The Agency for Cultural Affairs establishes the Copyright Subdivision of the Culture Council to discuss how to improve the copyright system, in response to social change and the development and popularization of information technologies.
We also carry out various measures to improve the accessibility and availability of copyrighted works, and engages in education programs on copyright issues.
We also address international challenges in copyright protection by setting ground rules for piracy and copyright issues overseas.
Copyright Act
Recent Amendment
Information on the Copyright System
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Overview of the Copyright System
- Developing Copyright Strategies and Policies to Meet New Needs and Challenges of Creative Industries and Creative Economy: Practice and Experience of Japan (presented at Regional Meeting on Copyright and Related Rights, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization in cooperation with Japan Copyright Office, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan on June 26 2023)（1.3MB）
- General Understanding on AI and Copyright in Japan – Overview-（318KB）
- ■ This document is an overview of the “General Understanding on AI and Copyright in Japan” (hereinafter, the “General Understanding”) published by the Legal Subcommittee under the Copyright Subdivision of the Cultural Council. For detailed information, please refer to the main document.
- ■ The General Understanding represents the subcommittee's views on the interpretation of the current Japanese copyright act as of the time of publication. The General Understanding is not legally binding, nor should it be considered as a definite legal assessment of any specific generative AI or related technologies that currently exist. (May 2024)
Anti-Piracy Initiatives
Enhancement of measures against piracy on the Internet (2020 Amendment) (218.4KB)
Actual situations of the damages from piracy sites and so forth (3MB)
Awareness raising videos
Contact
Copyright Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs
