The National Diet Library, the sole national library in Japan, assists the legislative activities of the Diet from a neutral viewpoint, by analyzing and evaluating bills, and providing the Diet with research and information services.
In March 2007, the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau (RLRB) issued “A new compilation of materials on the Yasukuni Shrine problems,” a collection of historical documents on the Yasukuni Shrine. In response to the growing interest among the Diet members, the RLRB staff launched an investigation in January 2006 and since then they have collected the historical materials in cooperation with the related organizations. This new compilation is a sequel to “Materials on the Yasukuni Shrine problems” issued in 1976 also by the RLRB.
The compilation contains 808 items including documents disclosed for the first time. The main materials are:

1. Documents on the policy of the Yasukuni Shrine on enshrinement, possessed by the Yasukuni Shrine
2. Request to the local governments for investigation of war dead, possessed by the Health and Welfare Ministry
3. William P. Woodard Papers possessed by the University of Oregon Library (report on the Yasukuni Shrine by GHQ)
4. Relevant documents from a meeting concerning cabinet members’ visits to the Yasukuni Shrine (1984-1985)
5. Documents on the construction of Chidorigafuchi Memorial Park possessed by the Ministry of the Environment

This publication is available on the page of research papers FY 2006(Japanese only).