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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE 1993 > CHAPTER 4 �3 2

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Chapter 4 Culture Connects the World
�3 Protecting Cultural Properties Abroad
2 Cooperation Concerning Cultural Heritage Located Abroad


Cultural heritage, which is a conveyor of the various courses of mankind's history as it has taken place all over the world, has been and is being exposed to the dangers of destruction and loss by human development itself, and at times, by wars. Cultural heritage not only has historical value, but it is also a fountainhead for the creation of culture which will build a new future age. It is thus a common task for the people of the world to protect and preserve it.

The many scientific techniques and skills that are possessed by the Japanese people with respect to preservation and restoration of cultural properties are highly esteemed by many countries, including the countries of Asia. The Agency for Cultural Affairs is actively promoting international exchange and cooperation in these fields.

The Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties has been engaged in: research and cooperation for the preservation and restoration of the Chinese cultural properties at Dunhuang; exchange of studies and cooperation regarding the aforementioned restoration of Japanese artwork with the Smithsonian Institution in the United States; and international exchange programs such as the Seminar on the Conservation of Asian Cultural Heritage and the International Training Program for Conservation and Restoration of Japanese Paper Properties.

The Nara National Research Institute of Cultural Properties has been carrying out investigation and research regarding the preservation and maintenance of South Asian Buddhist relics, as well as joint research on groups of tombs in Pazyryk in the Russian Federation. In 1993, it launched a new program of Cooperation Research in Conservation of Cultural Heritage at Angkor in Cambodia.

Besides these, the Institute continues to cooperate in the preservation and restoration of important architectural monuments in the Asian and Pacific regions, and to invite Asian researchers who are staff members at museums and art museums to Japan for training.

Furthermore, Japan has become a member of the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property(ICCROM), which has been established as an inter-governmental institution, cooperating on international research activities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs donates a Japanese trust fund for the preservation of world cultural heritage to UNESCO in order to cooperate with its conservation and restoration projects.


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