NIHU takes advantage of its status as an organization uniting five institutes of different areas of expertise, namely, the National Museum of Japanese History, the National Institutes of Japanese History, the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, the Research Institute for Humanities and Nature, and the National Museum of Ethnology. NIHU aims to develop research in the humanities covering wider areas and is engaged in various other types of research activities. In order to disseminate these research results to the general public, the organization holds lectures and symposia on a regular basis.