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Utilizing content from the National Diet Library website

This webpage contains information on reusing any item or any portion of any image, document, article, data, or other content from the website of the National Diet Library (ndl.go.jp or kodomo.go.jp) by publication either in printed or in electronic form (e-books, etc.) or by reproduction for broadcasting, exhibiting, or posting on other websites or in any other medium.

Please refer to Photoduplication Service, for information on acquiring copies of materials held by the National Diet Library but not displayed on its website.

1. Principles of Reproduction from the Library's Website

See the Terms of Use of the National Diet Library's website for guidelines on reusing content from the National Diet Library website.

The Terms of Use of the National Diet Library's website allows some digitized images of materials held by the National Diet Library to be reproduced freely without contacting the National Diet Library. Users should consider moral rights, human rights, or privacy issues.

When reproducing content for which a party other than the National Diet Library holds the copyright, please obtain permission from the copyright holders. Refer to 2. For content copyrighted by third parties.

Please observe the individual terms of use for all content not subject to the Terms of Use of the National Diet Library's website. Details are available separately for content not subject of the Terms of Use of the National Diet Library's website (i.e., content for which other terms of use apply or publications for which the National Diet Library makes printed copies available for a fee.)

Please use our Reproduction Request Form to contact the National Diet Library in advance when you wish to reproduce in full or in part any content from the website of the National Diet Library which is not able to be reproduced freely under the Terms of Use of the National Diet Library's website (including the separate sheet) or the individual terms of use for that content.

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2. For content copyrighted by third parties

In principle, the permission of the copyright holder is required.

When reproducing content for which a party other than the National Diet Library holds the copyright, please do so at your own risk and only after verifying the status of copyright protection and other rights or obtaining permission from the copyright holders before reproducing the content. In such cases, you need not contact the National Diet Library.

The National Diet Library does not act as an agent for verifying copyright or obtaining permission to reuse copyrighted content. You yourself are responsible for confirming the name, date of death, contact information, or other information about copyright holders.

In cases where the copyright holder is unknown, please abide by rulings made by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Reference

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3. Content of the National Diet Library Digital Collections

This section describes the use of the National Diet Library Digital Collections, which contains a lot of content for which third parties other than the Library holds the copyright.

Please verify copyright and obtain permission from the copyright holders when reproducing any content that is labeled インターネット公開(裁定) (licensed by the Commission of the Agency for Cultural Affairs), インターネット公開(許諾) (used with permission of the copyright holder), or 国立国会図書館内/図書館・個人送信限定 (Available only at the National Diet Library or Available with Digitized Contents Transmission Service).

In this case, no application to the library is required.

Detailed information is available from the Use status that is displayed in the Bibliographic Information Area by doing the following:

  1. Verify that the content (image) is displayed in the Content Area. If the content (image) is NOT displayed in the Content Area, please go directly to steps 3 and 4.
  2. Verify the Use status in the Bibliographic Information Area.
    Please note that even when the Use status for an entire work is displayed as インターネット公開(保護期間満了) (Copyright expired), individual images sometimes have their own Use status. Please be sure to check the Use status of every individual image you wish to reproduce.
  3. Please select the volume or issue you wish to view from the TOC/volume on the right-hand column.
    The Use status for individual volumes or issues might differ from the Use status for aggregate titles, so please be sure to verify each individual volume or issue.
  4. Select the volume or issue you are interested in and verify that the image is displayed in the Content Area. Please check the Use statis section in the Bibliographic Information Area (Metadata). Images which display a Use status of インターネット公開(保護期間満了) (Copyright expired) may be reproduced freely.
    Please refer to the following table for information on reusing content to see if you need to contact the NDL. Please read section 6. Things to Bear in Mind when Using Our Website before using this service.
    Use status in the Bibliographic Information Area of the individual image About reproducing
    ログインなしで閲覧可能
    (Available without login)
    インターネット公開(保護期間満了)(Copyright expired) You may reproduce this content without contacting the NDL, because copyright for the image has expired.
    インターネット公開(裁定)(licensed by the Commission of the Agency for Cultural Affairs) Permission of the copyright holder is required. Please verify the copyright status yourself and obtain permission directly from the copyright holders.
    インターネット公開(許諾)(used with permission of the copyright holder)
    送信サービスで閲覧可能
    (Available with Digitized Contents Transmission Service)
    国立国会図書館内/図書館・個人送信限定 (Available only at the NDL and its partner libraries or to official registered users in Japan) Please verify the copyright status yourself and obtain permission directly from the copyright holders. Please note that these images cannot be downloaded from the National Diet Library Digital Collections. Also see Frequently asked questions.
    国立国会図書館内限定 (Available only at the NDL)

