Legal Deposit System
Legal Deposit System
What is the Legal Deposit System?
The legal deposit system mandates that copies of all new publications published in Japan must be sent to the National Diet Library (NDL) in accordance with the National Diet Library Law (Law No.5, February 9, 1948).
The applicable "publications" include books, pamphlets, serial publications, musical scores, maps, and phonographic records and so on.
A prescribed number of copies of the publications of any government agency must be sent immediately to the NDL for its official use and for its use in international exchange. The same applies to the publications of local governments.
When a private publication has been published, the publisher must send a complete copy of its best edition to the NDL within 30 days to be collected and used as cultural goods. To a person who has deposited publications, the Librarian shall give a compensation that covers the costs of printing and sending of the publication. If a publisher fails to send a publication, he shall be punished with a fine equivalent up to 5 times the retail price of the publication.
For the acquisition for the internet materials of the government agencies and local governments and the online private publication, the legal system other than the legal deposit system has been established. See the National Diet Library Law CHAPTER XI-2 and XI-3.