Article 1 The terms used in this Ministerial Order have the same meanings as the terms used in the Act on Promoting the Distribution and Use of Legally Harvested Wood and Wood Products (referred to below as "the Act"), and the terms listed in the following items have the meanings as specified respectively in those items: (i) type I wood-related business: a business stated in any item of Article 6, paragraph (1) of the Act conducted by a wood-related business entity prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Act; (ii) type II wood-related business: a business conducted by a wood-related business entity prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Act, other than type I wood-related business.

(Furniture, Paper and Other Goods) Article 2 The goods specified by order of the competent ministries referred to in Article 2, paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Act are as follows: (i) chairs, desks, shelves, storage furniture, low partitions, coat hangers, umbrella stands, bulletin boards, blackboards, whiteboards, and bed frames whose main components are made from wood; (ii) wood pulp; (iii) copy paper, form paper, coated paper for ink-jet color printers, uncoated printing paper, coated printing paper, tissue paper and toilet paper that are made from wood pulps; (iv) flooring whose core material is made from wood; (v) wood-cement boards; (vi) siding boards made from wood; (vii) doors (limited to those whose main components are made from wood) and their frames (limited to those whose core materials are made from wood); and (viii) those made in the middle process of manufacturing or processing the goods stated in the preceding items, which become the goods through the subsequent process of manufacturing or processing, and which are made from wood or wood pulp.

(Business Using Wood and Wood Products) Article 3 The businesses specified by order of the competent ministry as referred to in Article 2, paragraph (4), item (iv) of the Act are as follows: (i) a business of supplying an electricity utility (meaning the electricity utility prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Act on Special Measures to Promote the Use of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources (Act No. 108 of 2011)) with electricity obtained by converting woody biomass (meaning organic substances derived from plants and animals that can be used as a source of energy (excluding crude oil, petroleum gas, combustible natural gas, coal, and products manufactured from them) of which that are derived from trees) conducted by a certified business operator prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (5) of that Act; (ii) a business that builds or constructs a building or other structure using wood and wood products (excluding wood prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act).

Article 4 Deleted

(Application for Registration of a Wood-Related Business Entity) Article 5 A wood-related business entity that intends to obtain the registration in Article 15 of the Act (including the renewal of the registration referred to in Article 19, paragraph (1) of the Act; simply referred to as the "Registration" in Article 8) must apply to the registering organization whose registering procedures cover the scope of the business relating to the registration.

(Matters to Be Described in an Application) Article 6 (1) The matters specified by order of the competent ministries as referred to in Article 16, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 19, paragraph (2) of the Act) are as follows: (i) distinction of type I wood-related business and type II wood-related business; (ii) distinction of whether it falls under any of the business stated in the items of Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Act (in the case of the business stated in item (iv) of that paragraph, any of the businesses stated in the items of Article 3); (iii) departments, offices, factories, or workplaces that take measures to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products; (iv) the type of wood and wood products for which measures are to be taken to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products; (v) prospects for the annual weight, area, volume or quantity of the wood and wood products stated in the preceding item; and (2) An entity engaged in type I wood-related business must, when describing the matters listed in items (iii) and (iv) of the preceding paragraph, describe all departments, offices, factories and workplaces as well as all types of wood and wood products concerning the type I wood-related business.

(Documents to Be Attached to a Written Application) Article 7 (1) The matters specified by order of the competent ministries as referred to in Article 16, paragraph (2) of the Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 19, paragraph (2) of the Act) are the matters related to the method for appropriately and reliably taking measures to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products. (2) The following documents must be attached to the written application referred to in Article 16, paragraph (1) of the Act, in addition to the documents prescribed in paragraph (2) of that Article: (i) in case of an individual, a copy of a resident record; (ii) in case of a corporation, the articles of incorporation or articles of endowment, a certificate of registered information, and a list of officers; and (iii) documents confirming that the applicant does not fall under Article 18, paragraph (1), items (ii) through (iv) of the Act.

(Matters of Publication for Registration) Article 8 (1) The matters specified by order of the competent ministries as referred to in Article 17, paragraph (2) of the Act (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 19, paragraph (2) of the Act) are as follows: (i) the name and address of a registered person; in case of a corporation, the name of its representative; (ii) matters listed in Article 6, paragraph (1), items (i) through (iv); and (iii) date of registration and registration number. (2) A registering organization must, when having made a registration, make the matters stated in the items of the preceding paragraph viewable for the public without delay at the registering organization office, and publicize this information via the internet or by any other appropriate means until the day on which the registration is deleted.

(Change of Registered Matters for Wood-Related Business Entities) Article 9 (1) When there has been a change to any of the matters stated in the items of Article 16, paragraph (1) of the Act, a registered wood-related business entity must file an application for registration of the change with a registering organization without delay. (2) If a registered wood-related business entity intends to file an application under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the registered entity must submit to the registering organization the document stating the matters that have been changed listed in the same paragraph, the documents prescribed in Article 16, paragraph (2) of the Act, and the documents prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (2) that confirm the change. (3) A registering organization must, when having received an application under the provisions of paragraph (1), make a registration of change by entering the matters that have been changed referred to in paragraph (1) in the wood-related business entity register, except in the case of revoking the registration pursuant to the provisions of Article 21, paragraph (1) of the Act. (4) A registering organization must, when having changed a registration referred to in the preceding paragraph, notify that change to the registered wood-related business entity that has filed the application under the provisions of paragraph (1) and make public notice of it without delay. (5) The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the public notice under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

(Use of Name) Article 10 (1) The names that a registered wood-related business entity may use pursuant to the provisions of Article 20, paragraph (1) of the Act are the names specified in the following items according to the categories of entities stated in the respective items: (i) a person engaged in type I wood-related business is a type I registered wood-related business entity; and (ii) a person engaged in type II wood-related business is a type II registered wood-related business entity. (2) A registered wood-related business entity using the names specified in the provisions of item (ii) of the preceding paragraph must take appropriate measures, such as avoiding any display that may cause misunderstanding with regard to the scope of business relating to the relevant registration.

(Matters of Publication for Deletion of Registration) Article 11 (1) A registering organization must, when deleting a registration pursuant to the provisions of Article 22 of the Act, make public notice of the following matters: (i) the name and address of the person whose registration has been deleted; in the case of a corporation, the name of its representative; (ii) matters stated in Article 6, paragraph (1), items (i) through (iv); (iii) the date when the registration is deleted; and (iv) the registration number of the person whose registration has been deleted. (2) A registering organization must, when having deleted a registration, make the matters stated in the items of the preceding paragraph viewable for the public without delay at the registering organization’s office and make public this information via the internet or by any other appropriate means by the day on which one year has elapsed from the date of the relevant deletion.

(Application for Registering Organization Agency) Article 12 (1) A person who intends to be registered as a registering organization referred to in Article 23 of the Act (including the renewal of the registration referred to in Article 26, paragraph (1) of the Act; simply referred to as the "registration" in Article 21) must submit a written application providing the following information to the competent ministers: (i) the name and address of the applicant; in case of a corporation, the name of its representative; (ii) the location of the office where registering procedures will be conducted; (iii) the date when registering procedures will be started; and (iv) the subject of registering procedures. (2) The following documents, as stated, must be attached to the written application referred to in the preceding paragraph provided, however, that, if the relevant applicant has made public notice of the matters described in the relevant documents by using the internet or by any other appropriate means and will submit a document entering necessary matters to confirm the relevant matters together with the written application referred to in the same paragraph, the attachment of a document describing the relevant matters may be omitted: (i) in case of an individual, the following documents: (a) a copy of a resident record; and (b) a record of property; (ii) in case of a corporation, the following documents: (a) articles of incorporation or articles of endowment; (b) a certificate of registered information; (c) a document stating the names and brief biographical outlines of officers; and (d) the balance sheet for the business year immediately before the business year in which the date of application falls, and the property inventory list at the end of the business year or any documents equivalent to it (in case of a corporation established in the business year encompassing the day of the application, a property inventory list as of the time of the establishment); (iii) documents confirming that the applicant does not fall under any of the items of Article 24 of the Act; (iv) documents confirming that the applicant conforms to all of the items of Article 25, paragraph (1) of the Act.

(Change of Registered Matters of a Registering Organization) Article 13 (1) A registering organization must notify, without delay, the competent ministers of any changes made in the matters stated in Article 25, paragraph (2), item (ii) of the Act or paragraph (1), item (iv) of the preceding Article. (2) If a registering organization intends to make a notification under the provisions of Article 28 of the Act or the preceding paragraph, it must submit a document to the competent ministers describing the matters that have been changed under that Article or that paragraph. (3) When the competent ministers receives a notification under the provisions of Article 28 of the Act or paragraph (1) (limited to those relating to a change in the matters stated in Article 25, paragraph (2), item (ii) or (iii) of the Act), it must register the change by entering the changed matters in the registering organization registry. (4) The competent ministers must, when having registered the change stated in the preceding paragraph, give public notice to that effect in an Official Gazette.

(Renewal of Registration) Article 14 (1) A registering organization that intends to renew the registration referred to in Article 26, paragraph (1) of the Act must apply for renewal of the registration with the competent ministers no later than six months before the expiry date of the registration currently in effect. (2) If the application referred to in the preceding paragraph is filed but no disposition is rendered for the application by the expiration date of the validity period of the registration, the previous registration remains in effect until a disposition is made, even after the expiration of the validity period. (3) In case of the preceding paragraph, when the registration is renewed, the validity period of the registration is to be calculated from the day following the date of expiration of the validity period of the previous registration.

