List of libraries in Japan


This is a list of library in Japan.

Background

Isonokami no Yakatsugu's Nara period Untei is held out to be Japan's first public library, but private libraries, such as Kanazawa Bunko, remained the norm until modern times. The Imperial Library, one of the predecessors to the National Diet Library, was established towards the end of the nineteenth century. In 1948, during the Occupation, the National Diet Library Act was passed, creating Japan's sole national library, followed in 1950 by the Library Act, the twenty nine articles of which cover both public libraries and private libraries.

National library

Public libraries

As of 2008, there were 3,106 public libraries in Japan, including: 1 regional library, 62 prefectural libraries, 2,433 city libraries, and 610 town libraries.

Prefectural libraries

Hokkaidō region

  • Hokkaido Prefectural Library

Tōhoku region

  • Aomori Prefectural Library
  • Iwate Prefectural Library
  • Miyagi Prefectural Library
  • Akita Prefectural Library
  • Yamagata Prefectural Library
  • Fukushima Prefectural Library

Kantō region

  • Ibaraki Prefectural Library
  • Tochigi Prefectural Library
  • *Tochigi Prefectural Ashikaga Library
  • Gunma Prefectural Library
  • *Gunma Prefectural Braille Library
  • Saitama Prefectural Library
  • Chiba Prefectural Library
  • *Chiba Prefectural Central Library
  • *Chiba Prefectural West Library
  • *Chiba Prefectural East Library
  • Tokyo Metropolitan Library
  • *Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library
  • *Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Library
  • Kanagawa Prefectural Library
  • *Kanagawa Prefectural Kawasaki Library

Chūbu region

  • Niigata Prefectural Library
  • Toyama Prefectural Library
  • Ishikawa Prefectural Library
  • Fukui Prefectural Library
  • Yamanashi Prefectural Library
  • Nagano Prefectural Library
  • Gifu Prefectural Library
  • Shizuoka Prefectural Central Library
  • Aichi Prefectural Library

Kinki region

Chūgoku region

  • Tottori Prefectural Library
  • Shimane Prefectural Library
  • Okayama Prefectural Library
  • Hiroshima Prefectural Library
  • Yamaguchi Prefectural Library

Shikoku region

  • Tokushima Prefectural Library
  • Kagawa Prefectural Library
  • Ehime Prefectural Library
  • Kochi Prefectural Library

Kyūsyū region

  • Fukuoka Prefectural Library
  • Saga Prefectural Library
  • Nagasaki Prefectural Nagasaki Library
  • Kumamoto Prefectural Library
  • Oita Prefectural Library
  • Miyazaki Prefectural Library
  • Kagoshima Prefectural Library
  • *Kagoshima Prefectural Amami Library
  • Okinawa Prefectural Library

Municipal libraries

Special libraries

1,761 institutions were listed in the 2009 Directory of Special Libraries in Japan.

University libraries

In 2007, there were 758 four-year universities in Japan: 86 national, 77 public, 595 private.
It is also reported that almost all schools in Japan have libraries.