1.History Was established in June 1949 as a countrywide organization of artists, with individual artists joining the membership. Became a corporation in June 1959. Constructed the Artists' Center Building in October 1962. 2.Objectives A cooperative organization consisting of specialized artists in the field of painting, prints and sculpture, aiming at a sound development of the Japanese art world, diffusion of art, international exchange and protection of the artist's professional ability. 3.Organization Regular members, approximately 5,400(in the 4 fields of Japanese painting, Western painting, prints and sculpture). 70 committee members. 20 board of director members, 2 auditors. Out of which 1 is president of the board and 3 are standing directors. Japanese committee of International Association of Art(IAA) Established in 1953 as IAA'S national committee. Diffusion and Development of Art 1) Collection and research of information on art. 2). Organize lectures and study meetings on art. 3). Publication of bulletins and such. 2.Protection of professional ability of artists and international exchanges. 1) Diffusion of art copyright knowledge, representation of copyright work. a. NHK's TV broadcasting right/satellite broadcasting right. b. The University on the Air broadcasting utilization right. c. the Reproduction Right Center's reproduction right. d. Rights in case of printing on museum post carts/catalogs. 2).Research and improvement of materials for production. 3).Offering of materials at discount prices by the Cooperative Store. 4) Operation of art gallery. 5) Assistance for participation in international exhibitions and symposiums. 6) International cooperation by the field of art as IAA member organization, and cooperation with artists of Asian countries. 7) Express opinions to the government on art administration and give replies to inquiries. 3. Welfare of Artists 1) Gifts to members in case of sickness, disaster, or bereavement. 2) Movement conducted for artists' tax problems and assistance given by a tax advisor on income tax and inheritance tax filling. 3) Assistance for taking out The national health insurance union/Artists' Income Compensation Insurance /cancer insurance. 4) Assistance by a legal advisor for solving problems. 5) Promotion of mutual friendship between members and operation of a tearoom for members and renting of conference rooms. 4. Participation in Outside Organization Participation in the activities of the following organizations is shared among the committee members. Copyright Council of Agency for Culture of Affairs, Copyright Research and Information Center, Liaison Council of Authors Association of Japan, Japanese Art, Photograph and Graphic Art Copyright Organization(APG-Japan), Japan Artistic Copyright Federation, The national health insurance of Artists, Conference on Copyright for Digital Millennium, International Art Association(IAA), Asian Pacific Regional Committee of IAA and such. JAA was established in 1949 with an object of sound development of the Japanese art world, diffusion of art, and protection of the artists vocational ability; it is Japan's only vocational organization for specialized artists, which received the Education Ministry's approval as a corporation in 1953; and it has approximately 5,300 members who belong to the 4 fields-Japanese painting, Western painting, prints, and sculpture. JAA was developed its activities broadly, from collection/research of information on art, research /improvement of production materials, art copyright management and representation, and recommendation of candidates for the Cultural Affairs Agency's artist overseas study program to activities such as making petitions and expressing opinions to the government on behalf of Japan's art world, acting as a liaison office for artists to express their opinions socially and also participating in international exchanges between artists of all countries as the Japanese national committee of the international Association of Art which is an international organization for artists under the umbrella of UNESCO. With respect to copyrights, the association is an organization which, since its establishment, has a history of 50 years of experience in copyright protection for artists in Japan, and is also an organization experienced in handling of copyright matters. Presently it is performing centralized management of rights, such as Japan Reproduction Center's reproduction right, NHK's TV broadcasting and satellite broadcasting rights, the University of the Air Program utilization right, concurrently acting on behalf of deceased members in performing representation work for their copyrights, collecting royalties on copyrights and distributing them to the rightful claimants. With APG-Japan, which consists of organization of 3 fields, fine art, photography and graphic art, becoming a member of CISAC, JAA, the largest constituent organization of APG-Japan, started overseas representation work from January in 2001, which was attributable to its public service nature and thorough knowledge and long experience in handling art copyrights, as mentioned above.