History of construction of the Kansai-kan

The Research Committee for the Kansai Project of the NDL was established on June 12, 1982 to examine the facility to be built in the Kansai region and its functions, in order to improve the organization of the NDL and its services defined by the National Diet Library Law.

While efforts were being made to close the gap between the Tokyo Metropolitan area and the Kinki (almost the same meaning as "Kansai") region and to revitalize this area, such as the Prime Minister's "Basic Development Plan for the Kinki Region" issued in November 1978, various government, academic and industrial organizations in the Kinki region were requesting the NDL to construct a Second National Diet Library (provisional name) to provide information and boost the economy, culture, and public administration in West Japan.

The NDL therefore made a budget request in FY1982 for "prospective planning and research expenditures for the Kansai Project" to study the construction of the NDL in the Kansai region, and 3 million yen was appropriated. The Parliamentarians' League for Books and Libraries (chaired by Shigesaburo Maeo) had already decided in their second general meeting in November 1980 to obtain budget to build the Second NDL (provisional name) in the Kansai region, and in the third meeting in May 1981, passed a resolution to earmark "research expenditures" in the FY1982 budget. During the research in 1982, the Research Committee for the Kansai Project of the NDL, consisting of experts in various fields (chaired by Minoru Kishida, former Librarian of NDL), was set up on June 12, 1982. This Committee discussed the requests for the Second NDL, the responsibilities of the NDL, and the future expansion of the library's activities.

The facility to be established in the Kansai region and its functions, in order to improve the organization of the NDL and its services defined by the National Diet Library Law (Consulted on February 14, 1983)