Takaaki Kajita, President of the Science Council of Japan (Distinguished Professor of the University of Tokyo) strongly opposes the government's preparations to revise the law to establish a third-party committee in order to reform the Science Council of Japan. ) published a discourse.It is questionable that preparations are progressing without explanation from the Science Council side, and is asking for an explanation as soon as possible.
According to the Science Council of Japan, the government is preparing to revise the law, including specifying the establishment of a third-party committee to ensure transparency of the organization and communication with government and industry in the reform of the Science Council. It was reported in November that the bill was in the process of being submitted to the Diet.
In 2021, the government began considering the role of the Science Council after then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga did not appoint some of the candidate members recommended by the Science Council.Initially, the government was planning to solidify its direction by the summer of 2022, and the Science Council decided to discuss its response at its general meeting in August.However, since the government's policy was not disclosed, the government requested an early announcement and an explanation to the science council, but the government's policy was suddenly revealed in the media without any explanation. repulsed as
The chairman's statement states that the Science Council has voluntarily compiled a reform plan at the general meeting in April 2021 and is implementing it, and if the reform plan as reported is implemented, the independence of the Science Council will be considered. It is said that it may become a situation that shakes the foundation.
