National Diet Library

Amendments:

1. Law No. 194, June 6, 1949

2. Law No. 3, January 28, 1955

3. Law No. 82, July 1, 1994

4. Law No. 31, April 7, 1999

5. Law No. 37, April 7, 2000

6. Law No. 6, March 31, 2002

  National Diet Library is hereby established as a result of the firm conviction that truth makes us free and with the object of contributing to international peace and the democratization of Japan as promised in our Constitution.


      Article 1. The National Diet Library is hereby established and this Law shall be shown and cited as the National Diet Library Law.
      Article 2. The National Diet Library shall collect books and other library materials for the purpose of assisting the members of the National Diet in the performance of their duties and also for the purpose of providing certain library services as hereinafter specified for the executive and judicial agencies of the national government and for the people of Japan.
      Article 3. The National Diet Library shall consist of a library and of such branch libraries as are provided for herein central or as may hereafter be established.


      Article 4. There shall be only one Chief Librarian of the National Diet Library at any time. He shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors with the approval of the Houses after consultation with the Committees on Rules and Administration of both Houses.
  2 He shall continue in office so long as he performs his duties satisfactorily. He shall refrain from political activities and he shall not be dismissed for political reasons. He may be dismissed by joint action of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors. His treatment shall be equal to that of a Minister of State.
      Article 5. The Chief Librarian shall supervise the administration of the Library and direct the officials and employees thereof in the performance of their duties.
  2 He shall make all rules and regulations for the governance of the Library beforehand or retrospectively with the approval of the Committees on Rules and Administration of both Houses.
  3 The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall come into force when public notice has been given.
      Article 6. The Chief Librarian shall make at the beginning of each fiscal year a report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors on the operations and financial condition of the Library for the previous fiscal year.
      Article 7. The Chief Librarian shall arrange for the publication, at periodic intervals not longer than one year, of a catalogue or index of the publications issued within Japan during the preceding year or period.
      Article 8. The Chief Librarian is authorized to arrange for the preparation, in form suitable for publication, of an index to the laws of Japan.


      Article 9. There shall be only one Assistant Chief Librarian at any time. He shall be appointed and dismissed by the Chief Librarian with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors. He shall assist the Chief Librarian in the administration of the Library. When the Chief Librarian is unable to attend to his duties or when the post is vacant, the Assistant Chief Librarian shall perform the duties of the Chief Librarian. His treatment shall be not less than that of a Vice-Minister of State.
      Article 10. All other officials and employees of the National Diet Library shall be appointed by the Chief Librarian on the sole basis of their qualifications to perform the duties of their respective posts, and in accordance with the provisions of the Diet Secretariat Personnel Law. The Chief Librarian shall prescribe the duties of such officials and employees.
  2 No officials of the Library shall be, concurrently, members of the Diet, nor shall they hold other posts in the executive or judicial agencies of the national government, except for such posts in the government branch libraries of the executive or judicial agencies.


    Article 11. The Committees on Rules and Administration of both Houses shall meet not less than once in every six months to consider reports from the Chief Librarian on the progress of the Library, the rules and regulations made by the Chief Librarian for the governance of the Library, the budget of the Library, and of other business relating to the Library.
  2 The Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration of each House shall report the results of the consideration provided for in the foregoing paragraph to the House.
    Article 12. A Coordinating Committee on the National Diet Library is hereby established. This Committee shall consist of and members who shall be the Chairmen of the Committees on Rules and Administration of the two Houses, a justice of the Supreme Court appointed by the Chief Justice, and a minister of state appointed by the Prime Minister. They shall elect a Chairman from among themselves.
  2 The Chairman and members shall serve without additional compensation.
  3 The Chief Librarian may attend meetings of the Committee, but shall have no vote in its proceedings.
    Article 13. The Coordinating Committee shall make recommendations to the Committee on Rules and Administration of each House for the improvement of the services of the National Diet Library to the Diet and the executive and judicial agencies of the government.


    Article 14. The Chief Librarian shall organize the Library into such departments, divisions and other units as are necessary for its efficient administration.


