The Japan Documentation Center was formally established in 1970 by the East Asian Institute of Columbia University with the support of the Yoshida International Education Foundation. The Center is designed to perform a radically new and unique service in the United States: to make available in one convenient location the latest information on contemporary Japanese domestic and foreign affairs. The Center collection consists largely of current Japanese government documents, political party reports, the publications of private organizations (such as banks, business and economic organizations, and private research groups), and selected magazines and newspapers. These materials are being assembled for the use of the scholar and other persons concerned with issues related to today's Japan. In general, the Center seeks to appeal to as many research interests as possible within, of course, certain limitations of time, space and financing. Its goal is to concentrate upon the systematic collection of current materials on Japan which deal with political, economic and social developments of relevance and significance and which are not ordinarily included in regular library acquisitions. (Author)