Article 24-4-4Evaluation of the System for Ensuring the Appropriateness of Documents and Other Information Related to Financial Accounting

①For each business year, a company required to submit an annual securities report under Article 24, paragraph (1) (including one that has submitted an annual securities report under Article 23-3, paragraph (4); the same applies in the following paragraph) which is the issuer of securities set forth in Article 24, paragraph (1), item (i) or which is any other company specified by Cabinet Order, must submit a report to the Prime Minister in which the system specified by Cabinet Office Order as necessary for ensuring the appropriateness of documents and other information related to the financial accounting of the corporate group to which the company belongs and of the company is evaluated pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Office Order (hereinafter referred to as an "internal control report"), together with its annual securities report (or a foreign company report, if the company submits a foreign company report instead of the annual securities report, etc. set forth in Article 24, paragraph (8), pursuant to that paragraph), pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Office Order.

②A company that is required to submit an annual securities report under Article 24, paragraph (1) but that is not required to submit an internal control report together with an annual securities report pursuant to the preceding paragraph (except a company specified by Cabinet Order), may voluntarily submit the internal control report provided for in the preceding paragraph.

③The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs apply mutatis mutandis to a company specified by Cabinet Order that is required to submit an annual securities report under Article 24, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (5) of that Article (including a company that has submitted an annual securities report pursuant to Article 23-3, paragraph (4)). In this case, in paragraph (1), the phrase "or any other company specified by Cabinet Order" is deemed to be replaced with "or any other company specified by Cabinet Order (limited to one that is the issuer of regulated securities (meaning regulated securities provided for in Article 5, paragraph (1); hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph))", the term "business year" is deemed to be replaced with "specified period (meaning the specified period provided for in Article 24, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 24, paragraph (5)) designated for the regulated securities", the phrase "of the corporate group to which the company belongs and of the company" is deemed to be replaced with "for assets connected with the asset management and other similar business conducted by the company"; and any other necessary technical replacement of terms is specified by Cabinet Order.

④A document stating the particulars of the system specified by Cabinet Office Order which is referred to in paragraph (1), and other documents that are specified by Cabinet Office Order as necessary and appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors, must accompany an internal control report.

⑤The provisions of Article 6 apply mutatis mutandis if an internal control report and accompanying documents are submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (3); hereinafter the same applies in this Article) and the preceding paragraph. In such a case, the necessary technical replacement of terms is specified by Cabinet Order.

⑥The provisions of Article 24, paragraphs (8), (9), and (11) through (13) apply mutatis mutandis if a reporting foreign company submits the internal control report under paragraph (1) or (2) of this Article (but only if the reporting foreign company submits foreign company reports). In this case, in Article 24, paragraph (8), the phrase "a foreign company that is required to submit an annual securities report pursuant to paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (5); hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph to paragraph (13)) (including a foreign company that has submitted an annual securities report pursuant to Article 23-3, paragraph (4); hereinafter referred to as a 'reporting foreign company')" is deemed to be replaced with "a foreign company that is required to submit an annual securities report pursuant to paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (5); hereinafter the same applies in this paragraph to paragraph (13))", the phrase "an annual securities report under paragraph (1) and the documents that are required to accompany it pursuant to paragraph (6) (hereinafter collectively referred to as an "annual securities report, etc." in this Article)" is deemed to be replaced with "an internal control report under Article 24-4-4, paragraph (1) or (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 24-4-4, paragraph (3)) and documents that are required to accompany it pursuant to Article 24-4-4, paragraph (4) (hereinafter collectively referred to as an 'internal control report, etc.')", and the phrase "similar to an annual securities report, etc., but that has been prepared in English and disclosed in a foreign country is deemed to be replaced with "in which it has stated the particulars that are required to be stated in an internal control report, etc."; in Article 24, paragraph (9), the phrase "documents stating the particulars not stated in the foreign company report that are specified by Cabinet Office Order as necessary and appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors, and other" is deemed to be replaced with "other"; in Article 24, paragraph (11), the phrase "an annual securities report, etc." is deemed to be replaced with "an internal control report, etc."; and any other necessary technical replacement of terms is specified by Cabinet Order.