 160 do not apply.

①If a stock company intends to make a determination under the provisions of Article 160, paragraph (1) with respect to the acquisition of shares (or, for a company with class shares , shares of a certain class; the same applies in the following paragraph), it may provide in the articles of incorporation to the effect that the provisions of paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of that Article do not apply.

②If, after the shares are issued, it is intended to create provisions in the articles of incorporation under the provisions of the preceding paragraph with respect to relevant shares by amending the articles of incorporation, or to effect any amendment (excluding that which abolishes the provisions of the articles of incorporation under that paragraph) in the articles of incorporation with respect to relevant provisions, the consent of all shareholders who hold relevant shares must be obtained.

①The provisions of Article 157 through Article 160 do not apply if a stock company acquires shares in relevant stock company through transactions undertaken by that stock company in the market or through a takeover bid provided for in Article 27-2, paragraph (6) of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (hereinafter in this Article referred to as "market transactions").

②A company with board of directors may provide in its articles of incorporation to the effect that the acquisition of own shares by market transactions may be prescribed by a resolution at a board of directors meeting.

③If the provisions of the articles of incorporation under the provisions of the preceding paragraph is created, for the purpose of the application of the provisions of Article 156, paragraph (1), the phrase "shareholders meeting" in this paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "shareholders meeting (or shareholders meeting or board of director's meeting in the cases provided for in Article 165, paragraph (1))".