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4. Contents for which Copyright Protection Has Expired

  • (1)All digital images contained in the following digital exhibitions may be reproduced freely because the copyrights of these images have expired. If you wish to reproduce the format of a digital exhibition, either in full or in part, please contact the National Diet Library in advance by using the Reproduction Request Form.
    • Rare Books of the National Diet Library
    • The Japanese Calendar
    • Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures
    • Rare books of the National Diet Library - The 60th anniversary -
    • The Landmarks of Edo in Color Woodblock Prints
    • Kaleidoscope of Books
    • Japanese Ex-libris Stamps
    • The Meiji and Taisho Eras in Photographs
    • INCUNABULA
    • NDL Image Bank
    • A teenager's encyclopedia of the history of Japan during the late Edo and Meiji periods
    If you wish to reproduce a digital image from other online exhibitions, please contact the National Diet Library in advance by using the Reproduction Request Form.
    Verify the Terms of Use for each individual image before reproducing content from any of the following digital exhibitions.
    • Japanese Children's Literature: A History from the International Library of Children's Literature Collections
    • Children's Books in the Victorian Era: from the Winnington-Ingram Collection
    • Children's Books Going Overseas from Japan
    • Picture Book Gallery
  • (2)Copyright protection has expired for any digital content from the National Diet Library Digital Collections that displays インターネット公開(保護期間満了) (Copyright expired) in the Use status of the Bibliographic Information Area.

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5. Reproduction Request Form

Please contact the National Diet Library in advance by using the Reproduction Request Form when the National Diet Library Website Terms of Use or the terms of use for the individual content that you wish to reuse indicates that you are required to do so.

When reproducing content for which a party other than the National Diet Library holds the copyright, please do so at your own risk and only after verifying the status of copyright protection and other rights or obtaining permission from the copyright holders before reproducing the content. In such cases, you need not contact the National Diet Library.

In addition, content listed in section 4. Contents for which Copyright Protection Has Expired may be freely reproduced.

If you have any questions, please contact
webreproat n d l dot g o dot j p

Request Form

General conditions for reusing content that requires you to contact the NDL with a reproduction request are as follows:

  1. You must clearly specify that the content is taken from the National Diet Library website.
  2. You may not use that content for any purposes other than that described in the reproduction request.

Please be aware of the following when you contact the NDL.

  1. Depending on circumstances, some requests might be refused or not accepted without the addition of extra conditions, or written documentation might be required.
  2. Depending on circumstances, it might take several days for us to respond. The reuse of content from National Diet Library publications such as Issue Brief, The Reference, Foreign Legislation (quarterly and monthly versions), Research Materials, might take several days to receive approval.

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6. Things to Bear in Mind when Using Our Website

Users are solely responsible for any infringement of copyright law involving reproduction of images from the National Diet Library website. The National Diet Library cannot be held responsible for any issues that arise. Also, users should consider moral rights, human rights, or privacy issues even if the copyright has expired. Users are solely responsible for problems with third parties. When you reproduce an item or a portion of any item (image, document, article, data, etc.) that is on the website of the National Diet Library, please specify that the item(s) is/are taken from the National Diet Library website.

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7. FAQ about the Reproduction of Contents

Please refer to Frequently asked questions.

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