Independent Administrative Institution

An Incorporated Administrative Agency, or in lay terms Independent Administrative Corporation or Independent Administrative Institution (独立行政法人, Dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin or Dokugyo in abbreviation), is a type of legal body for organizations of the Japanese government regulated by the Basic Law on Reforming Government Ministries under the Act on General Rules for incorporated Administrative Agencies(Law No. 103 of 1999, modified in 2014).^[1] The independent agencies are not under the National Government Organization Act that provides for the ministries and agencies of Japan.

Originally proposed by the Administrative Reform Council, the independent agencies are created based on the concept of separating the ministries and agencies of the government into planning functions and operation functions. Planning functions remain within government-based ministries and agencies while operating functions are transferred to the independent agencies.

Incorporated Administrative Agencies utilize management methods of private-sector corporations and are given considerable autonomy in their operations and how to use their given budgets. In April 2001, the government first designated 59 bodies as the independent agencies, among which were many research institutions and some museums.

Examples of the agencies

There are 87 agencies as of 1 April 2017.^[2]

• National Center for University Entrance Examinations, an agency that administers the National Center Test for University Admissions
• Imperial Household Agency, an agency which manages the domestic affairs of the Imperial family
• Japan Mint, the mint of Japan
• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
• Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO)
• Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)
• National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO)
• National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
• National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)
• National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
• National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE)
• National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Tokyo National Museum (TNM)
• National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Kyoto National Museum, (KNM)
• National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Nara National Museum (NNM)
• National Museum of Art, Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT)
• National Museum of Art, Tokyo National Museum of Western Art (NMWA)
• National Printing Bureau
• Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI)

See also

• List of Incorporated Administrative Agencies in Japan
• List of National Laboratories in Japan
• Quango

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Independent Administrative Institution National Museum. (2005) Outline of the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum. Tokyo: Independent Administrative Institution National Museum Secretariat. OCLC: 71634675
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2002). Benchmarking Industry-science Relationships. Paris: OECD Publishing. ISBN 978-92-64-19741-1 OCLC: 49642355

External links

• Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art (in Japanese)