Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act

Export of goods is permitted under the minimum restrictions as long as it conforms to the purpose of this Act.

A person seeking to make an export involving a specified type of goods, which has a specified region as the destination and which is prescribed by Cabinet Order as being found to interfere with the maintenance of international peace and security, must get the permission of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

If the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry finds it to be necessary to do so in order to ensure the reliable implementation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, may make it obligatory for persons seeking to export the specified type of goods referred to in that paragraph to a region other than a specified region as referred to in that paragraph to get permission to do so.

Beyond as prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, may make it obligatory for persons seeking to export a specified type of goods or to export goods to a specified region or for persons seeking to export goods through specified transactions to get approval to do so, to the extent necessary in order to maintain a balance of payments equilibrium, enable the sound development of foreign trade and the national economy, allow Japan to faithfully perform its obligations under a treaty or other international agreement that it has concluded, allow Japan to contribute to international efforts towards international peace, or make it possible to implement the cabinet decision referred to in Article 10, paragraph (1).

If the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry finds there to be a particularly urgent need to do so, the Minister may designate items or destinations and suspend shipments of goods for a period of not more than one month, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In order to enable the sound development of foreign trade and the national economy, allow Japan to faithfully perform its obligations under a treaty or other international agreement that it has concluded, allow Japan to contribute to international efforts for international peace, or make it possible to implement the cabinet decision referred to in Article 10, paragraph (1), persons seeking to import goods are sometimes placed under the obligation to get import approval, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry may prohibit a person that has exported goods prescribed in Article 48, paragraph (1) without getting the permission under that paragraph from exporting goods; from conducting transactions that are meant to provide specified technology in a foreign country or to a non-resident; from exporting documents, drawings, or recording media containing specified information in connection with such transactions; or from using telecommunications to transmit information about specified technology with the objective of having it received in a foreign country in connection with such a transaction, but only during a period of up to three years.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry may prohibit a person that has violated this Act, an Order based on this Act, or an administrative disposition based on either of these with regard to the import or export of goods (excluding a person as prescribed in the preceding paragraph) from importing or exporting goods, but only during a period of up to one year (or three years, if the person has violated responsive measures as prescribed in Article 10, paragraph (1) (limited to those involving Article 48, paragraph (3) or the preceding Article)).

If the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry imposes a prohibition under paragraph (1) or the preceding paragraph, and the violator (meaning the person that has exported goods as prescribed in Article 48, paragraph (1) without getting the permission under paragraph (1) of that Article as prescribed in paragraph (1), or the person that has violated this Act, an Order based on this Act, or an administrative disposition based on either of these with regard to the import or export of goods prescribed in the preceding paragraph; the same applies in the following paragraph) is an individual, the Minister may prohibit the violator from becoming the officer (meaning the member in charge of executive business management, the director, executive officer, representative, administrator or any equivalent person, and including any person that is found to have at least the same level of control in a corporation as that of a member in charge of executive business management, director, executive officer, representative, administrator, or any equivalent person, irrespective of whether they are referred to as advisor or consultant or by any other title; the same applies in the following paragraph) in charge of operations that are within the scope of the prohibition at a corporation (including an association or foundation without legal personality for which a representative or administrator has been designated; hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph and the following paragraph) that engages in such operations, for the same period as that of the prohibition.

If the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry imposes a prohibition under paragraph (1) or (2), and the person specified in the relevant of the following items for the category of violator referred to in that item constitutes a person provided for by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as one whose engagement in the operations that are subject to the prohibition it is found to be appropriate to restrict in order to ensure the effectiveness of the prohibition, in consideration of the factual circumstances serving as the reason for the prohibition and the degree to which the person was responsible for those circumstances, the Minister may prohibit the person from commencing new operations within the scope subject to the prohibition (this includes prohibiting the person from becoming the officer in charge of such new operations at a corporation engaging in those operations), for the same period as that of the prohibition:

if the violator is a corporation:its officer; any person that has been its officer within the 60 days prior to the day of the disposition imposing the prohibition; a person managing the operations at its business office or any other employee prescribed by Cabinet Order (hereinafter simply referred to as an "employee" in this item and the following item); or a person that has been its employee within the 60 days prior to the day of the disposition imposing the prohibition; or

if the violator is an individual:the individual's employee or any person that has been the individual's employee within the 60 days prior to the day of the disposition imposing the prohibition.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry directs and supervises the Directors-General of Customs with regard to the importing and exporting of goods under the minister's jurisdiction, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry may delegate part of the minister's authority based on this Act to the Directors-General of Customs, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.