| Short Title: | Museum Act 博物館法 Hakubutsukan Hō |
| Legislature: | Diet of Japan |
| Imagealt: | National Diet Building |
| Territorial Extent: | Japan |
| Date Enacted: | 1951 |
| Date Effective: | 1952 |
| Amended By: | Last amended in 2008 |
| Related Legislation: | Fundamental Act of Education [1] |
| Status: | in force |
The is a Japanese law covering matters relating to the country's museums. The law was passed as Law No. 285 in 1951 and was last amended in 2022.
The Act distinguishes between, being those established by local governments, and, those established by incorporated associations and foundations or by juridical religious and other persons; as such those established by the state or an Independent Administrative Institution (such as the Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Kyushu National Museums of the IAI National Institutes for Cultural Heritage) cannot become, but may be designated .[1] Facilities that engage in similar activities but are neither registered or designated have no restrictions or conditions imposed by the Act; these are defined elsewhere as .[1] Article 2 defines museums as facilities that collect, store, research, and utilize materials on history, art, folkways, industry, and the natural sciences; as such, various types of "museum" are provided for, including botanical gardens, zoos, aquaria, and planetaria.[1]
As of October 2018, there were 5,738 museums in Japan: 914 registered museums, 372 museum-equivalent facilities, and 4,452 museum-like facilities.[2]
The Museum Act has 29 Articles:[1]
Chapter 1—General Provisions (Articles 1–9)
Chapter 2—Registration (Articles 10–17)
Chapter 3—Public Museums (Articles 18–26)
Chapter 4—Private Museums (Articles 27–28)
Chapter 5—Other Provisions (Article 29)
Supplementary Provisions