Promotion of Culture in Japan

Development

The most critical point for aware the Japan cultural policy is that it has been limited in scale. In the early 1990s, the Japan government had little interest in cultural things, letting the culture and arts operate almost wholly within the market economy. It is not that people ignore the significance of culture and arts or no interest in it, but some movements, especially ongoing art creation, have never been thought to be top priorities for the state. They have long been looked at the personal interests of those that were involved in the consumption or creation, with little importance to society at large. However, since the 1990s, the thinking about cultural policy has considered a lot of developments. A critical development of cultural policy is positioned in link with other public policy fields such as health, education, welfare, tourism, local revitalisation and technological innovation. Therefore, owing to the cultural policy has displayed to create such contributions, its position has been identified at higher values of government such as the Agency for Cultural Affairs 4th Basic Policy-Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts, approved of and endorsed through the Cabinet in 2015.

Aims

It has experienced 18 years since the Prime Act on Culture’s Promotion and the Arts were passed in 2001. Based on the social alterations including refusing birthrates, globalisation and an ageing society, the Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts has experienced for 4-time updates to create arts policy and complete culture. Its aims to promote the autonomous activities of people that carried actions out related to the arts and culture, by contributing to understanding a spirited society and lifestyle, and variety of areas that be related to arts and culture including tourism, international exchange, town development, education, social welfare and industry. Further collaboration between administrative institutions, arts and cultural groups, schools, private operations and communities is also needed to advance cultural arts policies further.

Outcomes and Achievement

The mission and changing role of museums, galleries and other cultural organisations can also be indicated as a contributor to art projects’ development. As Japan cultural policy has advanced in the 21st century, the younger arts managers start to act in a lot of new fields of activities including outreach; art workshops have begun to become popular. Although, Cultural funding is never abundant in Japan, there are occasionally little pots of funding in the public and personal sectors earmarked especially for these programs. For instance, at the national layer, when the primary funding duty for museums with the Ministry for Science or Education, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs has begun to provide project funding on a competitive base for history museums and art. One of the funding started in 2014, to raise the role of museums as local hubs for cultural actions, something leading an essential figure of museums to build partnerships with local art program to obtain that additional funding.

Future Issues

Under the Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts in Japan, though there is identified that the public funds are available for non-art aims as a factor contributing to art’s development projects, it does not mean that art programs are well-funded. In practice, they fight for funding and tend to depend on multiple sources. For instance, a well-known art plan draws on funds from uses on funds from the local council and multiple departments of government throughout many groups, such as education, social welfare and tourism. The situations bring a risk that they may lose their principal aims and visions; this is usual to all kinds non- profit organisations. Therefore, some concern that through getting public funds, art programs may turn to a tool and their character may be compromised, and especially whether they can maintain their artistic missions and original purposes. Currently, Japan cultural policy is turning more and more expansive, including instrumental aims such as economic development and tourism. It can be a possibility art project organisers may take advantage, but it also has a risk of becoming trapped in purposes of the funders.

Reference List :

1. Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts—4th Basic Policy, available from the website of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. http://www.bunka.go.jp/english/policy/foundations/
2. Basic Policy on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts – Creating the future with cultural and artistic resources http://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunka_gyosei/hoshin/kihon_hoshin_4ji/pdf/sanko_02.pdf
3. Policy of Cultural Affairs in Japan, Agency for Cultural Affairs

    http://www.bunka.go.jp/english/report/annual/1394357.html

4. Belfiore, Eleonora (2002) , “Art as a Means of Alleviating Social Exclusion: Does It Really Work? A Critique of Instrumental Cultural Policies and Social Impact Studies in the UK” , International Journal of Cultural Policy, 8,1, 91-106.
5. The Japanese figure includes donations ones to both central and local governments, which are tax-deductible. www.npo-homepage.go.jp/uploads/kiso_kokusaihikaku_insatu.pdf accessed 17
6. Cabinet Office. Government of Japan

    https://www.npo-homepage.go.jp/