Greetings from new Director General, Mr. Kamei Nobuo

　I took over the director’s duties from my predecessor Mr. Suzuki Norio and assumed the post of Director General in April 1, 2010. The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a long history spanning 80 years, including the years of the antecedent art research institute, and stores an enormous amount of data on cultural property research amassed by our senior staff. These data are valuable assets of the Institute and form the foundation of research on cultural properties that supports the present-day administration for cultural properties. In the middle of the recent administrative and financial reform, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo is positioned as one facility of the National Institute for Cultural Heritage which consists of four national museums and two research institutes. In spite of the changes accompanying the reform, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a firm foundation that the precedent Director General Mr. Suzuki took the lead in building. This foundation includes the systematization of investigation and research of cultural properties, the unification and systematization of development in conservation and restoration techniques, and sharing of data on cultural properties. I will take over this firm foundation, further develop it, and do my utmost to accomplish the social mission that was given to the Institute.
　Recently, there have been demands for active links with the community and disclosure of information in a variety of fields, and approaches to open up organizations are being taken. Although research on cultural properties is apt to be specialized and difficult, I believe investigation and research for protecting cultural properties includes giving guidance to get as many people as possible to realize the importance of and cooperate in conservation. Therefore, when we make public the stored data on cultural properties and research achievements, we regard it crucial to convey them in an easy to understand way.
　The Institute does not have a sufficient number of researchers, but there are many researchers with abilities that can be used overseas, and their research activities are highly rated both in Japan and abroad. We all do our utmost to protect cultural properties so that our Institute can play a central role domestically and internationally. Your ongoing support and cooperation would be greatly appreciated.