The government passed a Cabinet decision on a bill to revise the Private School Law, which aims to strengthen the authority of the board of trustees and to establish criminal penalties for school corporation directors.In response to the recent spate of scandals at private universities, the bill will be submitted to the current Diet session with the aim of enacting it in April 2025.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, in order to prevent the concentration of authority on the president and to prevent the board of trustees, which is regarded as an advisory body to the president, from becoming a mere formality, the opinions of the board of trustees were sought in the election of directors, and the board of trustees violated the law. It is possible to request the dismissal of a problematic director to the board of directors.
Under the current system, people who follow the wishes of the president can be gathered as councilors, and the function of monitoring the decisions of the board of directors is not working sufficiently. Limit to 6/1th of the total.
Criminal penalties for school corporation officers are subject to special breach of trust, bribery, speculative transactions without purpose, and acquisition of approval by fraudulent means.The heaviest penalty is "imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 500 million yen, or both," which is heavier than the crime of breach of trust under the Penal Code and is a statutory punishment equivalent to that of a general incorporated association.
