Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > Japanese Government Policies in Education, Science, Sports and Culture 2000 > Part 1 Chapter 3 Section 6 5

In conjunction with the establishment of the new ministry, the Council for Culture will be established by merging the Copyright Council, the National Language Council, the Council for the Protection of Cultural Properties and the Selection Committee for Persons of Cultural Merit. At the new council, members from far-reaching corners of society are expected to carry out research and discussion from specialist points of view in various fields of culture and to deliver on the basic directions of cultural policies.

Laws concerning culture include the Law on the Japan Society for the Promotion of Arts and Culture, the Law Concerning the Improvement of Learning Environments for the Promotion of Music Culture, the Law on the Promotion of Public Exhibition of Works of Art at Art Museums, and others. Laws regarding the protection of cultural properties include the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, the Law on Special Measures for the Preservation of Historical Environments in Old Cities, the Law on Special Measures Concerning the Preservation of Historical Environments in Asuka Village and the Improvement of Living Environments, etc., the Law on the Promotion of Sightseeing and Commerce and Industries Specific to the Locality through the Utilization of Local Traditional Art Performances, etc., and others. Laws concerning the protection of copyrights include the Copyright Law, the Law Concerning the Exception to the Copyright Law for the Registration of Copyrighted Programs, the Law on the Exception to the Copyright Law in Conjunction with the Implementation of the Universal Copyright Treaty, the Law on the Copyright Agent Business, and others.

Currently, these laws together compose the legal system for the promotion of culture. However, the Agency for Cultural Affairs plans to continue conducting research on new methods for the promotion of culture, taking into consideration examples from foreign countries and the legal systems for the promotion of science and technology and sports, and utilizing the results of cultural policy studies, which are beginning to achieve results in the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and other institutions.