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Paper short abstract

The introduction of Public-Private Partnerships is advancing in Japan's cultural facilities, but concerns are being raised about excessive commercialisation. This study discusses these issues, through qualitative research, focusing on the case of Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art.

Paper long abstract

In recent years, the operation of public spaces and facilities through public-private partnerships (PPP, Private Finance Initiative) has become increasingly prevalent in Japan. Among these, the mechanism for operating cultural facilities such as museums via PFI (Private Finance Initiative) stands as one of the prime examples of PPP. These schemes involve the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of public spaces and facilities being carried out using private capital and expertise, thereby forming municipal public facilities through “privately built and privately operated (Minsetsu Minei)” arrangements.

However, whilst this system is introduced with the aim of providing equivalent or superior public services at lower cost, it also harbours several problems, such as the commercialisation of artistic programming. In the UK, where PFI was first introduced globally, problems such as excessive profit-seeking by private operators and the deferral of government and local authority debt became apparent. Consequently, in 2012, new, more sustainable and transparent public-private partnerships such as PF2 (Private Finance 2) were introduced. New PFI projects have since drastically decreased and are being phased out.

Previous research on the relationship between museums and capitalism has examined the social power dynamics of museums, pointing to issues such as comprehensive commercialisation rather than focusing on operational system challenges or regional specificities (e.g., Bishop 2013). This study fills that gap. This paper specifically addresses issues in Japan, centring on the Tottori Prefectural Museum of Art, which was the first regional public art museum to introduce PFI. The museum is operated by curators from the Tottori Prefecture, while a Special Purpose Company (SPC) handles design, construction, operation, maintenance, and publicity. Comparing this case with two urban examples from Osaka and Aichi Prefectures, which possess different characteristics, this study employs qualitative research through focused ethnography, interviews, and participant observation to elucidate the impact of public-private partnership systems for cultural facilities on the expressive domain.

Through these, this paper discusses issues of publicness and exclusion surrounding arts culture in within Japan's post-Fordist society, opening up possibilities for broader debate on these issues.