    Article 15. The Chief Librarian shall establish within the National Diet Library a department to be known as the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau. The functions of this department shall be as follows:
  (1) Upon request, to advise and assist any committee of the Diet in the analysis, appraisal or evaluation of legislation pending before it, or of proposals submitted to the Diet by the Cabinet, and otherwise to assist in furnishing a basis for the proper determination of measures before the committee.
  (2) Upon request, or upon its own initiative in anticipation of requests, to gather, classify, analyze and make available in translations, indexes, digests, compilations, bulletins and otherwise, materials for or related to legislation, and to provide serviceable materials to the Diet and to the committees and members thereof, without partisan or bureaucratic bias in selection or presentation of such materials.
  (3) To provide a bill-drafting service that assists the Diet, its committees and members in the preparation of legislation; provided, however, that this assistance shall be supplied only upon request of a committee or a member of the Diet, and that the staff of the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau shall in no case initiate or urge legislation.
  (4) To make its collection of information available to the executive and judicial agencies of the government or to the general public to the extent that the needs of the Diet and of its committees and members permit this to be done.
    Article 16. The Chief Librarian shall appoint a director, deputy director and all other personnel necessary for this Bureau without reference to political affiliations and solely on the ground of fitness to perform the duties of their office and in accordance with the provisions of the Diet Secretariat Personnel Law.
  2 The Chief Librarian is further authorized to appoint to the staff of this Bureau senior specialists in the broad fields of interest which coincide with the fields of interest of the several Standing Committees of the Diet, provided that the treatment of the specialists shall be equal to that of the first class officials of the executive and judicial agencies of the government.


    Article 16-2. The Kansai-kan of the National Diet Library shall be established in the central library.
  2 The Chief Librarian shall determine the location of the Kansai-kan and its functions.
  3 There shall be one director of the Kansai-kan who shall be appointed by the Chief Librarian from among the officials of the National Diet Library.
  4 The director of the Kansai-kan shall, under the orders of the Chief Librarian, administer the affairs of the Kansai-kan.


    Article 17. The Chief Librarian shall be responsible for the coordination of the library service to the executive and judicial agencies of the government. To this end he shall:
  (1) Appoint the librarians of the executive and judicial agencies of the government upon the recommendation of the members of the Coordinating Committee who respectively represent these bodies. However, appointments from among the persons who are governed by the National Public Service Law shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the same law, and with the consent of the chief of the agency concerned.
  (2) Have authority to prescribe, for the use of the libraries of the executive and judicial agencies of the government, methods and systems of library management, including, for example, methods relating to cataloging, inter-library loans and exchange of collections, union catalogues and union lists; with a view to making the library resources of the whole government available for the use of any official of the executive and judicial agencies of the government.
  (3) Have authority to require annual or special reports from the librarians of the executive and judicial agencies of the government.
    Article 18. The budget for the library of each executive or judicial agency of the government shall be included as a distinct item under the title "library" in the budget of the agency concerned, and appropriations made thereunder shall not be transferable to any other item in the budget of the agency nor be reduced without the approval of the member of the Coordinating Committee representing that executive or judicial body of the government and the Chief Librarian.
    Article 19. The chief librarian of each executive or judicial agency of the government shall be responsible for satisfactory library service to his agency. He shall have authority to appoint and dismiss the members of his staff subject to the provisions of the Diet Secretariat Personnel Law or of the National Public Service Law, or of the Court of Justice Law. He shall have authority, under regulations to be made by the Chief Librarian, to recommend the acquisition of books and other library materials by purchase or by other means to the chief of the respective agency as well as the Chief Librarian, or to make such purchases or other acquisitions directly.
    Article 20. Not later than six months after the first appointment to the post of Chief Librarian, all existing libraries of the executive and judicial agencies of the government shall become branches of the National Diet Library under the provisions of this Chapter. Any national government agency which has no existing library shall establish a branch library not later than within one year.


