Financial Instruments and Exchange Act

While carrying out questioning, examination, retention, inspection, search, seizure, or seizure with an order to produce a copy of records pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, a Commission official may prohibit any person from entering or exiting the place without permission.

When carrying out an inspection, a search, a seizure, or a seizure with an order to produce a copy of records at a person's residence, or at a mansion, building, or other place that a person watches over, a Commission official must have the owner or manager (or a representative, agent, or other person that may act on the owner's or manager's behalf) or the employee or co-habiting adult relative of the owner or manager, present at the site.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if it is not possible to have any of the persons prescribed in that paragraph present at the site, a Commission official must have an adult neighbor of the person, or another police officer or official of the local government, present at the site.

When searching a female, a Commission official must have an adult female present; provided, however, that this does not apply in cases of urgency.

A Commission official may request the assistance of police officers if this is necessary at the time the Commission official carries out an inspection, a search, a seizure, or a seizure with an order to produce a copy of records.

Upon carrying out questioning pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, a Commission official must prepare a record of the questioning, have the person the official questioned inspect the record, or read it aloud to the person, ask the person whether it contains any errors, and if the person makes a proposal for an addition to, deletion from, or alteration of the record, enter the person's statement in the record, and sign and seal it, as well as have the person sign and seal it; provided, however, that if the person that was questioned will not or cannot sign and seal the record, it is sufficient to append a note of this.

Upon carrying out an examination or retention pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, a Commission official must prepare a record of this, and sign and seal the record.

Upon carrying out inspection, search, seizure, or seizure with a recording order pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, a Commission official must prepare a record of this, show the record to a person that was present, and sign and seal it, as well as have that person sign and seal it; provided, however, that if the person that was present will not or cannot sign and seal the record, it is sufficient to append a note of this.

Upon carrying out a retention, seizure, or seizure with an order to produce a copy of records, a Commission official must prepare an inventory and deliver a certified copy of this to the owner, possessor, or keeper of the retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records (including a person rendered a disposition under the provisions of Article 211-4) or to any other person that may act on their behalf.

A Commission official may collect a storage certificate and have the owner or possessor of a retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records that is inconvenient to transport or store, or any other person that the Commission official finds to be appropriate, store that object, with the consent of the person in question.

If it becomes unnecessary to keep a retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records, a Commission official must return it to the person to whom it should be returned.

If the Commission is unable to return a retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records referred to in the preceding paragraph because the address or residence of the person to whom it should be returned is unknown or for any other such reason, the Commission must issue public notice of this.

If no request is filed for the return of the retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records to which the public notice under the provisions of the preceding paragraph concerns after six months have elapsed since the day of the public notice, the object vests in the national treasury.

If it becomes unnecessary to keep a recording medium that was seized after transferring or having a person transfer electronic or magnetic records pursuant to the provisions of Article 211-4, and the person subject to the seizure is a different person from the owner, possessor, or keeper of the recording medium, a Commission official must deliver the recording medium to the person subject to the seizure or allow the person to copy the electronic or magnetic records.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to delivery or copying under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If no request is filed for the delivery or copying under the provisions of paragraph (1) after six months have elapsed since the day of the public notice under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the Commission official is not required to make the delivery or have the person make the copying.

If it is necessary for investigating a criminal case, a Commission official may commission a person with relevant expertise to present an expert opinion or commission that person to perform interpretation or translation services, with regard to a retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records.

A person that has received a request for an expert opinion under the provisions of the preceding paragraph (referred to as an "expert" in paragraphs (4) and (5)) may destroy the object for which an expert opinion was requested, with the permission of the judge of the district court or summary court that has jurisdiction over the locality of the Commission.

A request for the permission referred to in the preceding paragraph must come from a commission official.

If the request referred to in the preceding paragraph has been filed and the judge finds the request to be reasonable, the judge must issue a warrant to a Commission official which states the name of the suspect in the criminal case, the charged offense, and the object to be destroyed; states the name of the expert; states the government position and name of the requester; states the valid period; indicates that after the valid period ends, the warrant may not be executed and must be returned; states the date of issuance and the name of the court; and bears the judge's name and seal.

An expert must show the warrant referred to in the preceding paragraph to a person subject to the disposition referred to in paragraph (2).

Upon completing an investigation of a criminal case, a Commission official must report the results of the investigation to the Commission.

With the approval of the Commission, the Director-General of a Local Finance Bureau or the Director-General of a Local Finance Branch Bureau is to designate persons who will be in charge of investigations of criminal cases from among the officials of a Local Finance Bureau or a Local Finance Branch Bureau.

A person designated by the Director-General of a Local Finance Bureau or the Director-General of a Local Finance Branch Bureau pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as the "official of a Local Finance Bureau, etc." in this Chapter) is deemed to be a Commission official, and the provisions of Article 210 through the preceding Article apply. In such a case, the term "of the Commission" in Article 211, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "of the Local Finance Bureau or Local Finance Branch Bureau to which the official belongs", the term "Commission" in Article 222, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "the Director-General of a Local Finance Bureau or the Director-General of a Local Finance Branch Bureau", the term "Commission" in Article 222-3, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "the Local Finance Bureau or the Local Finance Branch Bureau to which the official of a Local Finance Bureau, etc. prescribed in Article 224, paragraph (2) who is deemed to be a Commission official referred to in the preceding paragraph pursuant to the provisions of Article 224, paragraph (2) belongs", and the term "to the Commission" in the preceding Article is deemed to be replaced with "to the Director-General of a Local Finance Bureau or the Director-General of a Local Finance Branch Bureau".

If the Director-General of a Local Finance Bureau or the Director-General of a Local Finance Branch Bureau receives a report from the official of a Local Finance Bureau, etc. under the provisions of the preceding Article as applied pursuant to the preceding paragraph following the deemed replacement of terms, the Director-General must report the content of the report to the Commission.

The Commission guides and supervises the Director-General of a Local Finance Bureau or the Director-General of a Local Finance Branch Bureau in the investigation of a criminal case.

The Commission may directly guide and supervise the official of a Local Finance Bureau, etc., if it finds this to be necessary in connection with the investigation of a criminal case.

The official of a Local Finance Bureau, etc. may execute duties outside the jurisdictional district of the Local Finance Bureau or Local Finance Branch Bureau to which the official belongs, if it is necessary for the official to do so in order to investigate a criminal case.

If the Commission is convinced that a criminal offense has taken place based on the investigation of a criminal case, it must file an accusation and if there are any retained objects, seized objects, or objects seized with an order to produce a copy of records, it must hand over the objects together with the retention inventory, seizure inventory, or inventory of seizure with an order to produce a copy of records.

If a retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records referred to in the preceding paragraph is related to the storage under the provisions of Article 221, the Commission must use the storage certificate referred to in that Article to keep it in custody, as well as notify the keeper referred to in that Article to that effect.

If a retained object, seized object, or object seized with an order to produce a copy of records is handed over pursuant to the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, the object is deemed to have been seized pursuant to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 131 of 1948).