National Archives Act

Act No. 79 of June 23, 1999
(Latest amendment: Act No. 66 of July 1, 2009)



    This English translation of this law or regulation has been prepared (up to the revisions of Act No. 76 of July 10, 2009) in compliance with the Standard Legal Terms Dictionary (March 26, 2010 Edition) supervised by Japanese Law Translation Council.
    This is an unofficial translation. Only the original Japanese texts of laws and regulations have legal effect, and translations are to be used solely as reference material to aid in the understanding of Japanese laws and regulations.
    The National Archives of Japan will not be responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the legislative material provided here, or for any consequence resulting from use of the information. For all purposes of interpreting and applying the law to any legal issue or dispute, users should consult the original Japanese texts published in the Official Gazette.


Chapter 1
General Provisions

(Purpose)
Article 1
  The purpose of this Act is, in accordance with the spirit of the Public Archives Act (Act No. 115 of 1987) and the Public Records and Archives Management Act (Act No. 66 of 2009), by providing for matters concerning the name, purpose, scope of operations, etc. of the National Archives of Japan, Incorporated Administrative Agency, to contribute to appropriate preservation and use of historical public records and archives.
(Definitions)
Article 2
  The term “Historical Public Records and Archives” as used in this Act shall mean Historical Public Records and Archives prescribed in Article 2, paragraph 6 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act.
(2) The term “Specified Historical Public Records and Archives” as used in this Act shall mean Specified Historical Public Records and Archives prescribed in Article 2, paragraph 7 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act, which were transferred, donated, or deposited to the archives established by the National Archives of Japan, Incorporated Administrative Agency (hereinafter referred to as “the National Archives of Japan”).

Chapter 2
National Archives of Japan, Incorporated Administrative Agency
Section 1. General Provisions

(Name)
Article 3
  The name of the incorporated administrative agency prescribed in Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act No. 103 of 1999; hereinafter referred to as “the Act on General Rules”) established pursuant to this Act and the Act on General Rules shall be the National Archives of Japan, Incorporated Administrative Agency.
(Purpose of the National Archives of Japan)
Article 4
  The purpose of the National Archives of Japan shall, by preserving Specified Historical Public Records and Archives and engaging in business such as providing them for public use, be to endeavor towards appropriate preservation and use of Historical Public Records and Archives.
(Specified Incorporated Administrative Agency)
Article 5
  The National Archives of Japan shall be a specified incorporated administrative agency prescribed in Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Act on General Rules.
(Office)
Article 6
  The principal office of the National Archives of Japan shall be located in Tokyo.
(Stated Capital)
Article 7
  The stated capital of the National Archives of Japan shall be the amount contributed by the Government pursuant to the provision of Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Act for Partial Revision of the National Archives Act (Act No. 161 of 1999).
(2) The Government may, when it finds it necessary, make additional capital contribution to the National Archives of Japan up to the amount specified in the budget.
(3) The Government may, when it finds it necessary, notwithstanding the provision of the preceding paragraph, make additional contribution of land, buildings or other fixtures on land (hereinafter referred to as “land, etc.” in paragraph 5 of this Article) as capital contribution to the National Archives of Japan.
(4) When capital contribution is made by the Government pursuant to the preceding two paragraphs, the National Archives of Japan shall increase its stated capital by the amount of said capital contribution.
(5) The value of the land, etc. which is made as capital contribution by the Government shall be the value appraised by the Evaluation Committee of the National Archives of Japan based on the market value as of the date of the capital contribution.
(6) The Evaluation Committee and other necessary matters concerning the appraisal prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be specified by a Cabinet Order.

Section 2. Officers

(Officers)
Article 8
  The National Archives of Japan shall have as its officers one president as its head and two auditors.
(2) The National Archives of Japan may have as its officers one senior vice-president.
(Duties, Authority, etc. of the Senior Vice-President)
Article 9
  The senior vice-president shall, under the direction of the president, administer the functions of the National Archives of Japan, assisting the president.
(2) The officer as set forth in the Acts Governing Individual Incorporated Administrative Agencies, specified in Article 19, paragraph 2 of the Act on General Rules, shall be the senior vice-president; provided, however, that when there is no senior vice-president, such officer shall be an auditor.
(3) In the case referred to in the proviso of the preceding paragraph, the auditor who represents or perform the duties of the president pursuant to the provision of Article 19, paragraph 2 of the Act on General Rules shall not perform his/her duties as an auditor during that period.
(Term of Office of Officers)
Article 10
  The term of office of the president shall be four years and that of the senior vice-president and an auditor shall be two years.

Section 3. Activities, etc.

(Scope of Activities)
Article 11
  The National Archives of Japan shall conduct the following activities in order to achieve the purposes specified in Article 4:
  • (i) Preserving and providing for public use Specified Historical Public Records and Archives;
  • (ii) Preserving Administrative Documents (limited to those which are provided for as one which should be transferred to the National Archives of Japan pursuant to the provision of Article 5, paragraph 5 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act) on consignment from an Administrative Organ (meaning an Administrative Organ as provided for in Article 2, paragraph 1 of the same Act; the same shall apply hereinafter);
  • (iii) Collecting, classifying, and providing information concerning preservation and use of Historical Public Records and Archives;
  • (iv) Providing professional and technical advice on preservation and use of Historical Public Records and Archives;
  • (v) Conducting research and studies on preservation and use of Historical Public Records and Archives;
  • (vi) Providing training dealing with preservation and use of Historical Public Records and Archives; and
  • (vii) Conducting activities incidental to the ones listed in the preceding items.
(2) In addition to the activities listed in the preceding paragraph, the National Archives of Japan shall make a report, or collect information, or conduct inspection pursuant to the provision of Article 9, paragraph 4 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act.
(3) The National Archives of Japan may conduct the following activities within the scope of not hindering the activities listed in the preceding two paragraphs:
  • (i) On consignment from the Prime Minister, providing technical guidance or advice as prescribed in Article 7 of the Public Archives Act; and
  • (ii) On consignment from an Administrative Organ, preservation of Administrative Documents (excluding those which are prescribed as one which should be transferred or disposed of pursuant to the provision of Article 5, paragraph 5 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act).
(Disposition of Reserve Funds)
Article 12
  The National Archives of Japan may, when it settles the account pursuant to the provisions of Article 44, paragraph 1 or 2, of the Act on General Rules pertaining to the last business year of a period for mid-term objectives prescribed in Article 29, paragraph 2, item 1 of the Act on General Rules (hereinafter referred to as a “period for mid-term objectives” in this paragraph) and there remain reserve funds under the provision of paragraph 1 of said Article, appropriate the amount for which approval of the Prime Minister is obtained out of the amount equivalent to the reserve funds, for funds for the activities prescribed in the preceding Article for the next period for mid-term objectives following said period for mid-term objectives, in accordance with the mid-term plan which is approved under the provision of Article 30, paragraph 1 of the Act on General Rules (or the revised plan, in the case where the mid-term plan is revised under the provision of the second sentence of said paragraph) pertaining to the next period for mid-term objectives.
(2) The Prime Minister shall, when intending to grant approval pursuant to the provision of the preceding paragraph, hear the opinion of the Cabinet Office's Evaluation Committee for Incorporated Administrative Agencies and consult with the Minister of Finance.
(3) The National Archives of Japan shall, when there remains any surplus after deducting the amount approved under the provision of paragraph 1 from the amount equivalent to the amount of the reserve funds prescribed in said paragraph, pay the remaining surplus to the national treasury.
(4) In addition to what is provided for in the preceding three paragraphs, the procedures for making payment and other necessary matters concerning disposition of reserve funds shall be specified by a Cabinet Order.

Section 4. Miscellaneous Provisions

(Competent Ministers, etc.)
Article 13
  As it pertains to the National Archives of Japan, the competent minister, the competent ministry, and ordinances of the competent ministry in the Act on General Rules shall be the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Office, and the Cabinet Office Ordinances, respectively.

Section 5. Penal Provisions

Article 14
  In cases which fall under any of the following items, any officer of the National Archives of Japan who has committed the violation shall be punished by a non-penal fine of not more than 200,000 yen:
  • (i) Conducting activities other than those prescribed in Article 11; or
  • (ii) Failing to obtain approval of the Prime Minister, in cases where such approval must be obtained pursuant to the provision of Article 12, paragraph 1.

Supplementary Provisions (Act No. 66 of July 1, 2009) (Extract)

(Effective Date)
Article 1
  This Act shall come into effect as from the date specified by a Cabinet Order within a period not exceeding two years from the day of promulgation. (Put into effect by Cabinet Order No. 239 of 2000 as of October 1, 2000.)

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