Examining the ideal organization of the Science Council of Japan Published a draft report

Regarding the organization of the Science Council of Japan, which is being considered because the candidate for membership was not appointed as the Prime Minister, the Science Council said, "It is difficult to find a positive reason for changing from the current national institution. I have put together a draft report that says.

The Science Council of Japan examined the ideal state of the organization, starting with the fact that the six people recommended as candidates for membership were not appointed as Prime Minister in October last year, and held a press conference on the 8th to draft a report. I announced it.

The draft report stipulates five requirements for academic organizations representing the country, such as official qualifications, financial base, and independence of member selection. It is evaluated that "it is difficult to find a positive reason to change" as satisfying all of the above.

If it is not a national institution, there is room for it to become a special corporation, but the issues are how to secure independence from the minister in charge and how to secure staff and expenses.

On the other hand, as a reform to strengthen the scientific advisory function, we will establish a mechanism that allows different committees to collaborate and make proposals, and will also promote exchange of opinions with industry and NPOs.

Furthermore, in order to increase the transparency of member selection, in addition to incorporating the opinions of outside experts, researchers in fields different from the candidates will be involved in the selection to ensure the diversity of members.

Takaaki Kajita, Chairman of the Science Council of Japan, said, "The more we consider the organizational form, the more we recognize that the current form can play a role. It is the result of a flat study."

In addition, the six unappointed persons should be resolved before discussing the form of organization, and I would like to express my intention at the general meeting to be held from 21st of this month.

The draft report is to be submitted to the government after consulting with the General Assembly to make a formal report.

Contents of the draft report

The draft report first summarizes the results and evaluation of the organization required by the government to establish the Science Council.

Among them, as a prerequisite, the five requirements that are indispensable for an academic organization that represents a country are the official qualifications to secure the position and status as a representative institution of the country, the stable financial base by the country, and the activities. Independence from the government and the independence of the member selection process.

Currently, it is a special agency of the country that operates independently of the government, but if it maintains this form, it can meet all five prerequisite requirements.

And although there are restrictions such as the inability to execute the budget flexibly, the current form is suitable for a role, and it is evaluated that "it is difficult to find a positive reason for the change."

On the other hand, if the form of the organization is changed to an incorporated administrative agency, there are issues such as whether the public authority recommended to the government can be stipulated in the law and whether independence from the minister in charge can be guaranteed.

In addition, when changing to a public interest corporation, the establishment entity will become a private organization, and it is said that the issue is to stipulate the public authority recommended to the government in the law.

Furthermore, while there is room to change the form of the organization to a special corporation, the challenges are to secure independence from the minister in charge and specific interest groups and to secure business expenses.

Therefore, if the organization is changed to an organization other than the current national institution, the organization will be independent of the country, but "there are various issues to be solved, and considerable preparation and time will be required to revise laws and regulations." It is said.

Based on these results, we will further study the best installation mode.

In addition, in order to strengthen the scientific advisory function, committees that are deliberating on different themes will collaborate to establish a mechanism for joint proposals, and will promote exchange of opinions with industry, ministries, and NPOs. That is.

In addition to incorporating the opinions of outside experts in order to increase the transparency of the member selection process, researchers in fields different from the candidates will be involved in the selection process to ensure the diversity of members.

Furthermore, we requested consideration of allocating the number of members of each department, which is 70 from the first part of the humanities and social sciences to the third part of science and engineering, to the number of researchers in each field of Japan. Recognizing that it is necessary to carefully consider what has been done, as it is difficult to define researchers and it may be difficult to select members from fields with a small number of researchers and diversity may be lost. I am.

Expert "Increase the ability of the Science Council to receive"

Mr. Minoru Kunitani, who has been involved in Japan's science and technology policy for a long time as a national civil servant and is currently affiliated with a foundation and is analyzing the government's science and technology policy, said, "The origin is six people. I was wondering why he wasn't appointed. Since the six were humanities and sociology, there was a lot of opposition in the field, and then the government reformed the academic conference. On the contrary, when the ball was thrown back and the appointment issue and the reform issue were discussed as a set, the situation was such that the academic council side was going back and forth. "

Regarding the future, "I think it is desirable for the science council to have as little involvement from the government as possible. However, it should not be unrelated to politics. It is of course important for the government to listen to the academy. If the science council side does not improve the ability to receive the intentions of not only the government but also the business community and the people, I think that something like this may happen in unexpected places. "

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato "Considering for the future"

At a press conference in the afternoon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato said, "Yesterday, the Minister of State for Science and Technology Inoue, who has jurisdiction over the Science Council, and Chairman Kajita met. I heard that there was an explanation of the draft report for better fulfillment of the role, including transparency. "

On that basis, he said, "I am aware that Minister Inoue and Chairman Kajita will continue to consider the future while maintaining sufficient communication. The matter of appointing members is the Prime Minister who has the right to appoint. Was the final decision, and the series of procedures has already been completed. "