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Public Records Management

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1. Enactment of the Public Records Management Law

In July 2009, the Public Records and Archives Management Act (Act No. 66 of 2009; hereinafter referred to as the "Public Records and Archives Management Act"; jurisdiction: Cabinet Office) was enacted. With the enactment of the Public Records and Archives Management Act, the government as a whole is required to create and manage public records and archives based on unified rules.
*For details, please refer to the Cabinet Office website " Official Document Management ".

2. What are Official Documents?

"Public Records and Archives" refers to administrative documents, corporate documents, and specific historical public records and archives (Article 2, Paragraph 8 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act).

  • Administrative document
    Documents created or obtained by an employee of an administrative organ in the course of his or her duties that are held by the administrative organ concerned for organizational use by its employees (Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act)
  • Corporate document
    Documents created or obtained by an officer or employee of an incorporated administrative agency, etc. in the course of his or her duties that are held by the incorporated administrative agency, etc. concerned for organizational use by its officers or employees (Article 2, Paragraph 5 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act)
  • Specific Historical Public Records and Archives
    Among official documents and other documents that are important as historical materials, those that have been transferred to the National Archives of Japan, etc. pursuant to Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act (Article 2, Paragraph 7 of the Public Records and Archives Management Act)

3. Flow of document management

  1. Create Document
  2. Organize documents
  3. Save Document
  4. Entry in Administrative Document File Management Register and Publication
  5. Transfer and disposal of documents

4. Management of official documents, etc. at Digital Agency

Digital Agency Administrative Document Management Rules (revised on June 30, 2025 (2025))

Standard document retention period standards (retention period table)

Records of disposal of administrative document files, etc. (retention period: less than one year)

In accordance with Article 23, Paragraph (3) of the Digital Agency Ordinance on the Management of Administrative Documents, administrative document files, etc. whose retention period is less than one year and which do not fall under any of the items of Article 15, Paragraph (6) of the said Ordinance shall be disposed of.

5. Contact points for reporting on the management of public documents

The City of Digital Agency accepts reports on official documents from employees of Digital Agency and former employees of Digital Agency (hereinafter referred to as "Employees, etc.").
Employees, etc. may report to the reporting desk if they believe that the appropriate management of administrative documents is not being ensured, such as the counterfeiting or alteration of official documents, the falsification of approval documents, or serious hindrance to the operation of public duties due to the inappropriate handling of official documents in Digital Agency.

  • Mail: Digital Agency, 20 f, Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioi-cho, 1-3 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0094 Official document management staff
  • Phone: 03 4477 6775
  • Email: koubunsho _ atmark _ digital. go. jp
    *To prevent spam mail, "@" is displayed as " _ atmark _ ".
    When sending mail, please replace " _ atmark _ " with "@" (single-byte).