The Agency for Cultural Affairs is responsible for the promotion of measures aimed at making Japan a culture-oriented country. These include cultivation of artists and support of creative artistic activity; the maintenance and establishment of cultural facilities; support for culture-oriented communities; advancement of Ainu culture; promotion of international cultural exchange; designation of national treasures, important cultural properties, places of historic interest and places of scenic beauty and natural monuments; preservation and passing down of intangible cultural properties; maintenance and dissemination of copyright systems; improvement and dissemination of the Japanese language, and the teaching of the Japanese language as a foreign language. The Agency is also responsible for religious affairs.
