According to the recent Japanese status of technology, this paper reviews the programs aimed at developing small synchrotron radiation (SR) rings applied for SR lithography as well as the facilities now in operation for studying SR lithography. Also, concerning problems related to resists, the effects of exposure atmosphere on negative resist crosslinking and the x‐ray resist sensitivity deterioration in an atmospheric environment are reviewed. A compact test ring ‘‘NIJI‐1,’’ 4 m in mean diameter, has been developed for studying low‐energy injection subjects. A compact SR ring, based on a newly designed half‐integer resonance injection method, is now being constructed. The machine, 3‐m o.d., comprises a superconducting weak‐focusing, single‐body magnet. A SR facility design has been offered which consists of a superconducting linac and storage rings. Each storage ring, employing superconducting magnets and a superconducting cavity, has three superperiods in its lattice. The TELL‐TERAS and the Photon Factory (PF) are now in operation for studying SR lithography. The vertical undulating beam orbits around the whole horizontal ring orbit have been observed in TERAS. Private companies, such as NTT, Hitachi, NEC, and Fujitsu, are investigating SR lithography under competitive conditions, in the PF. Recently, NEC has constructed a highly reliable SR lithography beam line.