Editing National Diet Library (section)

==History==
The National Diet Library is the successor of three separate libraries: the library of the [[House of Peers (Japan)|House of Peers]], the library of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], both of which were established at the creation of Japan's [[National Diet|Imperial Diet]] in 1890; and the [[Imperial Library (Japan)|Imperial Library]], which had been established in 1872 under the jurisdiction of the [[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology|Ministry of Education]].

The Diet's power in pre-war Japan was limited, and its need for information was "correspondingly small."  The original Diet libraries "never developed either the collections or the services which might have made them vital adjuncts of genuinely responsible legislative activity."  Until Japan's defeat, moreover, the executive had controlled all political documents, depriving the people and the Diet of access to vital information.  The [[Occupation of Japan|U.S. occupation]] forces under General [[Douglas MacArthur]] deemed reform of the Diet library system to be an important part of the democratization of Japan after its defeat in [[World War II]].

In 1946, each house of the Diet formed its own National Diet Library Standing Committee.  [[Hani Gorō]], a [[Marxist]] historian who had been imprisoned during the war for thought crimes and had been elected to the [[House of Councillors (Japan)|House of Councillors]] (the successor to the abolished House of Peers) after the war, spearheaded the reform efforts.  Hani envisioned the new body as "both a 'citadel of popular sovereignty,'" and the means of realizing a "peaceful revolution."  The Occupation officers responsible for overseeing library reforms reported that, although the Occupation was a catalyst for change, local initiative pre-existed the Occupation, and the successful reforms were due to dedicated Japanese like Hani.

The National Diet Library opened in June 1948 in the present-day [[Akasaka Palace|State Guest-House]] (former Akasaka Detached Palace) with an initial collection of 100,000 volumes. The first Librarian of the Diet Library was the politician [[Tokujirō Kanamori]].<ref name="NDL">{{Cite web |title=Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan Shōshi |script-title=ja:国立国会図書館小史 |url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/aboutus/outline_history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116223026/http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/aboutus/outline_history.html |archive-date=16 January 2011 |access-date=13 January 2011 |publisher="Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan" 国立国会図書館 [National Diet Library] |language=ja}}</ref> The philosopher [[Masakazu Nakai]] served as the first Vice Librarian.<ref name="NDL" /> In 1949, the NDL merged with the National Library (previously called the Imperial Library) and became the only national library in Japan. At this time the collection gained an additional million volumes previously housed in the former National Library in [[Ueno, Tokyo|Ueno]].

In 1961, the NDL opened at its present location<ref>This was the ground of the German Embassy since the Meiji period. It was confiscated in 1945 and not given back.</ref> in [[Nagatachō, Tokyo|Nagatachō]], adjacent to the National Diet.  In 1986, the NDL's Annex was completed to accommodate a combined total of 12 million books and periodicals.  The [[#The Kansai-Kan|Kansai-kan]] (the [[Kansai]] Library), which opened in October 2002 in the [[Kansai Science City]] ([[Seika, Kyoto|Seika]] Town, [[Sōraku District, Kyoto|Sōraku County]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]]), has a collection of 6 million items.  In May 2002, the NDL opened a new  branch, the [[International Library of Children's Literature]], in the former building of the Imperial Library in Ueno.  This branch contains some 400,000 items of children's literature from around the world.

Though the NDL's original mandate was to be a research library for the National Diet, the general public is the largest consumer of the library's services.  In the fiscal year ending March 2004, for example, the library reported more than 250,000 reference inquiries; in contrast, it recorded only 32,000 requests for research from the National Diet.

In response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic|coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic]], the NDL suspended library services to the public on March 5, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Urgent Notice of Temporary Closure from March 5 to March 16｜National Diet Library|url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/en/news/fy2019/200304_01.html|access-date=2021-04-27|website=www.ndl.go.jp|archive-date=April 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427115713/https://www.ndl.go.jp/en/news/fy2019/200304_01.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The NDL reopened to the public on June 11, 2020, with a maximum of 200 visitors per day based on a lottery-style drawing, with prospective visitors being required to register beforehand for a chance to be selected.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reopening of National Diet Library Facilities (Update: June 12) ｜National Diet Library|url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/en/news/fy2020/200527_01.html|access-date=2021-04-27|website=www.ndl.go.jp|archive-date=June 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623185529/https://www.ndl.go.jp/en/news/fy2020/200527_01.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 22 2023, this restriction was lifted. <ref>{{Cite web|title=Elimination of Entry Restrictions |url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/en/news/fy2023/230622_01.html|access-date=2023-09-21}}</ref>