Cultural heritage protection system in Japan: Current issues and prospects for the future

Abstract

Japan has been modernizing for the past 150 years, wiping out the old for the sake of socio-economic progress. Since the end of World War II (WWII) in particular, Japan’s new constitution renounced war and Japan placed a strong focus on economic development. In many cases, the protection of cultural heritage was marginalized. However, in recent years, Japan’s society and economy have matured, and the national demand for a better quality of life has increased. Demand for non-material satisfaction has led to growing concern about social cohesion, local identity, and culture. On the other hand, due to structural changes in the economy and production, industries have also increased attention to the importance of utilizing culture for the creation of economic value. Thus, cultural heritage has been integrated into local communities and has gradually come to be considered an important component of a high-quality lifestyle as well as a precious resource for regional development through cultural tourism and the creation of high value-added products. Accordingly, the cultural heritage protection system has evolved to meet these socio-economic changes. The main purpose of this paper is to overview the major achievements of cultural heritage protection in general, which comprises the core of Japanese cultural policy. Also the underlying socio-economic changes will be addressed. Then, current issues and prospects for the future will be considered. This paper is largely based on GRIPS Discussion Paper 14-10, written by the author, and was revised for this journal with the support of JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 26380292. Except as otherwise cited, data used in this paper are based on Agency for Cultural Affairs (2001, 2016).