Basic Act on Culture and the Arts

Revisions to the Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts

1. Forward

A Cabinet Decision was made on June 23, 2017 on the enforcement of the Partial Revisions to the Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts.


2. Background to the Revisions

It has been 16 years since the Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts was enacted in 2001. Based on the Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts formulated for 4 times up until now, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has worked on advancing measures to promote culture and the arts to realize a Nation that emphasizes on culture and the arts.
In the meanwhile, rapid social changes including declining birthrates, an aging society and globalization call for further measures to create a comprehensive culture and arts policy that promotes collaboration among a diverse range of relevant fields including tourism, town development and international exchanges.
The upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games is regarded as both a sports and cultural festival. It is a significant opportunity for Japan to disseminate its culture and the arts to the international community, and a chance for the nation to demonstrate creating new values through culture and the arts.
As such, the non-partisan Parliamentary Association for Promoting Culture and the Arts deliberated on the amendments spanning for over a year, which led to the revision of the Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts as a non-partisan legislation.


3. Objective of Revisions

The revisions respect the intrinsic meaning and value of culture and the arts, while extending application of the Basic Act to relevant fields in culture and the arts to include tourism, town development, international exchange, social welfare, education and industry. The revised act aims to utilize the various values created by culture and the arts to succeed, develop, and create new culture and the arts.


4. Summary of Revisions

The Basic Act on Culture and the Arts aims to promote the independent activities of people carrying out activities related to culture and the arts. The act is designed to comprehensively and systematically promote policies related to culture and the arts, through contributing to realizing a vigorous society and lifestyle rich in spirit.
The revisions further extend the scope of application of fields promoting policies related to culture and the arts to include: tourism, town development, international exchange, social welfare, education and industry. The revisions also stress the importance of linking various new values created through culture and the arts to further their succession, development and creation.
New articles have been added which stipulate the role of culture and arts organizations, in addition to promoting collaboration and cooperation among the central government, independent administrative agencies, culture and arts organizations and private businesses.
The revisions were made in articles for the basic measures related to culture and the arts, by adding Japanese Kumi Odori dance as an example of Japanese traditional art, and promotion of food culture. The new act also stipulates supports for arranging art festivals, and creative activities by senior citizens and people with disabilities.
The Japanese government is to formulate the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts to comprehensively and systematically promote policies related to culture and the arts, instead of the Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts. Moreover, the newly revised act also calls on the establishment of the Council for Promotion of Culture and the Arts, which is comprised of members of MEXT, the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
A supplementary provision to the revised act define that, in order to promote policies related to culture and the arts, the government shall deliver the expansion of functions of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, including its institutional design, and implement necessary measures based on those results.
Based on the purpose of the revisions, the government is expected to work to promote measures in a variety of fields related to culture and the arts including tourism, town development, international exchange, social welfare, education and industry. Also, further collaboration among administrative organizations, cultural and arts groups, private businesses, schools and communities is needed to promote cultural arts policies further.



Outline of Partial Revisions to the Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts (90.1KB)

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