Article 96. (Authority of the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, etc.)
• (1) The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare may, when he/she finds necessary for ensuring safety and health of the workers with regard to the structure of machines, etc. of the type of machines that have passed the type examination and facilities, etc., to manufacture and inspect the said machines,etc., have his/her staffs enter the workplace of the person who has received the type examination or the place where the said machines, etc. or facilities, etc. related to the said type examination are recognize to locate, question persons concerned, or inspect the said machines, etc.,facilities, etc. or other articles.
• (2) The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare may, when he/she finds it necessary for ensuring the proper operation of the service of the consultant, have his/her staffs enter the office of the consultant, question the persons concerned or inspect books or documents (including the electromagnetic records in case that relevant data are electromagnetically prepared, provided and kept in stead of the said books or documents)related to the consultant's service.
• (3) The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau may, when he/she finds it necessary for ensuring the proper operation of the service of a registered manufacturing inspection, etc. agency, registered performance inspection agency, registered individual examination institution, registered type examination agency, registered agency for self-inspection, designated examination institution, registeredpractcal training institution, designated consultant examination institution and designated registration institution (hereinafter referred to as “registered manufacturing inspection, etc., agency, etc.”), have his/her stafs enter their office, question the persons concerned or inspect books, documents and other articles related to the service.
• (4) The Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau may, when he/she finds it necessary for having the Medical Advisor in Industrial Health participate in the affairs pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding article, have said Medical Advisor enter the workplace, question the persons concerned or inspect the record of working environment measurement or medical examination results and other articles.
• (5) The provisions of paragraph (3) and (4) of Article 91 shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect to spot inspection under the provisions of the preceding four paragraphs.
Article 96-2. (Implementation of Investigation, etc. of Causes of Industrial Accident by Research Institute)
• (1) The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare may, in case that the investigation of causes of an accident is to be carried out pursuant to the provision of paragraph (2) or (3) of Article 93 and when he/she finds it necessity taking into account the magnitude of the said accident or other situations, have the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Hereinafter referred to as “Institute”) carry out the said investigation.
• (2) The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare may, when he/she finds it necessary, have the Institute carry out the spot inspection pursuant to the provision of paragraph (1) of Article 94 (limited to the investigation prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
• (3) The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare shall, when having the Institute carry out the spot inspection pursuant to the provision of preceding paragraph, instruct the Institute to carry out it while indicating the place of the said spot inspection and other necessary matters.
• (4) The Institute shall, when having carried out the investigation according to the instruction prescribed in preceding paragraph, report its result to the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare.
• (5) The provisions of paragraph (3) and (4) of Article 91 shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect to spot inspection pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph (2). In this case, “Labor Standards Inspector” in paragraph (3) of the same Article shall be read as “staff of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health”.