| (Definition) |
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"Employee" means a national public service official who is holding
a position classified as a regular service. The Prime Minister, Ministers
of State, judges and other personnel of the law court, personnel of
the Diet, personnel of the Defense Agency, and other officials holding
a position classified as a special service are not included. |
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"Senior official" means an employee whose job title is assistant
director or higher. |
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"Designated senior official" means a senior official whose pay
scale is that for designated officials. |
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"Very senior official" means an employee whose job title is Deputy
Director-General or higher. |
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"Appointing officer" means an official that holds appointing power
vested by the provision in the National Public Service Law. It namely
designates Ministers, President of the Board of Audit, Presidents
of the National Personnel Authority, and the heads of each independent
organization. |
| I. Objective |
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DThe objective of this law is to
ensure people*s trust for public service, deterring activities that
create suspect or distrust against the fairness of performance of
duties by introducing necessary measures to contribute to retaining
ethics related to the duties of national public service officials,
acknowledging that national public service officials are servants
of the whole people and their duties are to fulfill public service
entrusted by the public.
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| II. Ethics Principles |
| (1) |
Employees shall not give unfair, discriminative treatment to the
public, such as giving preferential treatment to any party of the
public with respect to information gathered in the performance of
their duties, and shall always engage in their duties with fairness,
recognising that they are servants of the whole nation and not of
any group thereof. |
| (2) |
Employees shall always distinguish between public and private affairs
and shall not use their duties or positions for private gain for themselves
or the organisation they belong to. |
| (3) |
Employees shall not take any actions that create public suspicion
or distrust against the fairness of public service while performing
their duties, such as receiving a gift from entities influenced by
their duties. |
| III. National Public Service Officials Ethics Code |
| (1) |
Based on the principles listed in II, the National Public Service
Officials Ethics Code (to be hereinafter referred to as "Code") shall
be established as a government order. It shall contain the provisions
that employees should obey for preventing the activities which create
public suspect or distrust, including interaction of employees with
persons or entities whose interests are affected by the performance
or nonperformance of the employees* duties. The provisions shall include
prohibition of accepting a gift from such persons or entities. The
Cabinet shall hear the opinion of the National Public Service Ethics
Board when it establishes or revises the Code. |
| (2) |
The heads of each ministry and agency may develop their own ethics
instructions applied to the employees in the ministries or the agencies
with the consent of the National Public Service Ethics Board. |
| (3) |
When the Code or an ethics instruction of each ministry and agency
described in (2) is revised, the Cabinet shall report the revision
to the Diet. |
| IV. Mandatory Report on Receipt of a Gift |
| (1) |
Senior officials shall report to their heads of ministries
or agencies when they receive: |
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(a) |
A gift or hospitality worth beyond 5,000 yen; and |
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(b) |
Compensation for their labor performed based on the relation between
an organisation or an entity and their duties the amount of which
is beyond 5,000 yen from an organisation or an entity. |
| (2) |
The report described in (1) shall be open to the public
upon request (applicable only to the report on the gift, hospitality
or compensation worth beyond 20,000 yen. ). |
| (3) |
A copy of the report described in (1) shall be sent
to the National Public Service Ethics Board (applicable only to the
report submitted by Designated senior officials.). |
| V. Mandatory Report on Exchange of Stocks and Income |
| (1) |
Very senior officials shall report to their heads of ministries
or agencies on: |
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(a) Annual exchange of stocks and bonds; and
(b) Annual income. |
| (2) |
A copy of the reports described in (1) shall be sent to the National
Public Service Ethics Board. |
| VI. National Public Service Ethics Board |
| (1) |
The National Public Service Ethics Board (to be hereinafter
referred to as "Board"),
which is responsible for the affairs concerning retention of ethics
among employees, shall be established in the National Personnel Authority.
