# 銀行法 / Banking Act — 第三十一条 (Article 31) - Law: 銀行法 (Banking Act), 昭和五十六年法律第五十九号 - English title "Banking Act": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第三十一条 (Article 31) — address `art-31` - Text in force since: 2026-08-12 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31 - Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第三十一条 art-31 · https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31 **第一項** 内閣総理大臣は、前条の認可の申請があつたときは、次に掲げる基準に適合するかどうかを審査しなければならない。 art-31/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31/par-1 When an application is filed for the authorization referred to in the preceding Article, the Prime Minister must examine whether the following criteria are met: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **一** 前条の規定による合併、会社分割、事業の全部又は一部の譲渡又は譲受け（以下この条において「合併等」という。）が、当該合併等の当事者である銀行等（銀行及び長期信用銀行をいう。第五十二条の六十の二を除き、以下同じ。）又は信用金庫等が業務を行つている地域（会社分割により事業の一部を承継させ、若しくは承継する場合又は事業の一部の譲渡若しくは譲受けに係る場合にあつては、当該一部の事業が行われている地域に限る。）における資金の円滑な需給及び利用者の利便に照らして、適当なものであること。 art-31/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31/par-1/item-1 a merger, company split, or transfer or acquisition of all or part of a business, pursuant to the provisions of the preceding Article (hereinafter referred to as the "merger, etc." in this Article) is appropriate in light of the smooth supply and demand of funds and customer convenience in the region where the bank, etc. (meaning a bank or long-term credit bank; hereinafter the same applies except in Article 52-60-2) or Shinkin bank, etc. which is party to the merger, etc. performs services (if a part of the business has been succeeded or is to be succeeded to in a company split or a part of the business is to be transferred or acquired, limited to the region in which that part of business is conducted); Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **二** 合併等が金融機関相互間の適正な競争関係を阻害する等金融秩序を乱すおそれがないものであること。 art-31/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31/par-1/item-2 it is unlikely that the merger, etc. is to disrupt the order of the financial system by impeding fair competition among financial institutions or in any other way; and Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **三** 前条の認可の申請をした銀行又は合併により設立される銀行が、合併等の後に、その業務を的確、公正かつ効率的に遂行する見込みが確実であること。 art-31/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31/par-1/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31/par-1/item-3 the bank filing the application for the authorization referred to in the preceding Article or the bank incorporated in the merger is fully expected to perform its services appropriately, fairly, and efficiently after the merger, etc. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-31/par-1: 前条 → 銀行法 第三十条 (Article 30), art-30 — https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-30 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-30 - art-31/par-1/item-1: 前条 → 銀行法 第三十条 (Article 30), art-30 — https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-30 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-30 - art-31/par-1/item-1: この条 → 銀行法 第三十一条 (Article 31), art-31 — https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31 - art-31/par-1/item-1: 第五十二条の六十の二 → 銀行法 第五十二条の六十の二 (Article 52-60-2), art-52-60-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-52-60-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-52-60-2 - art-31/par-1/item-3: 前条 → 銀行法 第三十条 (Article 30), art-30 — https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-30 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-30 ## Cited by 1 provision cites this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 銀行法 第三十一条第一項第一号 — https://japanlaw.org/en/banking-act/art-31/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/356AC0000000059/art-31/par-1/item-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 銀行法 — the text in force from 2026-08-12 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/356AC0000000059/20260812_508AC0000000064), retrieved 2026-10-11 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Banking Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4498/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11 - This site's parser, version 189 — 銀行法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11