CO129-575-3 Japanese affairs 2-1-1939 - 21-12-1939 — Page 106

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in November, 1938, a new draft bill was ready

for consideration by a Commission for the

Investigation of Religious Systems which was

specially appointed to deliberate upon it.

By

December this Commission had concluded its labours

and the bill was ready for submission to the Diet;

for a time it was doubtful whether the Cabinet

of Baron Hiranuma would proceed in the matter or

whether in order to avoid controversy they would

drop the proposed legislation in the same way

as they had abandoned other measures of reform

which had been included in the programme of

Prince Konoye. They finally decided to proceed

and the bill was introduced in the House of Peers

early in the session.

3.

The following is a brief description

of the main provisions of the measure, together

with an explanation of the attitude to be adopted

by the authorities as regards certain points,

taken mainly from an official description of the

bill published in a weekly volume of reports

issued by the Cabinet Information Bureau:-

(1)

A "religious body" (Article 1) is

understood to be an association of persons

organised for the purpose of advocating a

religious faith and of conducting ceremonies

in connexion therewith; a "religious society"

(Article 23) is an association of persons

similarly /