Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 (Heisei 28) for Agency for Cultural Affairs Determined

On March 29, the government budget for the fiscal year 2016 (Heisei 28) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs became ¥103.965 billion, increasing by 0.2%, which is ¥172 million increase compared to the previous year. The budget is divided into four principal projects as follows: 1. Creation and utilization of rich culture and arts and cultivation of human resources; 2. Preservation, utilization and succession of Japan’s precious cultural properties; 3. Dissemination of Japan’s outstanding culture and arts / promotion of international cultural exchange; and 4. Improvement / enhancement of the foundation for the promotion of culture. Major categories whose budget increased in each project are as follows: in Project 1, ¥821 million for ‘Promotion of cultural programs to realize Nation Based on Culture and the Arts’; and in Project 2, ¥1.259 billion for ‘Strengthening the Strategic Plan for Integrated Use of Cultural Properties’. (Japanese)