Diplomatic Archives

1. The "simple method" is a method that makes those public documents or other readable documents (as described below) available for use on the day, in principle, when the application is made through submitting a Request for Reading, independently of the procedures of the Request for Use provided in the Rules for Use.
   • (Note 1) Depending on the state of deterioration of the historical documents and also the work to repair them, some documents may not be available for reading on the same day.
   • (Note 2) "Detailed Rules for Use of the Diplomatic Archives" Article 3: Use by the simple method” (Japanese only)
2. Please complete the following procedures to read documents in the Reading Room.
   • (1) Please submit an "Application for Use" (Japanese only) (Word) form each fiscal year.
   • (2) Please submit the form of "Application to Read Specified Historical Public Records and Archives " (Japanese only)(Word)after filling-in the application with the details of the documents you wish to read.
   • (3) If you wish to apply for reproduction of the documents, please submit the "Application for Reproduction of Specified Historical Public Records and Archives") (Japanese only) (Excel) after filling-in the necessary items.
     • [Note] Method of photography of the documents made available for reading by the simple method and fees
     • In the reading room, users may photograph documents with their own digital camera or film camera. (Except valuable historical documents. Also, flashes and the use of monopods or tripods are not permitted.)

The end of the Tokugawa Period

• Sei Zokutsushinzenran (Japanese only) The Tsushinzenran and the Zokutsushinzenran, which are collections of diplomatic documents from the end of the Tokugawa Period.

Pre-war Period

• "Records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" (Japanese only) Files of the Records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Meiji period to the end of World War II.
• Historical diplomatic materials other than "the Records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" (Japanese only)
• Personal writings and letters (Japanese only)
• Treaties (Japanese only). There are approximately 600 prewar period treaties on microfilm.

Post-war Period

• The records made available on microfilm and CD-R (Japanese only) which have been made public via the system of the "Disclosure of Diplomatic Records."
• There is a catalogue in the reading room on the document files for which "the simple method" can be applied.