    Article 21. The library services of the National Diet Library shall be available to the people of Japan either directly or through prefectural or other libraries to the fullest extent consistent with the needs of the Diet, its committees and members and of the executive and judicial agencies of the government. To this end the Chief Librarian is authorized as follows:
  (1) To make the collections of the Library, and information which is provided through the Internet or other advanced information communication network for the Library's use and the content of which is the equivalent of a library material, available for public use and study either in the National Diet Library building or by inter-library loan or through copying services or by exhibition, in accordance with regulations to be made by him or her; and to provide such other services as he or she may, according to circumstances, find to be necessary for the improvement of the library services.
  (2) To assist, by every appropriate means, prefectural and other local assemblies, government officials and librarians in the organization of libraries and in the development of library services.
  (3) To make publications of the Library available to other libraries and individuals desiring to purchase them, and to charge the prices that will be determined by the Chief Librarian.
  (4) To take all measures to produce a union catalogue of the library resources in Japan and such other catalogues and lists as may be necessary to coordinate the availability of the library resources of the country.
  2 When the copying service prescribed in item (1) of the preceding paragraph is provided, the Chief Librarian is authorized to collect charges which shall be fixed taking the actual cost into account.
  3 The Chief Librarian, in accordance with regulations to be made by him or her, is authorized to commission a part of the works related to the copying service prescribed in item (1) of paragraph 1 ('copying work' in short) to a nonprofit corporation.
  4 A person who receives copies from the corporation entrusted with the copying work in accordance with the provision of the preceding paragraph shall pay charges to the corporation for the copying service prescribed in paragraph 2.
  5 The corporation entrusted with the copying work in accordance with the provision of paragraph 3 shall receive the charges paid in accordance with the provision of the foregoing paragraph as its income and bear the necessary expenses for the copying work so entrusted.
    Article 22. The International Library of Children's Literature shall be established as a branch library of the National Diet Library that provides, through international collaboration, library services concerning books and other library materials whose main readers are assumed to be approximately eighteen years of age or less.
  2 In the International Library of Children's Literature there shall be one Librarian of the International Library of Children's Literature who shall be appointed from among the officials of the National Diet Library.
  3 The Librarian of the International Library of Children's Literature shall, under the orders of the Chief Librarian, administer the affairs of the International Library of Children's Literature.


    Article 23. The Chief Librarian is authorized to acquire, for the collections of the National Diet Library, books and other library materials by deposit prescribed in the provisions of Chapter X and XI and also by purchase, gift, exchange, bequest and other methods, or by transfer from the executive and judicial agencies of the government. The chiefs of the executive and judicial agencies of the government are authorized to transfer to the National Diet Library books and other library materials not needed for their use but in the judgement of the Chief Librarian appropriate to the uses of the National Diet Library. The Chief Librarian is authorized to transfer to the executive and judicial agencies of the government books and other library materials not needed by the National Diet Library, or to use them in exchange or otherwise to dispose of them.


    Article 24. Of each publication coming under any of the following categories issued by or for any agency of the government (except confidential matters, blank forms, specimen pages and other simple publications; the same shall apply hereinafter), thirty (30) copies or less shall be deposited immediately with the National Diet Library for its official use or for its use in exchange for the publications of other governments and in other international exchanges in accordance with regulations to be made by the Chief Librarian:
  (1) Books;
  (2) Pamphlets;
  (3) Serials;
  (4) Music scores;
  (5) Maps;
  (6) Motion picture films;
  (7) Documents or charts besides those mentioned in the foregoing items, reproduced by printing and other processes;
  (8) Phonographic records;
  (9) Texts, images, sounds, or programs recorded by electronic, magnetic, or other methods which cannot be directly perceived by human senses.
  2 The provisions of the foregoing paragraph shall apply to the reprinting of the publications specified in the same paragraph. However, the same provisions shall not apply to cases where the contents of the reprinted publication differ neither in volume nor substance from its first or previous edition and where copies of its first or previous edition were deposited in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
    Article 24-2. When the publications as prescribed in paragraph 1 of the foregoing Article, have been issued by or for agencies of the metropolitan and prefectural governments or similar agencies, such agencies shall immediately deposit five (5) copies or less of such publications with the National Diet Library for the purposes specified by the same paragraph in accordance with regulations to be made by the Chief Librarian.
  2 When any of the publications prescribed in paragraph 1 of the foregoing Article, has been issued by or for agencies of cities (including special districts; the same shall apply hereinafter) or of corresponding bodies, such agencies shall immediately deposit five(5) copies or less thereof with the National Diet Library for the purposes specified by the same paragraph in accordance with regulations to be made by the Chief Librarian. Of each publication issued by agencies of towns, villages or of corresponding bodies three (3) copies or less thereof shall be deposited.
  3 The provisions of paragraph 2 of the foregoing Article shall apply to the two preceding paragraphs.


