Section 2 Establishment of Organs Other than Shareholders Meeting
第二節 株主総会以外の機関の設置
Article 326Establishment of Organs Other than Shareholders Meeting
第三百二十六条（株主総会以外の機関の設置）
A stock company must have one or more directors.
株式会社には、一人又は二人以上の取締役を置かなければならない。
A stock company may have a board of directors, an accounting advisor, a company auditor, a board of company auditors, a financial auditor, audit and supervisory committee, or nominating committee, etc. as prescribed by the articles of incorporation.
株式会社は、定款の定めによって、取締役会、会計参与、監査役、監査役会、会計監査人、監査等委員会又は指名委員会等を置くことができる。
Article 327Obligations to Establish Board of Directors and Other Organizations
第三百二十七条（取締役会等の設置義務等）
The following stock company must have a board of directors:
次に掲げる株式会社は、取締役会を置かなければならない。
A company with board of directors (excluding company with audit and supervisory committees and company with nominating committee, etc.) must have a company auditor; provided, however, that this does not apply to a company with accounting advisor that is not a public company.
取締役会設置会社（監査等委員会設置会社及び指名委員会等設置会社を除く。）は、監査役を置かなければならない。ただし、公開会社でない会計参与設置会社については、この限りでない。
A company with financial auditor (excluding a company with audit and supervisory committees and company with nominating committee, etc.) must have a company auditor.
会計監査人設置会社（監査等委員会設置会社及び指名委員会等設置会社を除く。）は、監査役を置かなければならない。
A company with audit and supervisory committees and company with nominating committee, etc. may not have a company auditor.
監査等委員会設置会社及び指名委員会等設置会社は、監査役を置いてはならない。
A company with audit and supervisory committees and company with nominating committee, etc. must have a financial auditor.
監査等委員会設置会社及び指名委員会等設置会社は、会計監査人を置かなければならない。
A company with nominating committee, etc. must not have an audit and supervisory committee.
指名委員会等設置会社は、監査等委員会を置いてはならない。
Article 327-2Obligation to Have an Outside Director
第三百二十七条の二（社外取締役の設置義務）
A company with board of company auditors (limited to a public company that is a large company) that is required to submit an annual securities report to the Prime Minister with respect to shares that the company issues pursuant to the provisions of Article 24, paragraph (1) of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act must have an outside director.
監査役会設置会社（公開会社であり、かつ、大会社であるものに限る。）であって金融商品取引法第二十四条第一項の規定によりその発行する株式について有価証券報告書を内閣総理大臣に提出しなければならないものは、社外取締役を置かなければならない。
Article 328Obligations of Large Companies to Establish Board of Company Auditors
第三百二十八条（大会社における監査役会等の設置義務）
A large company (excluding a company which is not a public company, a company with audit and supervisory committee, and a company with nominating committee, etc.) must have a board of company auditors and a financial auditor.
大会社（公開会社でないもの、監査等委員会設置会社及び指名委員会等設置会社を除く。）は、監査役会及び会計監査人を置かなければならない。
A large company which is not a public company must have a financial auditor.
public company
「公開会社」
A stock company whose articles of incorporation do not require the company's approval for transfers of at least some of its shares; it need not be listed on a stock exchange.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (v)· applies throughout the law
large company
「大会社」
A stock company whose balance sheet for its most recent business year shows stated capital of 500 million yen or more, or total liabilities of 20 billion yen or more.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (vi)· applies throughout the law
company with board of directors
「取締役会設置会社」
A stock company that has a board of directors, or that this Act requires to have one.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (vii)· applies throughout the law
company with accounting advisor
「会計参与設置会社」
A stock company that has an accounting advisor, an officer who prepares the financial statements jointly with the directors.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (viii)· applies throughout the law
company with board of company auditors
「監査役会設置会社」
A stock company that has a board of company auditors, or that this Act requires to have one.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (x)· applies throughout the law
company with financial auditor
「会計監査人設置会社」
A stock company that has a financial auditor, an outside certified public accountant or audit firm that audits its accounts, or that this Act requires to have one.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (xi)· applies throughout the law
company with audit and supervisory committee
「監査等委員会設置会社」
A stock company that has an audit and supervisory committee, made up of directors.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (xi-2)· applies throughout the law
nominating committees, etc.machine translation
「指名委員会等」
The three committees of a company with nominating committee, etc.: its nominating committee, audit committee and remuneration committee.
Short name set inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (xii)
company with nominating committee, etc.machine translation
「指名委員会等設置会社」
A stock company with a nominating committee, an audit committee and a remuneration committee, each made up of directors.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (xii)· applies throughout the law
outside director
「社外取締役」
A director of a stock company who meets all the independence requirements in Article 2, item (xv), such as not running, and not having run in the previous ten years, the business of the company or its subsidiaries.
Defined inArticle 2, paragraph (1), item (xv)· applies throughout the law
articles of incorporation
定款
A company's own basic rules, written by its founders when it is formed: at least its purpose, its trade name, where its head office is, the value of the property contributed at incorporation and who the founders are (Companies Act, Article 27). A stock company's must be certified by a notary before it takes effect (Article 30, paragraph (1)), and can later be changed by a resolution of the shareholders meeting (Article 466). Many rules in the Act apply "unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise", so a company's articles decide a great deal of how the Act applies to it.
Written by AI using Companies Act, Arts. 26, 27, 30, 466, 575 as a reference.
board of directors
取締役会
The body made up of all of a stock company's directors (Companies Act, Article 362, paragraph (1)). It decides how the company's business is carried out, supervises the directors, and appoints and removes the representative directors (代表取締役) (Article 362, paragraphs (2) and (3)) — except in a company with a nominating committee and the other committees (指名委員会等設置会社), where it appoints representative executive officers (代表執行役) instead (Articles 416 and 420). Some decisions, such as disposing of important assets or borrowing a large amount, it normally may not hand to the directors (Article 362, paragraph (4)). A company with an audit and supervisory committee (監査等委員会設置会社) can hand more of them to directors (Article 399-13, paragraphs (5) and (6)), and a company with the committees hands them to executive officers (執行役) rather than directors (Article 416, paragraphs (3) and (4)). A company chooses in its articles of incorporation whether to have one (Article 326, paragraph (2)), but a public company (公開会社), among others, must (Article 327, paragraph (1)): a public company is one whose articles of incorporation let at least some of its shares change hands without the company's approval (Article 2, item (v)). A company with a board must have at least three directors (Article 331, paragraph (5)).
Written by AI using Companies Act, Arts. 2, 326, 327, 331, 362, 399-13, 416, 420 as a reference.
company auditor
監査役
An officer of a stock company, elected by the shareholders meeting (Companies Act, Article 329, paragraph (1)), whose job is to audit how the directors carry out their duties and to write an audit report on it (Article 381, paragraph (1)). Not an outside accountant — that is the financial auditor (会計監査人) — and not a director: a company auditor may not also be a director or employee of the company or its subsidiaries (Article 335, paragraph (2)). The term normally runs to the annual shareholders meeting for the last business year ending within four years of election (Article 336, paragraph (1)).
Written by AI using Companies Act, Arts. 329, 335, 336, 381 as a reference.
director
取締役
An officer of a stock company, elected by the shareholders meeting (Companies Act, Article 329, paragraph (1)). Every stock company has at least one (Article 326, paragraph (1)). Where there is no board of directors, the directors run the company's business unless the articles of incorporation say otherwise (Article 348, paragraph (1)), and each of them represents it unless the company has chosen representative directors (代表取締役) or others to do that (Article 349, paragraphs (1) and (3)). Where there is a board (取締役会, board of directors), the directors are its members, and the board decides the business and normally chooses the representative directors from among them (Article 362). The term normally runs to the annual shareholders meeting for the last business year ending within two years of election (Article 332, paragraph (1)).
Written by AI using Companies Act, Arts. 326, 329, 332, 348, 349, 362 as a reference.
Prime Minister
内閣総理大臣
The head of the Cabinet. Designated by the Diet from among its own members, and appointed by the Emperor on that designation (Articles 67 and 6). The Prime Minister appoints and may dismiss the other Ministers of State at will, and a majority of them must be members of the Diet (Article 68). No Minister of State can be subjected to legal action while in office without the Prime Minister's consent (Article 75).
Written by AI using Constitution, Arts. 6, 67, 68, 75 and Wikipedia: Prime Minister of Japan as a reference.