Regarding the fact that the Prime Minister's Office was reluctant to the candidates listed by the Science Council of Japan in the personnel affairs of the Science Council of Japan, the chairman of the Science Council of Japan at that time said, "The first and second places should be exchanged. It was found in the internal document of the Science Council obtained by NHK that he explained the specific contents.

Regarding the members of the Science Council of Japan, it is academic that the Prime Minister's Office was involved in personnel affairs, such as showing disapproval of the candidates listed by the Science Council of Japan, even before the appointment of six candidates was refused. We know from interviews with several former executives at the conference.



Four years ago, NHK obtained an internal document by requesting information disclosure, which recorded the discussions of the selection committee held by the Science Council over the replacement of members who will retire at the mandatory retirement age.



According to it, first of all, regarding the personnel affairs of the adult, former president Juichi Yamagiwa of Kyoto University, who was the chairman of the Science Council at that time, explained to the official residence side "the current situation of the candidate" so that the appointment procedure will proceed smoothly. After that, regarding the two candidates who were listed as successors to the retiring members, the official residence side explained the specific contents, saying, "There was a statement that the first and second places of the draft should be exchanged." I did.



The explanation means that when the Science Council side ranked the two candidates and showed them to the official residence side, there was a disagreement with this.



After that, Mr. Yamagiwa said, "I have not received any special explanation about the reason," and at the selection committee meeting held the following month, "I asked him again and he said,'It's a comprehensive decision.'" I was explaining.



In addition, according to the internal document obtained this time, two years before that, in 2016, Professor Emeritus Takashi Onishi of the University of Tokyo, who was the chairman at that time, held a selection committee over the supplementary personnel of the three retiring members. I explained the process in.



Among them, Mr. Onishi showed a total of 6 candidates, 2 each as successors to the 3 people, in the order of "1st" and "2nd" respectively, and the answer from the Deputy Secretary of State was He said that the science council had circled two of the "second" candidates, not the "first".



After this, Mr. Onishi said, "I went to the official residence again and talked with the Deputy Secretary of the Secretariat, but he said that he would not state the reason. However, he disagreed with the fact that the order was specified. From then on, the official residence is expecting to present a list that does not have a recommendation ranking. "



Four years ago, the Science Council did not replace the candidates, and after retiring, the vacancy continued.



On the 24th, the government plans to directly convey the idea of ​​the government over the ideal state of the Science Council of Japan.

Concerns from committee members who "should protest firmly"

From the minutes of the selection committee's proceedings obtained by NHK four years ago, it can be seen that there were a series of concerns from the committee members regarding the explanation of the chairman at that time.



One member said, "The Science Council is an independent organization, and unless there is a good reason, it is natural to appoint a nominee from the Science Council as it is, and I think it should be categorically protested. Candidates should follow the policy of the official residence. Don't replace them. If they are made closer to political appointments, they will not be able to make independent recommendations. "



Another member said, "I don't understand that the Deputy Secretary of the Secretariat, who represents the appointed person, does not state the reason. It is difficult to accept without a reason. We have taken the steps properly, our decision What was the serious debate so far if it wasn't respected? "



He added, "An important problem has arisen. If you decide to go to the official residence without knowing the reason, this will become a precedent, and the situation where members are selected for unknown reasons will become constant. It is important to take proper measures this time. It can be seen that the Science Council of Japan had been aware of the issue of the involvement of the Prime Minister's Office from that time.

"Persons to be removed" in Cabinet Office documents regarding the appointment of members of this year

Among the materials that NHK obtained in the information disclosure request this time, there is a document about the government's decision-making process prepared by the Cabinet Office regarding the appointment of members of this year.



One of them is handwritten with the date of September 24, 2nd year of Reiwa, which is the same as the date when the personnel appointment of 99 people excluding 6 people was drafted. It is written.



However, the other parts are painted black, and you cannot know the contents.



This document was also discussed at the Board of Councilors Advisory Panel held on the 11th of this month, and the government explained that the "deputy secretary" written in the document was Kazuhiro Sugita, the deputy secretary. He didn't explain what was written in the painted part as "I can't answer because it's about human resources."



On the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato said at a press conference that "the Prime Minister's decision was communicated to the Cabinet Office and recorded by the clerical staff."