participated in discussions about a survey that wasdesigned by the Ministry of Education's Departmentof Sciences to further the implementation of thispolicy change. In contrast to its publicly statedopposition to the policy, such activities by theAssociation reveal a very ambiguous stance. Both ofthese bodies have turned their backs on the people byignoring requests to clarify their responsibilities inthis matter.

A Call to Support the People's Network
to Protect the Autonomy of Japan's
National Universities
http://pegasus.phys.saga-u.ac.jp/znet/pleae.html
Japan's national universities have a hundred year
history, but at present their academic freedom is undersiege due to the government's recent attempts toimplement the "Independent Administration Institute"policy. This policy will not only affect national,public and private universities, but will haverepercussions for all Japanese people. In order to stop
this unjust government policy we seek to build a
coalition that crosses professional lines, politicalparties, and nationalities. In doing so, we call upon all
those who value freedom and care about free speech
and academic autonomy.

The Consequences of this IndependentAdministration InstituteDespite the misleading use of the term "independent,"
the implementation of this administrative system willbring about the exact opposite, by placing all national
universities under the direct management and controlof the government. This is a clear violation of thetwenty-third clause of the Constitution whichguarantees the autonomy of universities to protect
their academic freedom. It is also a clear violation of
the tenth clause of the Fundamental Education Law
that forbids the "improper control" of education.

What is this Independent Administration
Institute?
This primary purpose of the proposed administrative
system is to remove and separate the functions ofestablishing educational objectives, planning, andenforcement from the existing institutions and placethese prerogatives in the hands of the Tokyogovernment. Consequently, the Minister of Education
will determine and define what ought to be theuniversities' "intermediary objectives." It will then beincumbent on the Independent Administration
Institute to submit a plan to achieve these goals over aperiod of time. These plans will then be subject to theMinister's approval and the universities will beevaluated on their performance in achieving theprescribed plans. This policy will furthermore give theMinister the power to control the funding of auniversity and the right to shut it down.

This policy will significantly influence university
research and education. The content of education will
be uniformly standardized and there is a risk that
research will be pursued only for the purpose ofobtaining short term results. Japan's national
universities currently play an important roleinternationally, but under the new system such astandard will be difficult to maintain.
But above all, by subjecting universities to the threatof being shut down, the vital function of the university
to speak out on matters of concern for the society willbe lost. What will become of Japan if we cannot
protect the freedom of speech and academic freedom?
It was only a few decades ago that many people inJapan and in countries nearby experienced terrible
suffering as a result of the war caused by our own
government.

Past Opposition by the Ministry of Education
Initially, the Ministry of Education opposed theIndependent Administration Institute policy; however,yielding to pressure, two years ago, the Ministry ofEducation changed its stance and decided to approveit. The Association of National Universities that is
supposed to be responsible for protecting theautonomy and academic freedom of its universities isalso taking a questionable stance. In response to theserecent developments, the Association has apparently

A Concern that Extends beyond NationalUniversities
The tuition increase for national universities will
threaten equal access to education. By increasing thenumbers of incoming students at public universities
based on management considerations, the quality ofeducation is at risk. Increasing the number of students
1Petition of Support

at public universities will, in turn, decrease thenumber of students who pay to attend private
universities that, already, are not as financially stableas public universities.

for the People's Network to Protect the Autonomyof Japan's National Universities

The Independent Administration Institute will not
only impact national universities, but also will aim toregulate all public universities. If national universities
lose their freedom this will surely have repercussions
for private universities.

Name: _______________________________
affiliation and/or title:_____________________________________

Calling on the People to Voice their Will to
Expand the Freedom of Universities
We must aim towards reforming the universities byabolishing the various forms of bureaucratic
regulation and expanding the freedoms and rights of
the universities and those who work within them. It isalso imperative to expand the rights of university
students. By doing so, we aim to fulfill the 1998
UNESCO Declaration of Higher Education that calls
for the independence of universities to enable them toperform their vital role as critical forces in society*.
In order to do so, the people must voice their opinions
to preserve the academic freedom of the nationaluniversities.

Address:

Nothing is determined yet
On several occasions the mass media have reported
that this Independent Administration Institute isalready an established fact. But this matter has noteven begun to be discussed in the Diet, and by statingthat it is a "decided actuality" ignores the fundamental
legal procedures of our nation.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Post code: ______________
Tel/Fax no:_____________________________________
e-mail:I support the People's Network and consent for
my name to appear on the website or on printed
materials.
(Please fill in the above form and send it to the
executive secretary via Email, fax or conventional
mail.)

If the people raise their voices and take action, we canstop this destruction of our national universities.

-------------------------------

We ask all of you to join with us in this network toprotect the people's universities.

People's Network to Protect the Autonomy of Japan'sNational Universities
chairperson : YAMAZUMI Masami, former president of theTokyo Metropolitan University
executive secretary : TOYOSHIMA Kouichi, Prof. ofPhysics, Univ. of Saga

May 1, 2001
* See Article 2(b) of the Declaration.

Address: Faculty of Science and Engineering, University ofSaga Honjo-machi, Saga, 840-8502 Japan
Email: toyo@cc.saga-u.ac.jp
phone/fax +81-952-28-8845
temporary website:(June 20, 2001 ver.2.2)

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