①When a mutual aid policyholder applies to increase the monthly premium, the Organization must accept the application.

②With regard to an application from a mutual aid policyholder to decrease the monthly premium, the Organization must not accept it, except in cases specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

③An application under the preceding two paragraphs must be made by clarifying the monthly premium after the increase or decrease.

④The provisions of Article 6 apply mutatis mutandis to an increase or decrease in the monthly premium.

①When a bankruptcy occurs with respect to a business operator that is a counterparty to the transactions of a mutual aid policyholder, the Organization lends mutual aid benefits to the mutual aid policyholder at its request, except where the period from the date on which the mutual aid contract took effect to the date of occurrence of the bankruptcy is less than six months and where the number of months in which premiums were paid up to the date of occurrence of the bankruptcy is less than six months; provided, however, that this does not apply where the mutual aid policyholder does not fall under a small and medium-sized enterprise at the time of the request or in the cases set out in the following items.

②The loan amount of mutual aid benefits under the preceding paragraph is the amount requested by the mutual aid policyholder within the range of the lesser of the amount equivalent to ten times the amount obtained by deducting the total amount of the amounts set out in the following items from the total amount of premiums paid as of the date on which the request for the loan was made, and the amount of those accounts receivable and other claims specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry against the business operator that is the counterparty to the transaction relating to the bankruptcy (hereinafter referred to as "accounts receivable, etc.") that have become difficult to collect (where the transactional relationship between the mutual aid policyholder and the business operator that is its counterparty to transactions falls under the requirements specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the total amount of that amount and the amount calculated, as specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as the amount of funds urgently needed to mitigate the impact of changes in the mutual aid policyholder's transactional relationships; the same applies hereinafter); provided, however, that the total amount of that loan amount and the amount obtained by deducting the amount of mutual aid benefits already repaid from the amount of mutual aid benefits already lent or to be lent as of the date of the request must not exceed the amount specified by Cabinet Order.

③The amount specified by Cabinet Order in the proviso to the preceding paragraph is to be determined taking into consideration the amount of funds with which, by receiving the loan, most small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to be able to avoid situations such as becoming bankrupt owing to the effects of the bankruptcy of their business partner companies, and other such matters.

④The Organization may decline to lend all or part of the mutual aid benefits where a mutual aid policyholder who has requested a loan of mutual aid benefits has neglected to repay mutual aid benefits already lent, or where it is found that the mutual aid policyholder acted in bad faith or with gross negligence in coming to hold the accounts receivable, etc. in question or in their becoming difficult to collect.

⑤Where the Organization is to lend mutual aid benefits to a mutual aid policyholder and there is a temporary loan to be repaid, or interest or a penalty under Article 10-2, paragraph (5) to be paid, the Organization may deduct the total amount of the amounts set out in the following items from the loan amount of those mutual aid benefits:

①Mutual aid benefits are to be interest-free, and the repayment period is to be a period specified by Cabinet Order, according to the loan amount, within a period not exceeding 10 years (including any grace period).

②Except in cases specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Organization is not to require security (including a guarantee by a guarantor) to be provided for a loan of mutual aid benefits.

③Where a person who has received a loan of mutual aid benefits has not repaid the mutual aid benefits by the repayment date, the Organization may have that person pay a penalty, within the amount calculated on the overdue amount at the rate of 14.6 percent per annum for the number of days from the day following the repayment date to the day preceding the date of repayment.

④Where the Organization finds that a person who has received a loan of mutual aid benefits is unable to repay the mutual aid benefits by the repayment date owing to a disaster or other unavoidable grounds, it may postpone the repayment date.

⑤Where, after a period specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has elapsed from the repayment date of mutual aid benefits, there are still mutual aid benefits to be repaid or penalties to be paid, the Organization may apply the premiums paid to the repayment of those mutual aid benefits or the payment of those penalties.

⑥Where a mutual aid policyholder has completed repayment before the time limit by which repayment was to be completed as of the time the mutual aid policyholder received the loan of mutual aid benefits (where that time limit has been extended by the postponement of the repayment date pursuant to paragraph (4), that extended time limit), and has repaid the full amount of those mutual aid benefits by the repayment date, the Organization may, as specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, pay the mutual aid policyholder an early repayment allowance in the amount specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

⑦Where the Organization is to pay an early repayment allowance to a mutual aid policyholder and there are mutual aid benefits or temporary loans to be repaid for which the repayment date has passed, interest to be paid for which the payment due date has passed, penalties to be paid pursuant to paragraph (3) of this Article or paragraph (5) of the following Article, or mutual aid benefits, temporary loans, early repayment allowances, cancellation refunds or full repayment allowances to be returned pursuant to Article 13, the Organization may deduct those amounts from the amount of that early repayment allowance.