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| (2) |
The duties and responsibilities of the Board are: |
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(a) |
Submitting an opinion concerning the establishment or revision of
the National Public Service Officials Ethics Code to the Cabinet with
a necessary bill; |
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(b) |
Developing a standard of disciplinary actions as punishment against
employees violating this law, the Code, or the other regulations based
on this law; |
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(c) |
Conducting research and studies concerning retention of ethics in
national public services; |
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(d) |
Planning and coordinating ethics training programmes conducted across
ministries and agencies or those conducted within each ministry and
agency; and |
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(e) |
Giving guidance and suggestion to the heads of ministries and agencies
in their effort of establishing and maintaining management systems
that encourage employees to follow the Code. |
| (3) |
The Board is also entitled to: |
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(a) |
Review the copies of reports sent to the Board described in IV(3)
and V(2); |
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(b) |
Request the appointing officers to investigate the alleged violation
of this law, the Code, or the other regulations based on this law,
and to take necessary actions at the discretion of the Board; |
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(c) |
Approve disciplinary actions imposed by the appointing officers
as punishment against the employees violating this law, the Code,
or the other regulations based on this law; |
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(d) |
Conduct an independent investigation into alleged violation of this
law, at the discretion of the Board; |
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(e) |
Impose a disciplinary action as punishment against the employees
violating this law, the Code, or the other regulations based on this
law at the discretion of the Board. |
| (4) |
|
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(a) |
The Board shall be composed of a President and four Members, who,
except for the Member referred to in (b) below, shall be appointed
by the Cabinet with the consent of the Upper and the Lower Houses
of the Diet. |
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(b) |
One of the Members of the Board is filled by the person who is appointed
by the Cabinet among the Commissioners of the National Personnel Authority. |
| (5) |
The Board shall have a Secretariat. |
| (6) |
|
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(a) |
An appointing officer shall report on suspected violation of this
law, the Code or the other ethics instructions by the employee to
the Board. |
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(b) |
An appointing officer shall inform the Board when he/she begins
the investigation of suspected violation of this law, the Code or
the other regulations based on this law. The Board may request the
appointing officer to report about its investigation or give an opinion
to the Board. The appointing officer shall report the results of the
investigation to the Board when he/she finishes the investigation. |
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(c) |
The Board may request an appointing officer to investigate suspected
violation of this law, the Code or the other regulations based on
this law. |
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(d) |
The Board may, when the Board considers it necessary, conduct the
investigation of violation of this law, the Code, or other regulations
based on this law with an appointing officer. |
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(e) |
An appointing officer shall obtain the prior approval of the Board
when he/she inflicts a disciplinary punishment due to the violation
of this law, the Code, or the other regulations based on this law. |
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(f) |
The Board may begin the investigation of the suspected violation
of this law, the Code, or the other regulations based on this law,
when the Board considers it especially necessary for the retention
of ethics related to the duties of national public service officials. |
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(g) |
Based on the investigation referred to in (f) above, the Board may
give a recommendation to the appointing officer on the disciplinary
punishment, or inflict a disciplinary punishment on the investigated
employee. |
| (7) |
The President, the Members, and employees of the Board
who divulge the secret information acquired in the line of duty shall
be punished. The punishment shall be penal servitude for up to two
years or a fine of up to one million yen, which is more serious than
the penal punishment against the other employees violating the duty
to preserve secrecy provided in the National Public Service Law. |
| VII. Ethics Supervisory Officer |
| (1) |
Ethic supervisory officers shall be appointed in each
ministry and agency. |
| (2) |
Ethic supervisory officers shall: |
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Give necessary guidance and advice for employees in the ministries
or agencies regarding ethics matters; |
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Establish management systems for retention of ethics in accordance
with the directions by the National Public Service Ethics Board. |
| VIII. |
Report to the Diet |
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The Cabinet shall make an annual report to the Diet regarding the
affairs concerning retention of ethics among employees and the measures
taken during the year. |
| IX. |
Measures for Retention of Ethics among Employees
in the Public Corporations |
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(1) |
Appropriate measures shall be taken for retention of ethics among
employees in the public corporations. |
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(2) |
The heads of ministries or agencies shall supervise the public corporations
under their jurisdiction with respect to measures taken for retention
of ethics among employees. |
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(3) |
The National Public Service Ethics Board (Board) is entitled to
request the heads of ministries or agencies to report measures taken
for retention of ethics among employees in the government funded organizations
under their supervision. The Board is also entitled to request the
heads of ministries and agencies to conduct necessary measures in
supervision of these organizations. |
| X. Miscellaneous |
| (1) |
Measures shall be taken for retention of ethics among the public
servants in local governments on the basis of the measures provided
in this law. |
| (2) |
Professors working for national universities and the employees in
government corporations such as the postal service, national forestry
service, printing and mints are exempt from some provisions of this
law, such as the National Public Service Ethics Board*s own investigation
and disciplinary actions. |
| XI. |
Supplementary Provisions |
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In this law, the provisions of VI and VII shall be enforced from
the day of its promulgation (13 August 1999), the provisions of V
(limited to the provisions related to the report of income) from 1
January 2000, and other provisions from 1 April 2000. |
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