• Requests for conservation

  • Q1.Who should I ask to perform conservation work?

    Please contact our executive office with information about your cultural properties and their condition.

  • Q2.How do I make a request for conservation?

    Please contact our executive office with detailed information. We will suggest appropriate options.

  • Q3.Can someone inspect the condition of my cultural properties?

    Please contact our executive office with detailed information. We will determine whether we are able to assist with your request.

  • Q4.Is conservation work performed for items other than national treasures and designated important cultural properties?

    ACNT and our member studios handle a wide range of cultural properties designated by prefectural and municipal governments, items from the collections of art museums, history museums, and resource centers, treasures from temples and shrines, and other cultural properties that fall within the scope of works of art.

• Requests for reporting, interviews and images

  • Q1.Can I report/conduct interviews where the conservation work is actually done?

    lease contact our executive office with your proposed plan, timing, and other details. We will inform you whether your request can be permitted.
    Please understand that, because our top priority is the safety of the cultural properties in our care, it may be difficult to allow reporting or interviews where the conservation work is done. As well, we may not be able to respond to last minute requests. In most cases, permission from the owner is required.

  • Q2.Can I interview the conservators?

    Please contact our executive office with your proposed plan, timing, and other details. We will inform you whether your request can be permitted.

  • Q3.Can I use images?

    Please inquire at our executive office. In most cases, the owner’s permission is required to use documents and images of cultural properties.

  • Q4.Can I tour the places where the conservation work is actually done?

    Please contact our executive office with your proposed plan, timing, and other details. We will inform you whether your request can be permitted.
    Please understand that, because our top priority is the safety of the cultural properties in our care, it may be difficult to allow tours. In most cases, permission from the owner is required.

• qualification　system

  • Q1.How do I register for the qualification　system?

    To become a registered conservator with ACNT, you must either gain employment at a member studio and pass a registration screening by the Association or fulfill the requirements for registration as an outside conservator.
    Click here to go to the Qualification system page

  • Q2.Are any certifications or qualifications required to become a conservator?

    No certifications or qualifications are required. Please check the requirements for gaining employment at any of the member studios and contact them directly. To become a registered conservator under the ACNT qualification　system, you must either gain employment at a member studio and pass a registration screening by the association, or fulfill the requirements for registration as an outside conservator.
    Click here to go to the Qualification system page

• Careers (internships)

  • Q1.How can I learn more about employment opportunities?

    Please contact any of our member studios directly to find out about employment opportunities.

  • Q2.We accept interns through the Graduate Student Internship Council for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Properties.

    Please be aware that the ACNT does not directly accept individuals as interns. For information about internships, please contact any of our member studios.

  • Q3. Is it true that I cannot become a conservator without attending university or graduate school?

    No, that is not the case. Although the level of academic achievement among new hires at our member studios has increased in recent years, higher education is not an absolute requirement.

    Please contact the member studios for details.

• Other questions

  • Q1.Do you sell publications about conservation?

    At present, we do not sell publications about conservation.

Relevant organizations outside Japan

• UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
• UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE
• ICOM (International Council of Museums)
• ICOM-JAPAN
• ICOM-CC (ICOM-Committee for Conservation)
• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)
• IIC (International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works)
• ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)
• AIC (American Institute for Conservation)
• IFLA/PAC ( International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions /Strategic Programme on Preservation and Conservation)
• Library of Congress Preservation Directorate
• British Library, Collection Care
• British Museum
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• National Museum of Asian Art

Relevant websites in English

• Agency for Cultural Affairs- about Cultural Properties
• Tobunken—The Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas
• Tobunken—The Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas—Publications

Search for more information about cultural properties

• Database of Nationally Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
• Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
  • Cultural Heritage Database
• eKokuho (National Institutes for Cultural Heritage)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Library “Document Conservation”
• General Search, National Institutes for Cultural Heritage Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
• Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo
  • Database search