(Criteria Concerning Method of Registering Procedures) Article 15 (1) The criteria specified by order of the competent ministry as referred to in Article 27, paragraph (2) of the Act are as follows: (i) when intending to register a wood-related business entity referred to in Article 15 of the Act (including the registration of change referred to in Article 9, paragraph (3), and the renewal of the registration referred to in Article 19, paragraph (1) of the Act; simply referred to below as the "registration" in this Article and Article 20), to confirm that the applicant does not fall under any of the items of Article 18, paragraph (1) of the Act by examining the documents relating to the application, through asking questions to the applicant as necessary, and conducting other investigations; (ii) when a registration is made, the following matters as stated will be agreed upon with the applicant in advance: (a) when having been registered, the applicant is to report to the registering organization at least once a year concerning the implementation status of the measures to be taken to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products; (b) when having been registered, the applicant is to cooperate with the investigation by questioning or other methods to be conducted when the registering organization finds it necessary to confirm that the applicant is taking measures appropriately and reliably to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products within the scope of the business relating to the relevant registration, and is complying with the provisions of Article 10; (iii) if a registered wood-related business entity is found to fall under Article 18, paragraph (1), item (i) or Article 21, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Act as a result of the report referred to in (a) of the preceding item or the investigation referred to in (b) of that item, the relevant registered wood-related business entity is to be required to appropriately and reliably take measures to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products within the scope of business relating to the registration or to comply with the provisions of Article 10; (iv) information acquired in the course of registering procedures must be kept confidential.

(Granting of the Opportunity for Explanation) Article 16 If a registering organization intends to revoke the registration of a registered wood-related business entity under the provisions of Article 21, paragraph (1) of the Act, the registering organization must notify the relevant registered wood-related business entity to that effect and grant an opportunity for explanation by one week before the revocation.

(Rules of Registering Procedures) Article 17 The matters specified by order of the competent ministries as referred to in Article 29, paragraph (2) of the Act are as follows: (i) matters concerning the subject of registering procedures; (ii) matters concerning the time for conducting registering procedures and holidays; (iii) matters concerning the office where registering procedures are conducted; (iv) matters concerning the collection of fees for registering procedures; (v) matters concerning the means of implementing registering procedures; (vi) matters concerning the retention of confidential information that was acquired in the course of registering procedures; (vii) matters concerning the management of books, documents, etc. on registering procedures; (viii) matters concerning securing fairness in registering procedures; (ix) matters concerning organizations that conduct registering procedures; (x) matters concerning the duties of the person who conducts registering procedures; and (xi) other necessary matters concerning registering procedures.

(Notification of Suspension or Discontinuation of registering Procedures) Article 18 If a registering organization intends to make a notification under the provisions of Article 30 of the Act, the registering organization must submit a written notification containing the following matters to the competent ministers no later than six months before the date on which it intends to suspend or discontinue registering procedures. (i) the name and address of the applicant; in case of a corporation, the name of its representative; (ii) location of the office where registering procedures to be suspended or discontinued are conducted; (iii) subject of registering procedures to be suspended or discontinued; (iv) date when registering procedures will be suspended or discontinued; and (v) in case of suspension, the period.

(Method of Indicating Matters Recorded in Electronic or Magnetic Records) Article 19 (1) The method specified by order of the competent ministries as referred to in Article 31, paragraph (2), item (iii) of the Act is the method of indicating the information recorded in the electronic or magnetic record on paper or on the screen of an output device. (2) The electronic or magnetic means specified by order of the competent ministries as referred to in Article 31, paragraph (2), item (iv) of the Act is either of the following means that the registration organization specifies: (i) the means of using an electronic data processing system connecting the computer used by a sender and the computer used by a receiver over a telecommunications line, by which information is sent over the telecommunications line and recorded in a file stored on the computer used by the receiver; and (ii) the means of delivering a file prepared by using an electromagnetic recording medium (meaning a recording medium for a record that is created in an electronic form, magnetic form, or any other form that cannot be perceived by the human senses and that is to be made available for information processing with a computer) in which information that should be described in a document is recorded.

(Books) Article 20 (1) The books referred to in Article 35 of the Act must be prepared and maintained at each office where registering procedures are conducted, and must be preserved until the registering procedures are discontinued. (2) The matters specified by order of the competent ministry as referred to in Article 35 of the Act are as follows: (i) the matters stated in the items of Article 16, paragraph (1) of the Act; (ii) the date on which the application for registration was received; (iii) the distinction of registration or refusal of registration; (iv) in the case where the registration was refused, the reason; (v) in the case where the registration was made, the date of registration and registration number; and (vi) other necessary matters concerning implementing registering procedures. (3) A registering organization must, without delay, when having made or refused a registration, describe the matters stated in the items of the preceding paragraph in the books.

(Public Notice ofRegistering Organization) Article 21 The competent ministers must, when having made a registration, make public notice of the following matters: (i) the matters stated in the items of Article 25, paragraph (2) of the Act; (ii) subject of registering procedures of the registering organization .

(Form of Identification Cards) Article 22 The form of the identification card carried by an official who conducts an on-site inspection pursuant to the provisions of Article 40, paragraphs (1) through (3) of the Act is to be in the appended form.