    Article 25. When any person other than specified by the preceding two Articles has issued any of the publications prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 24, he shall, in order to contribute to the accumulation and utility of cultural goods, deposit a complete copy of its best edition to the National Diet Library within thirty (30) days of its issue, excepting cases coming under the provisions of the preceding two Articles; provided that this shall not apply in cases where the publisher has presented or bequeathed the publication to the National Diet Library or where the Chief Librarian recognizes the existence of special reasons.
  2 The provisions of Article 24, paragraph 2, shall apply with necessary modifications to the foregoing paragraph. In this case, "deposited" mentioned in Article 24, paragraph 2, shall read "deposited or presented or bequeathed".
  3 To a person who has deposited publications in accordance with the provision of paragraph 1, the Chief Librarian shall give compensation equivalent to the expenses usually required for the issue and deposit of the publication.
  4 The Chief Librarian shall deliver to the person who has presented the publication or the successor of the person who has bequeathed the publication in accordance with the provision of the proviso of paragraph 1, the part of the national publication catalogue to be issued at periodical intervals in which the above publication is recorded.
    Article 25-2. If the publisher fails, without legitimate reason, to deposit the publication in accordance with the provision of paragraph 1 of the foregoing Article, he shall be punished with a fine of up to five times the retail price of the publication, (or if the retail price is not fixed, an estimate is made.)
  2 If the publisher is a juridical person, the fine in the foregoing paragraph shall be imposed upon its representative.


    Article 26. The Chief Librarian shall have authority to accept gifts of money for immediate disbursement in connection with the National Diet Library, its services or collections.
  2 In each case, he shall obtain the approval of the Committees on Rules and Administration of both Houses.
    Article 27. All appropriations made to the National Diet Library shall be disbursed under the supervision of the Chief Librarian by a disbursing officer to be appointed by him.
    Article 28. The annual budget of the National Diet Library shall be prepared by the Chief Librarian and shall be submitted by him to the Committees on Rules and Administration of both Houses. Said budget shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors, with or without the recommendations of the Committees after their examination.

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS:
    Article 29. This Law shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.
  2 Law No. 84 of 1947 concerning the Diet Library shall be abolished.
    Article 30. Upon the effective date of this law, the Library of the House of Representatives and the Library of the House of Councillors shall cease to exist as separate Libraries, and their collections shall be transferred to the National Diet Library.
    Article 31. When fully qualified persons are not available for appointment to positions, the Chief Librarian shall make temporary appointments for a period not exceeding two years' duration; such an appointment shall not be renewed if at its termination a better qualified person is available for the position.

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS(Law No. 194, June 6, 1949):
  1. This Law shall come into force as from July 1,1949.
  2. Deposit of publications issued prior to the coming into force of this Law shall be in accordance with the existing provisions. (Moved forward from paragraph 3 by Law No.37,2000.)

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS(Law No. 3, January 28, 1955)[excerpts]:
  1. This Law shall come into force as from the day of convocation of the 22nd Session of the Diet. (Day of convocation: December 18,1955)

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS(Law No. 82, July 1, 1994):
  1. This Law shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.
  2. The Branch Library of the National Diet Library as was prescribed by Article 22 before being revised by this law shall become the UENO Library, Branch of the National Diet Library, as is prescribed by the revised Article 22 of this law.

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS(Law No. 31, April 7, 1999)[excerpts]:
  1. This Law shall come into force as from January 1,2000; except that the provision revising Article 21, Article 21 item (1), (3), and (4) shall come into force as from the day of its promulgation.

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS(Law No. 37, April 7, 2000)[excerpts]:
  1. This Law shall come into force as from October 1,2000.
  2. The publisher of the publications coming under Article 24, paragraph 1, item (6) as is revised by this Law shall, for the time being, be exempt from obligation to deposit in accordance with the decision to be made by the Chief Librarian and despite the provisions of the said Article to Article 25.
  3. Deposit of publications issued prior to the coming into force of this Law shall be in accordance with the existing provisions.

    SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS(Law No. 6, March 31, 2002)[excerpts]:
  1. This Law shall come into force as from April 1,2002; except that paragraph 3 to paragraph 5 of Article 21 in the revising provision, which adds four paragraphs to the said Article, shall come into force as from October 1,2002.