This paper presents the methods and strategies needed in order to construct a consistent flow from records management to archives management, based on an analysis of business activities in private organizations, through a case study of the Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation, and elaborates on the issues in the process. After understanding the context of the organization, a functional analysis of business activities will be carried out. The classification scheme for　the records is derived from this analysis, and the records are transferred to archives after appraisal. The study shows how the outcomes of the analysis are applied in practice and clarifies the points to be considered when identifying functions, implementing appraisal, and providing access. All methods and strategies are evaluated using ISO15489.

This article explores the relationship between public archives and accountability based on the concept of time axis in three case studies. First, the importance of the views of government officials as creators of archives indicates that the number of archives for accountability would decrease if regulations and standards for archive creation were not designed according to officialsʼ views. Second, diplomatic archives have specific roles in public diplomacy toward expatriates as well as accountability to nationals, now and in the future. This is why the diplomatic archive as a governmental facility functions differently from general public archives. Third, some cases of transitional justice, especially in Taiwan, show that it is possible for the boundary between public and private documents to change in the process of transitional justice.

This article discusses the relationship between the freedom of government information―both central and local governments―and accountability in Japan. First, it introduces this relationship in the research field of public administration, mentioning the wide range of freedom of government information, based on the textbook by Prof. Masaru Nishio. It then discusses the role of institutions in long­-term stock and use of information―that is, libraries and archives―which can contribute to the wide range of the freedom of government information. It further suggests the challenges facing those institutions dealing with electronic and diverse government information. Finally, it argues for the importance of the concept of accountability as a means of retrospective investigation of the government, along with recent trends of public administration in Japan, such as the legal activities of local governments under decentralization.

We researched what a recordkeeping system supporting accountability is and how archives play a role in it from the viewpoint of the Public Records Act in Australasia. In Australia, state government corruptions occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, which revealed the connection between corruption and their records mismanagement. From those experiences, they established or amended the Public Records Act for improving government accountability. We found that the recordkeepersʼ roles are separated by some authorities（such as minister, archivist, and advisory council）and they have functions for checks and balances in the acts. In the recordkeeping system, archives play the important role of supporting accountability, such as standard setting, facilitating, monitoring,and being the watchdog, in the government records management.