Theses and Law Concerning Access to Information Held by Incorporated Administrative Agencies, Etc. (Law No.140 of 2001)

Abstract

Since Law Concerning Access to Information Held by Incorporated Administrative Agencies, Etc. was established in 2001, it has been claimed that National University Corporations have tried to manage their official documents appropriately. Nevertheless, their older organizational documents or their cultural materials may have disappeared, the reason being that most National Universities did not have their own archives, and may have disposed of documents and other records without asking whether some of them should be preserved for historical purposes. Personal information, which is closed but may have had historical or academic value may have been destroyed without having been disclosed. This article focuses on theses. We should question whether they could be used or disclosed at those universities at present or in the future. First, we explain how some universities deal with theses under the law, secondly, we consider what kind of personal information may be closed and when it might be opened, and thirdly, we discuss copyright in those officially held documents that are owned by individuals.