Archives, Accountability, and Democracy in the Digital Age

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introductory Essay

   • Keiji Fujiyoshi

   Pages 1-11

3. The Gap Between Knowledge Management and Records Management

   • Kazuhito Isomura

   Pages 13-27

4. Ombudsperson NGOs and Effective Information Disclosure in Japanese Local Governments

   • Gentaro Mizugaki

   Pages 29-35

5. Meanings of Archivists in the Japanese Constitution

   • Junta Okada S.J.D.

   Pages 37-44

6. Is It Possible to Conduct Genealogical Research in Japanese Archives? Examining the Hindrances and Possibilities

   • Sachiko Morimoto

   Pages 45-52

7. Archives as Record and Memory Keepers of War

   • Keiko Tamura

   Pages 53-68

8. Standardizing Non-alphabetical Archival Description: A Survey of Descriptive Practices on Japanese Public Records

   • Takahiro Sakaguchi

   Pages 69-74

9. Back Matter

   Pages 75-76

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This book is the first attempt to introduce the current status of archival practices in Japan as well as the basic views of the populace on making records accessible to English readers. In general, Japan has not paid sufficient attention to keeping and utilizing records except in the field of historical research. This book thus examines Japanese attitudes about history, records management, information acts, the status of archivists of the constitution, and genealogical research practices and a description of archives. Consequently, such investigations clarify how both private and public archives function or fail to do so in those spheres of Japanese society. In addition, this book presents the efforts in wartime record keeping in Australia, which is significantly different from how the Japanese deal with such records. This book therefore provides a clear and concrete picture of the status of current archival practices in Japan and the thinking that underlies them. On the basis of suchexaminations, this book enables readers to understand to what extent and how the past affects the present through archives, to recognize the importance of archives, and to respect the past in order to maintain and develop perspectives in people’s lives.

• Archives
• Accountability
• Japanese Society
• Record Management
• Genealogy
• Information Disclosure

• Faculty of Sociology, Otemon Gakuin University, Ibaraki City, Japan

  Keiji Fujiyoshi

EditorKeiji Fujiyoshi, Otemon Gakuin University

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