The current issues ofNational Museums in

Japan

栗原 祐司　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　

Yuji KuriharaDirector of Administration, Tokyo National Museum

andSecretary General, National Institutes for Cultural Heritage

INTERCOM 2015 Annual ConferenceLeadership for a Sustainable Museum

(October 29, 2015, Washington, D.C.) 　

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National Museums in Japan

Managed directly by the government

Independent Administrative Institutions

Inter-university Research Institute Corporations.

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National Museums managed directly by the government

National Archives of Modern Architecture(Agency for Cultural Affairs )

Museum of the ImperialCollections(Imperial Household Agency)

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Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Public Information Center

(JGSDF Camp Asaka, Ministry of Defense)

Kanogawa River Museum

(Numazu Office, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

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Independent Administrative Institutions

(2007.4. ～ ) 　・ National Museum 　　　　　　　　 　 National Institutes・ National Research Institute for for Cultural Heritage　 Cultural Properties

・ National Museum of Arts

・ National Museum of Nature and Science 　　

　　　　

Tokyo National Museum　　 (1872)

　 Kyoto National Museum　　　　　 (1897)

Independent Administrative InstitutionNational Institutes for Cultural Heritage

National　Research　Institute　for　Cultural　Properties,　Tokyo　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(1930)

Kyushu National Museum (2005)

　 Nara National Museum　　　　　　 (1895)

National　Research　Institute　for　Cultural　Properties,　Nara (1952)

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (1952)

National Art Center,Tokyo (2007)

Independent Administrative InstitutionNational Museum of Art

Independent Administrative InstitutionNational Museum of Nature and Science

National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (1962)

National Museum of Western Art (1959) National Museum

of Art, Osaka (1977)

(1877)

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Inter-university Research Institute Corporations

National Museum of Ethnology(National Institutes for the Humanities)

National Museum of Japanese History(National Institutes for the Humanities)

　 Independent Administrative Institution

（ 2001 ～）Although the government is responsible for administrative functions, a commissioned private company cannot necessarily be relied up to carry out the operating function—which the government does not need to be directly responsible for.

Independent Administrative Institutions were established to take over the operating function, making for an efficient and effective system.

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Independent Administrative Institutionsutilize management methods of private-sector corporations and are given considerableautonomy in their operations and in how they use their given budgets.

(2001.4.) 59

(2015.10.) 98

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A decrease in Management Expenses Grant,and heavy downsizing every year.

ManagementExpenses Grant

Current of financial resources

Self-income

HundredMillionyen

2007 　　 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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Appropriation Surplus System

If Independent Administrative Institution get a surplus fund because of their ownmanagement effort, "Appropriation Surplus“is usable next fiscal year.

Management effort authorization became severe by Ministry of Finance after 2004.

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Both the personnel expenses and the cost of equipment continue decreasing every year.

personnel expenses

HundredMillionyen

cost of equipment

Current of Expenditure Budget

2007 　　 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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Policy of the review of the Independent Administrative Institution system.(2012.1.20 Democratic Party of Japan Government)

National Institutefor Cultural Heritage

National Museum of Arts

Japan Arts Council

New Cultural Institution?

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Policy of the review of the Independent Administrative Institution system.(2013.12.24 Liberal Democratic Party Government)

National Institutefor Cultural Heritage

National Museum of Arts

Japan Arts Council

Continue to exist There are no merits to merging these entities. There is an advantage in retaining diverse entities to

represent culture as "a face of the country."

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New policy for National Institute for Cultural Heritage (2013.12 ～ )

Increase the use of institutions as rental facilitiesExpand the utilization of digital imagesExtend opening hoursExpand member systemsIncrease the variety of our staffs to include marketing specialists to promote articles related to exhibitions.

Tokyo National Museum moved its museum shopfrom the basement to the first floor

And installed new museum shops in two other locations.

Tokyo　National　Museum　expanded　membership　and　increased　it　to　eight　contributing　levels　from　the　four　levels　

賛助会・ご寄付・ご協力

Donation Boxes at Tokyo National Museum 20

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National Institutes for Cultural Heritage established the "Specialist" system for a new category of worker located in the salary system between researchers and administrative staff.

National Institutes for Cultural Heritage is beginning to employ more specialized staff every year, many of whom specialize in museum studies or cultural properties even if their duties are primarily administrative.

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President of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage and the Executive-Directors of museums must provide leadership for their museums. We have instated the following system:

Enforcement of monitoring through an annual self evaluation system

Enforcement of monitoring through inspection by external and internal auditors

Enforcement of risk management such as reviews of the crisis control manual.

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“National Centers the mission of which is to acquire, conserve, manage, display, and pass on to the next generation tangible cultural properties, foremost of which are numerous National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, to conduct research on them, and to communicate the history and traditional culture of our nation within and without Japan, all for the purpose of conserving and utilizing these cultural properties, which are the valued property of the nation.”　

Mid-term objective for the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage 　 (2011 ～ 2015)

■ Lending of Collection and Deposit Cultural Properties

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412

326

2921,571

1,936

319

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Kyushu

Kyushu

Nara

Kyoto

Tokyo

NaraKyoto

Tokyo

■ Assistance and Advice to Public and Private Museums

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Art of the Samurai 　（ Metropolitan Museum of Arts ； 2009.10 ～ 2010.1）

Ink and Gold ： Art of the Kano 　（ Philadelphia Museum of Arts ； 2015.2 ～ 5 ）

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Establishment of the Headquarters of the National Task Force for the Japanese Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Mitigation Network (CH-DRM Net) 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　（ July 2014 ）

Main Missions of the Network

1. Building a nationwide system2. Ongoing research and surveys 3. Development of capacity

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Welcome to Kyoto!

ICOM General Conferencein 2019

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ConclusionWe have experienced significant changes in the establishment and management of national museums resulting from changes of government.

However, our foundation does not consist of short-term objectives, but the perpetual mission of determining how we can protect and pass down the invaluable cultural properties of the nation to future generations.

Gaining the understanding of various stakeholders such as the political and business sectors in addition to individuals of academic standing is essential for this purpose.

We wish to exchange information with other members of INTERCOM while striving for the development of national museums in the world.

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Thank you ！ありがとう！