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20-491: The Independent Administrative Institution National Archives of Japan ( 独立行政法人国立公文書館 , Dokuritsu Gyosei Hojin Kokuritsu Kōbunshokan ) preserve Japanese government documents and historical records and make them available to the public. Although Japan's reverence for its unique history and art is well documented and illustrated by collections of art and documents, there is almost no archivist tradition. Before

40-919: A "designation system" ( 指定制度 ) under which important items are appropriated as Cultural Properties, thus imposing restrictions to their alteration, repair and export. Besides the "designation system", there exists a "registration system" ( 登録制度 ) , which guarantees a lower level of protection and support to Registered Cultural Properties . Cultural Properties are classified according to their nature. Items designated as Tangible Cultural Properties (as opposed to Intangible Cultural Properties ), cultural products of high historical or artistic value such as structures, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts, calligraphic works, ancient books, historic documents, archeological artifacts and other such items, can later, if they satisfy certain criteria, be designated either Important Cultural Properties or National Treasures ( 国宝 ) , for especially valuable items. The designation can take place at

60-551: A model for developing prefectural and municipal archival collections—some of which predate the establishment of the national institution. In these smaller institutions, similar activities of preservation, restoration, cataloging, microfilming and digitization are evolving. For example, the Digital Gallery includes digitized photos of the stack room for official documents in Shiga Prefecture in 1924. These images were appended to

80-595: A report submitted by the prefectural governor to the chief of the cabinet secretariat in November of that year. Shiga's governor was describing the progress of work intended to modernize standards and procedures for compiling and storing of written records, which was expected to produce improved efficiencies in administrative services. Independent Administrative Institution An Incorporated Administrative Agency ( 独立行政法人 , Dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin , Dokugyo in abbreviation) , or Independent Administrative Institution ,

100-675: Is a type of legal corporation formulated by the Government of Japan under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act no. 103 of 1999, revised in 2014). The independent agencies are not under the National Government Organization Act that provides for the ministries and agencies of Japan . Originally proposed by the Administrative Reform Council, the independent agencies are created based on

120-558: Is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government 's Agency for Cultural Affairs ( Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ) and judged to be of particular importance to the history, arts, and culture of the Japanese people . To protect the cultural heritage of Japan , the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was created as

140-723: The Administrative Surveillance Commission Investigation Office, the 108 corporations established during the six years from 1998, when the system was first established, to 2004, accounted for the fiscal 2004 administrative service implementation costs (taxpayers The total cost attributable to the public burden) was 2,095 billion yen. Independent Administrative Agencies are classified into three agency types according to Article 1 of Act no. 103 of 1999. There are 87 agencies as of 1 April 2019. Important Cultural Properties of Japan An Important Cultural Property ( 重要文化財 , jūyō bunkazai )

160-790: The Archives focused on the conceptually distinct program designed to encourage wider interest by mounting exhibitions and fostering research. In July 1998, the Tsukuba Annex ( Tsukuba Gakuen Toshiwas ) was established in Ibaraki Prefecture in order to expand and improve the storage of archival materials. A Cabinet resolution in 1999 led to the creation of the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records ( アジア歴史資料センター , Asia Rekishi Shiryo Centre ) , which opened in November 2001. The center digitizes data from various national institutions, such as

180-909: The National Archives, Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , and the Military Archives of the National Institute for Defense Studies of the Japan Defense Agency , and provides the digital data through the Internet. The National Archives became an Independent Administrative Institution on April 1, 2001, when an Act amending part of the National Archives Law came into effect. Archival responsibilities include managing public access to stored records, and overseeing

200-514: The archive's core holdings. In November 1959, the President of the Science Council of Japan issued a recommendation establishing a National Archives to prevent scattering and loss of official documents and to facilitate public access. In July 1971, the newly created Archives began receiving, assessing, and cataloging government documents and records of importance as historical materials; and also,

220-542: The archive's responsibilities. However, the National Archives is in the process of becoming something more than simply a historical repository, because it is also a complex of structures, processes, and epistemologies which are situated at a critical point of the intersection between scholarship, cultural practices, politics, and technologies. Since the Meiji Period (1868–1912), administrative documents had been preserved respectively by each government ministry. A library for

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240-592: The cabinet of the early Meiji government was established in 1873; and in 1885, this became the Cabinet Library ( Naikaku Bunko ), which evolved as the nation's leading specialized library of ancient Japanese and Chinese classical books and materials. The Cabinet Library's collection included government records of the Edo period and the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867) and other material. These collections are an important element of

260-498: The city ( 市定重要文化財 , city designated Important Cultural Property ) , prefectural ( 県定重要文化財 , prefecturally designated Important Cultural Property ) or national ( 国定重要文化財 , nationally designated Important Cultural Property ) level. In this last case the designating agency is often not specified. Varying levels of designation can coexist. For example, Sankei-en , a traditional Japanese-style garden in Naka Ward , Yokohama ,

280-413: The collection as it grows and develops and preservation protocols. The enhanced independence of the archives was designed to help further its institutional focus on measures for the proper conservation of historical materials. The National Archives website provides information about the archives and catalog data which allow the holdings to be searched online. The site offers English and Japanese versions;

300-471: The concept of separating the ministries and agencies of the government into planning functions and operation functions. Planning functions remain within government-based ministries and agencies while operating functions are transferred to the independent agencies. Incorporated Administrative Agencies utilize management methods of private-sector corporations and are given considerable autonomy in their operations and how to use their given budgets. In April 2001,

320-701: The creation of the National Archives, there was a scarcity of available public documents which preserve "grey-area" records, such as internal sources to show a process which informs the formation of a specific policy or the proceedings of various committee meetings. In accordance with the National Archives Law No.79 (1999), the core function of preserving "government documents and records of importance as historical materials" includes all material relating to (1) decision-making on important items of national policies, and (2) processes of deliberation, discussion, or consultation prior to reaching any decision-making, and

340-752: The government first designated 59 bodies as the independent agencies, among which were many research institutions and some museums. As part of the administrative reforms of the Ryutaro Hashimoto Cabinet in the latter half of the 1990s, this system was stipulated for the purpose of separating the actual business and service sectors from the central ministries and agencies. Differences from special corporations ( Japanese : 特殊法人 , Hepburn : Tokushu Hōjin ) are that they cannot obtain government guarantees for funding (the same as private companies) and that they are obligated to pay taxes and public dues such as corporate income tax and property tax. According to

360-523: The holdings themselves are, of course, mainly in Japanese. The website facilitates access to brief descriptions and some images of documents, books, and cultural properties. The Digital Gallery may be searched using keywords or various categories, opening access to digitised images of scrolls; maps; photographs; drawings; posters; and documents. English summaries of publications from the National Archives (journal and annual report) are available for downloading from

380-512: The process of enforcing policies based on decisions made. The transfer of what are deemed historically important materials from the various ministries and agencies is carried out on a regular basis in accordance with the Transfer Plan prepared and revised by the Prime Minister for each fiscal year. Preservation, restoration cataloging, microfilming and digitization are all important aspects of

400-565: The site. From April 2005, the digital archive system in this website has provided high-resolution pictures of a range of holdings, including the materials designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan . The collections in the National Archives provide tangible evidence of memory for individuals, communities, and the state; and the archives are integral in a process of defining memory institutionally within Japan's prevailing political systems and cultural norms. The National Archives has evolved as

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