Juichi Yamagiwa, the chairman of the Japan Association of National Universities, announced his comments after the Cabinet decision on the government draft of the 2018 budget and the tax reform outline.Although I appreciate the inclusion of tax reforms that make it easier for national universities to receive donations, the abolition of the young human resources support project that has been implemented to secure employment for young faculty members "is disappointing because it leads to a substantial reduction in expenses. I criticized it.
According to the Japan Association of National Universities, according to the government draft of the 2018 budget, the national university operating expenses subsidy was 1 billion yen, the same amount as the previous year.The facility maintenance subsidy was reduced by 971 billion yen in the 2018 budget, but 34 billion yen is secured in the 2017 supplementary budget.
Chairman Yamagiwa made a certain evaluation on these points, saying, "Although the operating cost subsidy did not increase as in 2017, we were able to gain an understanding of national universities in the extremely tight national finances."
The tax reform outline has significantly relaxed the requirements for tax exemption such as capital gains when individuals donate valuable assets such as land and stocks to national universities.Chairman Yamagiwa expressed his gratitude as "a gift of support from all sides."
However, regarding the point that the young human resources support project was abolished and it was requested to respond in the operating cost subsidy, "The operating cost subsidy budget is more than 1999 billion yen by 2015 from the incorporation of the national university in 1,400. The amount has been reduced. It is extremely disappointing that the abolition of the support project will force us to further reduce the cost while it is difficult to maintain the educational and research base. "
