The State Audit System in Japan
| Date | 01 June 1982 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002085238204800214 |
| Author | Yasuo Maeda |
| Published date | 01 June 1982 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The
State
Audit
System
in
Japan
UDC :
336.126.55 :
351.9
(52)
by
Yasuo
MAEDA,
Lecturer,
Senshu
University
I.
OUTLINE
OF
THE
STATE
AUDIT
SYSTEM
It
is
provided
in
Article
90
of
the
Japanese
Constitution
that &dquo;
Final
accounts
of
the
ex-
penditures
and
revenues
of
the
State
shall
be
audited
annually
by
a
Board
of
Audit
and
submitted
by
the
Cabinet
to
the
Diet,
together
with
the
statement
of
audit,
during
the
fiscal
year
immediately
following
the
period
covered.
The
organization
and
competency
of the
Board
of
Audit
shall
be
determined
by
law &dquo;.
As
provided
in
the
Constitution,
the
Board
of
Audit
is
the
only
constitutional
institution
which
audits
the
final
accounts
of
State
revenue
and
expenditure.
In
1880,
the
Board
of
Audit
was
established
as
an
audit
institution
directly
attached
to
the
Dajokan
(the
Cabinet).
Until
that
time,
audit
activities
were
carried
out
by
the
Bureau
of
Control
within
the
Ministry
of
Finance.
As
a
division
of
the
Ministry
of
Finance,
it
was
allowed
to
inspect
only
the
non-essentials
of
financial
management,
not
the
fundamentals
of
public
finance.
Thus,
it
developed
into
an
organ
directly
attached
to
the
Dajokan,
which
was
the
highest
organ
of
administrative
power.
In
1889,
the
Meiji
Constitution
was
pro-
mulgated
as
the
first
Constitution
in
Japanese
history.
The
Constitution
contained
a
similar
provision
to
that
of
the
current
Constitution,
and
the
Board
of
Audit
was
made
the
sole
constitutional
organ
of
audit,
independent
of
the
Cabinet
in
which
the
power
of
financial
execution
is
vested.
The
Board
of
Audit
Law
was
also
passed
in
1889,
modelled
on
the
Prussian
Oberrechnungskammergesetz,
and
the
Law
stipulated
that
the
Board
was
to
be
a
constitutional
organ
directly
subordinate
to
the
Emperor
and
independent
of
the
Ministers
of
State.
All
matters
of
importance
were
decided
and
approved
at
the
council
of
sixteen
Auditors.
No
major
changes
were
made
in
the
new
Constitution
which
was
promulgated
in
1947.
However,
the &dquo; Law
concerning
the
Revision
of
the
Board
of
Audit
Law&dquo;
introduced
in
1947
extensively
revised
the
former
Board
of
Audit
Law,
partially
adopting
the
legal
system
of
the
United
States.
Not
only
did
it
become
independent
of
the
Emperor,
but
it
also
be-
came
the
supreme
audit
institution
independent
of
the
Legislature,
Executive
and
Judiciary.
1.
Status
The
Board
of
Audit
belongs
neither
to
the
Diet
in
which
legislative
power
is
vested,
nor
to
the
Courts
in
which
judicial
power
is
vest-
ed ;
as
such
it
is
deemed
to
be
an
executive
agency.
However,
the
Board
is
constitutionally
understood
to
be
also
independent
of
the
Cabinet,
in
which
executive
power
is
vested,
under
Article
90
of the
Constitution,
with
Article
65
vesting
executive
power
in
the
Cabinet.
Article
1
of
the
present
Board
of
Audit
Law
provides
that
the
Board
of
Audit
shall
have
a
status
independent
of
the
Cabinet.
It
is
undoubted
in
principle
that
a
constitu-
tional
democratic
nation
should
secure
the
independence
of
the
audit
institution
which
audits the
final
accounts
of
state
revenue
and
expenditure
from
the
executive
authorities
which
receive
the
auditing
reports.
Japanese
law
provides
for the
following
measures
to
secure
such
independent
status
of
the
Board
of
Audit.
(1)
Delegated
by
the
Constitution,
the
organ-
ization
and
power
of
the
Board
is
provided
for
under
the
Board
of
Audit
Law
and
other
laws.
Cabinet
orders
are
generally
enacted
to
execute
the
provisions
of
the
law.
However,
Article
38
of
the
Board
of
Audit
Law
prescribes :
&dquo;The
Board
of
Audit
shall
enact
such
regulations
as
are
necessary
with
regard
to
its
audit,
in
addition
to
the
provisions
of
this
law &dquo;.
In
this
way,
the
Board
is
free
from
interference
from
Cabinet
orders.
The
&dquo; Board
of
Audit
Regulations &dquo;
enacted
in
ac-
cordance
with
the
provision
of
the
said
article
include
the
following:
1)
Regulations
relating
to
the
application
of
the
Board
of
Audit
Law;
2)
Regulations
concerning
the
establishment
and
assignment
of
divisions
in
the
Board
of
Audit;
3)
Regulations
concerning
the
number
of
personnel
in
the
Board
of
Audit;
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