Opposition builds against national science council reforms

Japanese scientists and human rights groups are fiercely resisting government reforms to the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) that will see the country’s foremost academic organisation lose its independence and come under the scrutiny of outside experts appointed by the prime minister.

A key bone of contention is the proposal under a bill, approved by the Cabinet on 7 March and expected to pass during the course of the parliamentary (Diet) session ending in June, which seeks to turn the public entity currently supported by government funds into a special corporation by next year.

According to opponents, this would effectively dismantle the SCJ that has functioned independently as a representative body of scientists with over 200 members and around 2,000 associate members from a broad range of scientific disciplines.

More than 20,000 signatures have been collected since February in an ongoing petition campaign against the proposal. High-profile dissenters include Takaaki Kajita, physics Nobel Prize winner in 2015, who publicly warned that the bill, if enacted, spells the end of academic independence.

Embattled academics are supported by human rights groups, labour unions, journalists and legal scholars advocating the protection of Article 9, or the “No War” clause, in the Japanese Constitution which prohibits war as a means for the state to settle international disputes.

Military-related research is strongly rejected by the SCJ, a position that has caused growing friction with the government which is facing increased threats of regional conflict.

Focus on selection criteria

The left-leaning Asahi Shimbun newspaper pointed out in a column last December that the SJC has acted as a barrier against militarisation by opposing military research in universities and research institutions.

Mamoru Mitsuishi, SCJ president, in a statement in December, called the government’s moves against the council “regrettable”, noting that while reforms are welcome, the government’s plan to overhaul the SCJ’s current status was a blow to Japan’s democracy.

Under the proposed bill the SCJ will fall under an evaluation committee of experts appointed by the prime minister and to be established in the Cabinet Office.

The committee will review the council’s activities and oversee its overall operations and finances. It will ensure that a self-evaluation is carried out every six years by council members.

Outside experts appointed by the prime minister will also be responsible for selecting SCJ committee members. Currently, selection falls under the prime minister who follows SCJ recommendations.

The government argues the proposed reforms are intended to strengthen SCJ’s accountability and transparency.

Public funds, amounting to JPY1 billion (US$6.7 million) annually, will continue to support the council’s operating expenses under the new bill that emphasises innovation through research and applied research that can be utilised by industry.

“The new bill strengthens the Cabinet Office’s oversight by introducing auditors appointed by the prime minister,” said Professor Takeshi Komagome, a Taiwan studies expert at the Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University.

Speaking at a large anti-bill gathering last Thursday 13 March, Komagome stressed the new process disregards academic expertise and will pave the way for “authoritarian executive rule”.

Komagome pointed to the risk in the latest reforms of massive research funding being concentrated in the hands of a small group of experts who would be able to select a few universities as recipients.

“This system is unlikely to enhance research capabilities,” he said at the public gathering, referring to the subordination of academia to industry-driven, short-sighted profit motives and the risk of nepotism in the distribution of research resources.

A beacon of academic freedom

The SCJ, founded in 1949, is tasked with independently advising the government on science policy and research and is viewed as a post-World War II beacon protecting Japan’s academic freedom, which is guaranteed by Article 23 of the Japanese Constitution.

The protection of academic independence is a particularly sensitive issue in Japan. Opponents of the government’s bill refer to the country’s devastating wartime policies that pressured academics into supporting the government.

In April 2023, faced with strong pushback, the government abandoned an earlier attempt to submit a bill to amend the Science Council Act that would change the way members were selected.

Scientists’ struggles against the government also include opposition to a landmark measure in 2020 when the administration of then prime minister Yoshihide Suga attempted to intervene in the council’s operations by rejecting the appointment to the SCJ of six nominated candidates.

A lawsuit against the government filed by the rejected candidates and their supporters is currently pending in the courts.

Suga’s decision, which was never explained by the government, exposed the names of the rejected researchers who had been recommended by the SCJ. The six had criticised the government’s security legislation passed in 2017.

The SCJ in 2017 issued a declaration on Research for Military Security to reaffirm its position against conducting scientific research for military purposes.

Changing geopolitical landscape

Proponents of the current bill insist reform is necessary amid a changing global landscape.

Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest daily, pointed out in an editorial on 12 March that the SCJ opposed military research, which the paper regarded as an “old fashioned attitude”, and claimed it was a reason behind Japan’s decline in research capabilities in recent decades.

“The development of a mid-term plan and self-evaluation every six years by outside experts to be appointed by the Cabinet Office is appropriate [in the interests of hearing] outside opinions,” the editorial noted.

The feud between the government and scientists is expected to further affect academic research programmes that are already impacted as autonomous national universities faced increased competition for funding after losing public status in 2004.

Public subsidies for science and technology research are now dependent on structural reforms within universities approved by the Ministry of Education.

“Against the current emphasis on national interests as defined by the government, we worry [about] the impact on universities’ ability to promote high-quality education. Some are forced to make changes, especially to humanities-related studies, raise tuition fees or even close sections,” said retired professor Satoshi Ihara, former secretary-general of the Japan Scientists Association, established in 1965.