An Independent Administrative Institution (独立行政法人, Dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin, IAI) is a newly designed type of legal body for Japanese governmental organizations regulated by the Basic Law on Reforming Government Ministries of 1998. The IAIs are not under National Government Organization Law that provides Japanese Ministries and administrative organizations. Originally proposed by the Administrative Reform Council, the IAI is created based on the concept of separating governmental ministries and agencies into planning functions and operation functions. Planning functions remain within government-based ministries and agencies while operating functions are transferred to IAIs. Independent Administrative Institutions utilize management methods of private-sector corporations and are given considerable autonomy in their operations and how to use their budgets. In April 2001, the Japanese government first designated 59 bodies as IAIs, among which were many research institutes and some museums.
