The Agency for cultural Affairs was established in 1968 throgh a merger between the former Cultural Bureau of the Ministry of Education and the Cultural Properties Protection Commission. The Agency strives to preserve and utilize cultural properties, and promotes cultur and arts. The Agency is also in charge of designating Important Cultural Properties, protecting copyrights, and administrative work on religious juridical persons.

With the reorganization of central government ministries and agencies in January 2001, the Ministry of Education was integrated into the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, while the Agency for Cultural Affairs continued its post as an external bureau. Moreover, the National Museums of Art, the National Museums and the National Research Institues which had been under the jurisdiction of the Agency for Cultural Affairs were changed over toIndependent Administrative Institutions.