Director's Message

Welcome to the Tokyo National Museum.

I am Makoto Fujiwara, Executive Director of the Tokyo National Museum.

In 2022, the Museum celebrated a big milestone, its 150th anniversary, and we delivered a range of commemorative programs with the concept, "a new step forward, together with you." Last year, we restarted our late opening hours, hands-on programs, and in-person events in order to resume the Museum operations back to the way they were before the outbreak of the pandemic. With the increased number of foreign visitors to Japan, the Museum has seen more and more international visitors returning to the galleries as well.

In 2024, the Museum is working towards the next 150 years with two slogans in our minds. The first is to create a sustainable museum for the next 150 years. In recent years, we have experienced a unique period of drastic changes, such as the closure of the Museum and a sharp decline in the number of visitors due to the pandemic. Building on the legacy of our predecessors, however, we are fundamentally reviewing museum operations through various management strategies, including the establishment of a stable financial base, active use of advanced technology, and multifaceted risk management. We aim to create a sustainable museum that will preserve the universal treasures of the humanity for the future.

The second slogan is to become a world-class museum. The Museum strives to strengthen our network with museums around the world to fulfill our role as a cultural hub based in Japan. The Museum is indeed rooted in the community and frequented by our local guests. At the same time, we aim to become a leading museum in the world by developing programs to cater to our foreign visitors, while representing the country abroad by holding exhibitions overseas.

Your support is imperative in order to systematically achieve these two goals and to give back to the community and the humanity. Please keep an eye out for the Tokyo National Museum as we take a new step forward towards the future with you, beyond 150 years of history.

April 2024
Makoto Fujiwara
Executive Director
Tokyo National Museum