①When a mutual aid policyholder temporarily needs business funds, the Organization lends a temporary loan to the mutual aid policyholder at its request; provided, however, that this does not apply where the amount of the temporary loan to be lent is small and does not reach the amount specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

②The loan amount of the temporary loan under the preceding paragraph is limited to the amount specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, within the range of the amount of the cancellation refund that would be payable on the assumption that the mutual aid contract had been cancelled at the time of the request.

③Interest is to be charged on a temporary loan at a rate specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, taking into consideration the expenses necessary for the lending, and the repayment period is to be a period specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry within a period not exceeding two years.

④The Organization is not to require security (including a guarantee by a guarantor) to be provided for the lending of a temporary loan.

⑤Where a person who has received a temporary loan has not repaid the temporary loan by the repayment date, the Organization may have that person pay a penalty, within the amount calculated on the overdue amount at the rate of 14.6 percent per annum for the number of days from the day following the repayment date to the day preceding the date of repayment.

⑥The provisions of paragraph (5) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis where, after a period specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has elapsed from the repayment date of a temporary loan, there are still temporary loans to be repaid or interest or penalties to be paid.

①Where a mutual aid contract has been cancelled and the number of months in which premiums were paid is 12 or more, the Organization pays a cancellation refund to the mutual aid policyholder.

②Where a mutual aid contract has been cancelled pursuant to Article 7, paragraph (2), item (ii), notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, no cancellation refund is paid; provided, however, that this does not apply where there are special circumstances specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

③The amount of the cancellation refund is the amount obtained by multiplying the total premium amount calculated pursuant to the following paragraph by a ratio specified by Cabinet Order on the basis of the number of months in which premiums were paid, the grounds for the cancellation of the mutual aid contract, and other such matters.

④The total premium amount is the amount obtained by deducting, from the total amount of premiums paid at the time of the cancellation of the mutual aid contract, the total amount of an amount equivalent to one-tenth of the amount of mutual aid benefits already lent or to be lent and the amount already applied to repayment or payment pursuant to Article 10, paragraph (5) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (6) of the preceding Article).

⑤Where the Organization is to pay a cancellation refund to a mutual aid policyholder and there are mutual aid benefits or temporary loans to be repaid, interest to be paid or penalties under Article 10, paragraph (3) or paragraph (5) of the preceding Article to be paid, or mutual aid benefits, temporary loans, early repayment allowances, cancellation refunds or full repayment allowances to be returned pursuant to Article 13, the Organization may deduct those amounts from the amount of that cancellation refund.

①Where, in light of the state of revenue and expenditure of the small and medium-sized enterprise bankruptcy prevention mutual aid business and the outlook for its revenue and expenditure, it is found that its revenue and expenditure can be kept in balance into the future and that surplus funds still arise, the Organization may, as specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, pay a full repayment allowance to a mutual aid policyholder who has repaid, by the repayment date, the full amount of the mutual aid benefits lent to the policyholder in the amount prescribed in paragraph (3).

②Whether the surplus funds under the preceding paragraph have arisen and the amount of those surplus funds must be calculated as specified by Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

③The amount of the full repayment allowance is the amount obtained by multiplying an amount equivalent to one-tenth of the amount of mutual aid benefits repaid by a ratio specified by Cabinet Order on the basis of the amount of the surplus funds under paragraph (1), the forecast of the proportion of mutual aid policyholders who will receive a loan of mutual aid benefits and of the proportion of those mutual aid benefits that will be repaid by the repayment date, and other such matters.

④Where the Organization is to pay a full repayment allowance to a mutual aid policyholder and there are mutual aid benefits or temporary loans to be repaid for which the repayment date has passed, interest to be paid for which the payment due date has passed, penalties to be paid pursuant to Article 10, paragraph (3) or Article 10-2, paragraph (5), or mutual aid benefits, temporary loans, early repayment allowances, cancellation refunds or full repayment allowances to be returned pursuant to Article 13, the Organization may deduct those amounts from the amount of that full repayment allowance.