Topics that shape the future
- Closer look at research results -

In Japan, Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Basic Act on Culture and the Arts, which is the basic law for national cultural policy enacted in the 21st century, states that "in promoting policies related to culture and the arts, taking into consideration that creating and enjoying culture and the arts is the birthright of the people, efforts must be made to create an environment in which the people can equally appreciate, participate in, or create culture and the arts, regardless of their age, disability, economic situation, or place of residence," and calls for the creation of an environment for the realization of rights. While the content of Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Basic Act on Culture and the Arts is basically commendable, the word "consideration" in the article has always bothered me. What on earth is this being considered?
For example, in the case of education policy, the Fundamental Law of Education was enacted to realize the right to education under Article 26 of the Constitution, and individual education-related laws are positioned under the Fundamental Law of Education, which provides institutional support for education policy as a system of education law. In other words, the Fundamental Law of Education is structured to take into account the human rights under Article 26 of the Constitution. If the Fundamental Law of Culture and Arts is the equivalent of the Fundamental Law of Education in cultural policy, then which provision corresponds to Article 26 of the Constitution?
When considering this issue, one thing that cannot be avoided is Article 25, Paragraph 1, the only article in the Japanese Constitution that uses the word "culture," which states, "All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living." Article 25 of the Constitution is referred to primarily in the field of social security, but the starting point of my research was the question of whether this article could be used more effectively in cultural policy.
Previous research on Article 25 of the Constitution has mainly focused on the "right to life." Various studies and discussions have been conducted on how Article 25 of the Constitution stipulates the "right to life limited to economic aspects," as typified by public assistance. On the other hand, the word "cultural" has not received much attention, and there has been almost no consideration of Article 25 in connection with "cultural rights."
However, since the Constitution stipulates that people should enjoy a "cultural minimum standard of living," I felt that it was necessary to have a proper discussion in cultural policy research about the possibility of treating the "culture" in Article 25 as a cultural right and utilizing this in cultural policy.

The research on "culture" in Article 25 of the Constitution is a study of the concept of "cultural rights," which is the core of cultural policy. By publishing a book based on my doctoral thesis, I was able to further refine the theory of cultural policy, and I am also very pleased that it was recognized in the form of the Society Encouragement Award.
Furthermore, in the sense that we have been able to provide a new perspective that was not present in previous research on Article 25 of the Constitution, such as constitutional law and social security studies, we believe that we have been able to demonstrate to people outside the field the significance of the existence of cultural policy research and cultural policy studies, which are relatively new academic fields.

In the process of building a sustainable society, the SDGs have been gaining attention in recent years, and interest in human rights in general is on the rise. There are a wide range of themes to consider in cultural policy, such as the cultural lives of the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and children, as well as the guarantee of labor rights and environmental improvements for people working in the cultural industry. Although this is still a policy field in the early stages of development, it can also be considered a research area for the "blue ocean strategy" (an untapped market with few competitors). There seems to be no need to worry about running out of research ideas.