The government is considering the creation of a new system to designate some of the nation's art museums and other types of facilities as "leading museums" to play a strong role in boosting art markets, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The envisaged measure is expected to be incorporated in the government's growth strategy, which is scheduled to be drawn up in June.
The government aims to implement the measure as early as next fiscal year.
Under the plan, the government will grant subsidies to the designated leading museums in a bid to beef up their organizational structure. Through measures, including increasing the number of curators, the museums are expected to become better equipped to evaluate their art collections and other items.
While carefully assessing which items should be kept at each museum, the plan is that each facility increases the number of items for sale to attract investment.
The system aims to raise collectors' interest in purchasing such items, and subsequently stimulate art markets.
Calls have been made from museum staff members who claim it is difficult for them to determine which works of art should be sold and evaluate contemporary pieces because curators are understaffed, and consequently the organizational structure at museums is not constructed to fulfill such roles.
To address these problems, the new system is aimed at setting the leading museums as core centers to establish artwork networks nationwide.
To raise the value of Japanese artworks internationally, the system is also designed to put on exhibitions that would expand collector interest both at home and abroad.
Under the new system, the government hopes to activate the art market and nurture it as one of the nation's growth sectors. There is also a concern that up-and-coming artists would be lost to overseas locations if the domestic markets are not cultivated.
In March, Art Basel, staging the world's largest-level art fairs, and others released a report that said the 2017 global art market stood at about 63.7 billion dollars (about 7 trillion yen). The estimate included art fairs, auctions and other sales.
Among the artworks sold, Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" topped out at a record-high of about 450 million dollars (about 50 billion yen).
A breakdown by nation showed the United States was the largest market in terms of its share in value, accounting for 42 percent of the total. China ranked second at 21 percent, and Britain was in third place with 20 percent.
Japan's share was less than 1 percent, and it was not among the nations on the list.
Many collectors overseas are purchasing artworks for investment purposes. In Japan, on the other hand, little information has been posted from museums and others on artworks.
It consequently has been difficult to evaluate the value of artworks, and that has contributed to placing Japanese art out of investment targets.
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