The accounting for a stock company is to be subject to the business accounting practices generally accepted as fair and appropriate.

①A stock company must prepare accurate account books in a timely manner pursuant to Ministry of Justice Order.

②A stock company must retain its account books and important materials regarding its business for ten years from the time of the closing of the account books.

①Shareholders having not less than three hundredths (or, if lesser proportion is prescribed in the articles of incorporation, the proportion) of the votes of all shareholders (excluding shareholders who may not vote on all matters which may be resolved at a shareholders meeting) or shareholders having not less than three hundredths (or, if lesser proportion is prescribed in the articles of incorporation, the proportion) of the issued shares (excluding treasury shares) may make the following requests at any time during the business hours of the stock company. In these cases, the reasons for relevant requests must be disclosed:

②If a request referred to in the preceding paragraph is made, the stock company may not refuse the request unless it is found that any of the following apply:

③If it is necessary for the purpose of exercising the rights of a member of the parent company of a stock company, the relevant member of the parent company may, with the permission of the court, make the request set forth in each item of paragraph (1) with respect to the account books or materials relating thereto. In these cases, the reasons for relevant request must be disclosed.

④The court may not grant the permission referred to in the preceding paragraph if there are any of the facts provided for in each item of paragraph (2) with respect to the member of the parent company referred to in the preceding paragraph.

The court may, in response to a petition or ex officio, order the parties to a suit to submit account books, in whole or in part.

①A stock company must prepare a balance sheet as at the day of its formation pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order.

②A stock company must prepare financial statements (meaning balance sheets, profit and loss statements and other statements prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order as necessary and appropriate in order to indicate the status of the assets and profits and losses of a stock company; hereinafter the same applies in this Chapter) and business reports for each business year and annexed detailed statements accompanying them pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order.

③Financial statements and business reports and annexed detailed statements accompanying them may be prepared as electronic or magnetic records.

④A stock company must retain its financial statements and the annexed detailed statements accompanying them for ten years from the time of preparation of the financial statements.

①At companies with company auditor (including stock companies the articles of incorporation of which provide that the scope of the audit is limited to an audit related to accounting, and excluding the companies with financial auditor), the financial statements, business reports, and annexed detailed statements accompanying them which are referred to in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article must be audited by company auditors pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order.

②At companies with financial auditor, the documents set forth in the following items must be audited by the persons specified in each of those items pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order:

③At companies with board of directors, the financial statements, business reports, and annexed detailed statements accompanying them which are referred to in paragraph (2) of the preceding Article (or, if the provisions of paragraph (1) or the preceding paragraph apply, those which have been audited as provided for in paragraph (1) and the preceding paragraph) must be approved by the board of directors.

At companies with board of directors, directors must, when giving notice to call annual shareholders meetings, provide to shareholders pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order the financial statements and business reports that have been approved as provided for in paragraph (3) of the preceding paragraph (if the provisions of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of the same Article apply, including audit reports and financial audit reports).

①At stock companies set forth in the following items, directors must submit or provide the financial statements and business reports provided for in each relevant item to annual shareholders meetings:

②Financial statements that have been submitted or provided pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph must be approved by the annual shareholders meeting.

③Directors must report the contents of the business reports submitted or provided pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) to the annual shareholders meeting.

With respect to companies with financial auditor, if the financial statements that have been approved pursuant to Article 436, paragraph (3) satisfy the requirements prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order as statements that accurately indicate the status of the assets and profits and losses of a stock company in compliance with laws and regulations and the articles of incorporation, the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article do not apply. In these cases, directors must report the contents of relevant financial statements to the annual shareholders meeting.

①A stock company must give public notice of its balance sheet (or, for a large company, its balance sheet and profit and loss statement) without delay after the conclusion of the annual shareholders meeting pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order.

②Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, with respect to a stock company for which the means of public notice is a method set forth in Article 939, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii), it is sufficient to give public notice of a summary of the balance sheet provided for in the preceding paragraph.

③A stock company referred to in the preceding paragraph may, without delay after the conclusion of the annual shareholders meeting, pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order, take measures to make the information contained in the balance sheet provided for in paragraph (1) available to the general public continually by electronic or magnetic means until the day on which five years have elapsed from the day of the conclusion of the annual shareholders meeting. In these cases, the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs do not apply.

④The provisions of the preceding three paragraphs do not apply to stock companies that must submit their annual securities reports to the Prime Minister pursuant to the provisions of Article 24, paragraph (1) of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

①Stock companies may prepare the following documents (hereinafter referred to as "provisional financial statements") pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order in order to grasp the financial status of relevant stock company as at a certain day (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "provisional account closing day") included in the business year immediately following the most recent business year:

②At companies with company auditor or companies with financial auditor provided for in Article 436, paragraph (1), provisional financial statements must be audited by company auditors or financial auditors (or, for companies with audit and supervisory committee, by audit and supervisory committee and financial auditors, and for companies with nominating committee, etc., by the audit committee and financial auditors) pursuant to the provisions of Ministry of Justice Order.

③At companies with board of directors, provisional financial statements (or, if the provisions of the preceding paragraph apply, the statements audited under that paragraph) must be approved by the board of directors.

④At stock companies set forth in the following items, the provisional financial statements provided for in relevant item must be approved by a shareholders meeting; provided, however, that this does not apply if the provisional financial statements satisfy the requirements prescribed by Ministry of Justice Order as statements that accurately indicate the status of the assets and profits and losses of a stock company in compliance with laws and regulations and the articles of incorporation: