Promoting Public Access to the Holdings of the National Archives of Japan
Introduction
The Public Records and Archives Management Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”)
was established in July 2009 as a fundamental law for the administration ofgovernment documents and records. With an eye to achieving integrated management
throughout records’ life cycle—from document creation to storage, transfer, anduse—the Act was drawn up to ensure appropriate handling of documents and records
across government bodies.

The Act also establishes rules pertaining to the use ofarchives transferred to the National Archives of Japan (hereinafter “NAJ”) following
termination of their retention periods.

The functions of NAJ are thus being

substantially enhanced in accordance with the Act, and, as a result, NAJ is gaining agreater presence in Japan.
When the Act was being discussed, both ruling and opposition parties recognized itsneed.

After deliberation and a partial revision to the government proposal, the Act waspassed by the Diet in a unanimous vote. Two months later, the Democratic Party ofJapan scored a landslide victory over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Japan’sso-called “regime change”); the current government is continuing efforts to implement
the Act.
Until now, awareness of the importance of public records and their proper management
has been somewhat slow to catch on in Japan: the purpose of NAJ has not been
sufficiently recognized.

However, with the unanimous passage of the Act intended toreinforce NAJ’s functions, it is likely that not only those directly concerned but also thepublic at large will gain an appreciation for the importance of public records, thenecessity for records management of the government, and the role of NAJ as the body incharge of such management.
In response to the establishment of the Act, some local governments are taking steps
that include opening municipal archival institutions to ensure that valuable publicrecords are left to future generations and disclosed to local residents.

Thus,

recognition of the need for records management and archival institutions is growing inall corners of Japanese society.
Based on the Act, there is also pressing demand for better access to public records
preserved in NAJ. This report surveys the current status of access to NAJ’s public1

records holdings and to future prospects in this area.
1. Demand for better legal and social accessOne of NAJ’s central roles is to serve as an organization supplying primary sources for
public intellectual activity—supporting the nation’s educational, cultural, and academic
development.

At the same time, by preserving and disclosing government records,

NAJ raises the quality of national governance and administrative transparency bymaking public the processes and results of policy decisions.
As for the latter point mentioned above, the Act legally clarifies NAJ’s duty as ensuring
government accountability (in other words, to raise government transparency) and itunmistakably states that the public has the right to access NAJ’s holdings.
Consequently, NAJ must more firmly grasp its role to promote access, not only toscholars and others engaged in intellectual activities, but to the public as a whole.
The Act further stipulates “obligation of effort” in making active approaches toward
promoting various types of usage, including not only conventional browsing and copying
services but also exhibitions and a digital archive system.

It also advocates for moremembers of the public to be given access to public records in NAJ.
The Act also spells out that efforts must be made to disclose records based on thepassage of time.

Moreover, the “30-year rule” was incorporated into a Diet resolution

issued with the Act.
In the ways described above, the Act encourages NAJ to provide the general public withbroader access opportunities to its holdings and to make greater efforts to disclose
holdings in accordance with the passage of time.
The aforementioned details of the Act have been widely welcomed by newspapers,
members of the mass media, and numerous related organizations.

As I have alreadymentioned, the Act was unanimously passed by the Diet; yet it ought to be accepted thatthe policy of promoting such access is not just a legal requirement but is, moreover, asocial requirement.
Furthermore, this policy is in agreement with the Code of Ethics adopted at the 13th
General Assembly of ICA, specifically the portion stating that “archivists should
promote the widest possible access to archival material and provide an impartial service2

to all users.”
2. Issues and directions toward better access
2-1. Expanding the scope of users(1) Digital archive system
One major means of expanding the scope of NAJ's users is the Internet. Since 2005,
NAJ has been creating and making public an online catalog database that covers its
entire holdings (approximately 1.2 million volumes and 50 linear kilometers of shelving)
through the Internet.

In addition to the catalog database, “National Archives of Japan:

Digital Archive" system provides digital images of a part of its holdings.
(http://www.digital.archives.go.jp/)
Using the Internet allows anyone to view NAJ's holdings anytime, anywhere, andwithout charge.

It even provides broad NAJ access to people who cannot easily visitdue to geographical restrictions.
The NAJ “Digital Archive” is equipped with both a search and browsing function (called“Internet browsing”) for people wishing to search NAJ's holdings.

Users can explore itsholdings not only by a simple keyword search but also by searching through visuallypleasant schemes such as chronological tables that compile major events in Japanese
history as well as charts that list transitions in Japan’s administrative organization.
In these ways, NAJ is working to make its holdings more user friendly for beginners
and children.
The NAJ “Digital Archive” also provides an enjoyable function allowing users to viewhigh-definition images of important cultural properties and other materials withdetailed explanations (see our “Digital Gallery” page).

If NAJ targeted only

researchers, its traditional users, for the "Digital Archive," it would have been sufficient
to simply provide search and browsing functions.

However, NAJ seeks to further

expand its scope of users, and thus it is providing content that can be widely enjoyedeven by members of the general public.
Currently, NAJ offers 8.68 million images through the Internet.

These images accountfor approximately 10% of public records preserved in its holdings; NAJ intends tofurther expand this number in the future. Moreover, the NAJ is continually working toenhance and reinforce its “Digital Archive” by making catalogs of public records
accessible within one year of their annual scheduled transfer and receipt from3governmental or judicial bodies.
NAJ additionally operates the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (hereinafter,“JACAR”).

JACAR provides the public with digital images of original historicalrecords pertaining to modern relations between Japan and its Asian neighbors as heldby three national archival organizations (NAJ, Diplomatic Records Office of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Institute for Defense Studies).

JACAR

offers users digital images of over 20 million items and is equipped with various
easy-to-use search functions.

These features make it one of the largest digital archivesin Japan.
Seeking to promote mutual understanding between Japan and its neighbors, JACAR isa government-initiated project that offers English, Chinese, and Korean versions inaddition to Japanese.

Currently, it allows searches in both Japanese and English.

JACAR’s pages can be accessed from any personal computer at any time and withoutcharge.

NAJ hopes that users will make extensive use of this service.

(2) Exhibitions
Another major means of expanding NAJ usage is to hold exhibitions.

Here, NAJ

presents permanent and special exhibitions introducing holdings, which include
government records without any charge.
Although the number of people visiting exhibitions is small compared to nationalmuseums, due to limitations on facility size and other factors, visitors highly praise
them.

Exhibitions provide NAJ with an excellent opportunity to highlight thesignificance of public records and its own functions. Thus, we intend to increase thenumber of visitors to exhibitions.

During the new third mid-term plan (FY2010 toFY2014), NAJ staff members will be working on improving the attractiveness ofexhibitions and also considering collaborative programs with other organizations toenhance how exhibitions are facilitated.
2-2. Active disclosure(1) Full observance of the “30-year rule”
Improving access to public records requires active disclosure.

In 1968, the 6th General

Assembly of the ICA in Madrid adopted a “30-year rule” establishing that the period fornon-disclosure of public records should not exceed 30 years from its time of creation.
The Act reflects this “30-year rule” by stating in statutory form that disclosure shall be4

made “based on the passage of time.”

Moreover, an additional resolution passed in

Diet deliberations demands that disclosure should take place based on the “30-yearrule.” NAJ is fully committed to disclosure in line with the “30-year rule,” as this also
gives consideration to the handling of personal information among other concerns.
(2) Acceleration of review speed and system reinforcement
The Act stipulates that personal information, data pertaining to national security, andother such matters shall not be disclosed.

Thus, when a user requests to see an item, areview must be performed to determine whether the item contains such undisclosed
information.

As a rule, NAJ has sought to make records available within 30 days of

the receipt of requests after completing disclosure reviews; however, in order to increase
the accessibility of users, there will be a need to accelerate the review process.
Whenever NAJ receives public records transferred from government and judicial bodies,
it conducts a preliminary review of the records as a group prior to making themavailable for general use.

Final reviews will be conducted after user accessapplications are submitted and will be carried out efficiently based on a preliminary
review.

In the near future, NAJ intends to go one step further by conducting disclosure

reviews for records prior to accepting applications—having reviews completed before
users' visit, so as to make immediate use possible when certain public records are
anticipated to receive access applications. Therefore, bolstering the review system forsuch ends will be a future task.
(3) Handling of personal information and other forms of information that cannot bedisclosed
Nevertheless, there is some information that cannot be disclosed simply because 30
years have passed, for instance, personal information as well as corporate information.
The Act states in statutory form that disclosure of public records including suchinformation requires being taken into careful consideration by government bodies
transferring records.
In order to avoid demands from government bodies limiting use of documents more thannecessary, NAJ must implement activities to increase recognition among such bodies
that government records should be disclosed after a certain period of time.
2-3. Securing and providing attractive content(1) Ensuring appropriate transfer of records with archival value, etc.

5One of the most basic means of improving user access to NAJ is to possess attractivecontent.

Of course, “attractive content” expected to be preserved and used by NAJ is

none other than the various public records worth keeping for future generations.
However, because the framework used until now does not allow records to betransferred without the agreement of government bodies—even if archivists appraise
records as something that should be transferred to NAJ—, there are cases when records
worthy of preservation for future generations do not get transferred and end up being
destroyed.
In order to remedy this problem, the Act obligates government bodies to transfer all
records that can be considered as records with archival value.

This step is expected tolead an even more dramatic enhancement of NAJ's content.
However, decisions on whether individual records should be considered for archiving
or not will be made on initial screenings in each ministry and agency, based on criteria
to be drawn up in the near future; this makes the preparation of such criteria an
extremely important task.

Making judgments about which Japanese government

records should be preserved for future generations will be undoubtedly difficult.
Criteria must be completed by the next fiscal year.

At present, NAJ archivists andgovernment-trained personnel possessing archival capabilities are working together toprepare selection criteria so that archival records will be transferred practically andsmoothly while also referring to administrative practices.
It should be noted that proper preparation and storage of records in government bodies
is necessitated as a precondition for the transfer of archival records.

The Act requires

proper management, thus, of records even while currently being used at the office.
In addition to government bodies, the Act covers the transfer of important records from
Incorporated Administrative Agencies.

It also allows NAJ to accept donations anddeposits from the private sectors. Consequently, NAJ can include more various records
in its holdings than was previously possible, and thus it anticipates it will be able tosecure a broad range of content.
(2) Comprehensive provision of intellectual resources
Of course, even if a facility possesses valuable historical records, such records aremeaningless if the facility does not provide access to them in an easy-to-use format.
NAJ has a framework that allows the public to effectively use its holdings through a6

variety of methods, among them the previously mentioned digital archives andexhibitions.

Nonetheless, it must continue to consider new approaches.

One such approach is an integrated information supply with various other archives inJapan (e.g., archives of other central government bodies, local governments, andresearch institutes).

If, for example, a user wishes to research a particular topic, he or

she may not know where to find related materials.

Consequently, the user may have tovisit a variety of organizations, and if relevant materials are found in one or two of theorganizations, the user may have to settle for them (even though other materials may
be available in other organizations).

To address the needs of such users, it would bedesirable to have a framework supplying information on materials held in all archives
in a systematic and crosscutting manner.
Another approach that should enhance convenience even more is a comprehensive
supply of various intellectual resources that also includes those not necessarily found inarchives, such as materials possessed by libraries or museums.

Such an approachpresents technical challenges, and will be, in particular, a topic for future consideration.
Research toward these goals must be advanced to raise NAJ's value.
2-4. Training and securing archivists to take charge of user services
An important issue behind implementation of the above approaches is the training andsecuring of highly capable archivists to take charge of user services for the public.
NAJ knows it must secure archivists and personnel who can provide proper referencing
to visitors, can design practical catalogs as well as highly user-friendly digital archives.
Consequently, NAJ intends to foster and secure outstanding archivists through effective
training seminars and on-the-job training among other approaches.
3. Conclusion
NAJ's third mid-term plan (FY2010 to FY2014) places particular emphasis on raisingaccess to NAJ's holdings.

In line with the plan, NAJ is using FY2010 to lay out aconcrete schedule and make systematic advancements toward addressing pertinentissues. NAJ staff members will rigorously investigate “access” as it ought to become in
the future.
The staff size of NAJ is very small compared to national archives in other countries.
While rapidly increasing the number of staff members is surely difficult, NAJ intends to7

fulfill its mission by continually training employees and maintaining high productivity.
All people involved in archives—including NAJ—have the same mission: to build up thearchival world.

Government bodies, various external organizations, scholars, andmembers of the general public that use archives, share a connection to the creation,transfer, preservation, and use of invaluable records, and support these activities.
NAJ hopes to bring the entire nation onboard in its effort to further develop itself as apublic asset that is available for people to access and use.

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