Western academic institutions become independent of the government The difference from Japan is October 12, 21:39

Similar to the Science Council of Japan, there are academic institutions in Europe and the United States where scientists make recommendations to the government, and they are operated as independent institutions from the government.

American academic institutions

The National Academy of Sciences, an American academic institution, was established in 1863 during the Civil War as an organization that provides professional advice on science and technology to the government and others by signing the law by then-President Lincoln. It was.



A non-profit organization independent of the government, requested by the federal government and parliament, it is now working with similar organizations, the American Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Medicine, on a wide range of science and technology policy issues in 2019. More than 7,000 member scientists and technicians work together unpaid to make hundreds of policy recommendations and advice annually.



According to the website, the financial resources are subsidies, consideration paid when giving advice, and donations, etc., in 2018, the total of the three academies is about 200 million dollars from the federal government, and 21 billion yen in Japanese yen. We earn about 55 million dollars, or nearly 5.8 billion yen, from the private sector.



The National Academy of Sciences publishes the highly acclaimed scientific journal "National Academy of Sciences Bulletin," in which approximately 190 of the approximately 2,900 members are Nobel laureates and researchers from around the world compete to publish their research results. It is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading academic organizations.

British academic institutions

Britain has the world's most traditional academic institution, the Royal Society, which was founded in 1660 with approval from then-King Charles II.



Newton, who discovered the law of universal gravitation in 1703, is chairman.



Although the name is "Royal" from the background of its establishment, it operates as a private non-governmental organization, and on the first page of the website, "We contribute to the development of science for humankind. It's an independent academy of science. "



Of the approximately 1,600 members, approximately 70 are Nobel laureates, who make policy proposals related to science and technology by receiving requests from the government and parliament, and by working on their own.



In 2018, we earned £ 98.3 million a year, or about 13.5 billion yen, from government subsidies, funds, and donations.



According to Hiroshi Nagano, a specially appointed fellow of the Research and Development Strategy Center of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, who is familiar with the trends of overseas academic institutions, most of the academic institutions in developed countries such as the "Academy of Science" and the "Royal Society" are private organizations. It is rare that it is set up as a government agency like a "conference" and is fully covered and operated by the government.

Science Council of Japan

The budget of the Science Council of Japan is about 1 billion yen per year, which is significantly smaller than that of Western academic institutions.



In addition, the Science Council of Japan has 210 members and about 2000 collaborative members, and the term of office of the members is 6 years, and half of them are replaced every 3 years, while each country adopts a lifetime system. However, most of them are.



Furthermore, academic institutions in each country make proposals to the parliament while having a relationship, such as working on them and receiving requests. However, in the case of the Diet of Japan, the law stipulates that "the Prime Minister Since it is "jurisdiction" and is a government agency, it has little relation to the Diet and points out that "politicians are not in a system to listen widely to the opinions of scientists."



Nagano, a specially appointed fellow, said, "In developed countries, as science rises in society, academic societies are spontaneously formed and exist as an organization independent of the government. Although there are differences in the form of the organization, the independence of management of the Japan Academy of Sciences should be guaranteed based on the "Japan Society of Science Law", and the government needs to explain the reason why it did not appoint candidate members. There is. "