IAML International Association of Music Libraries

A.  On copyright legislation and guidelines

1. What are the most important pieces of copyright legislation in your country?
Copyright Law of Japan [English translation by Yukifusa OYAMA et al.]

2. Is this legislation supplemented by case law (ie law interpreted and defined by the courts)?
No. It is not supplemented by case law (judicial precedent).

The Japanese Branch now has 61 individual members and 17 institutional members, namely 5 individual members and 5 institutional members fewer than last year. Because of the economical problems of libraries and the lack of recognition for librarians as experts, librarians in Japan do not work in an very easy situation. But the Japanese Branch expects to get some young, active members soon.

During the last year, the Japanese Branch has experienced a lot of changes. We started to rebuild our branch; we have reorganized it considerably, and now still further projects are planned for the reactivation of the branch.

1995 was a year of rebuilding, reorganizing, and reactivating the Japanese Branch. The branch Constitution was adopted in May, and the first election of Board officers was held. The Board members in 1995 were Keiichiro Watanabe (President), Shigeru Joho (Vice-president), Yo Akioka (Secretary), Yasuko Todo (Treasurer), Shuko Kato, Hitoshi Matsushita, Toshiko Sekine, Mariko Teramoto (Members-at-large).