Statement against Prime Minister SUGA’s denial of the appointment of six
academics who were recommended as new members of the Science Council of JapanFirst issued on 18 October 2020
Updated on 2 December 2020

Prime Minister Yoshihide SUGA rejected the appointment of six academics, including
one modern Japanese historian, who were recommended as new members of the Science Councilof Japan for its 25th term, which has just started. In total, 105 academics were recommended.
Article 7-2 of the Act on the Science Council of Japan (henceforth the Act) stipulates
that council members are appointed by the prime minister on the basis of the recommendation
laid down in Article 17, which stipulates that according to the method defined by the rules formember selection, the Science Council of Japan selects the council member candidates fromamong scientists who are conducting good research or who have made academic achievements
and recommends them to the prime minister, following the Order of the Cabinet Office. Thismeans that in the selection of the council members, paramount importance is accorded to theScience Council’s recommendation, and the prime minister’s role in this process is only aformality. The then Prime Minister Yasuhiro NAKASONE confirmed the validity of this process
at the Committee on Education in the Upper House of the Diet on 12 May 1983, as follows: ‘Theselection of council members is made on the basis of recommendation from various academic
societies or groups, and what the government does is nothing but formal. Therefore, the real rightfor recommendation is in the hands of academic societies or groups, and the activity of thegovernment is only formal, and the academic freedom and independence is wholly guaranteed’.
In light of this framework, Prime Minister SUGA’s conduct in denying the appointmentof the six candidates completely runs counter both to the Act and to the government’s previous
stance, and we cannot condone it.
At the same time, the fact that the candidates whose appointment was denied are all
humanity and social sciences researchers cannot be overlooked.
We regard it as extremely serious that the reason for denying their appointment has notbeen made public. It is widely assumed that the reason for the denial is that those six academics

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publicly opposed such enactments by the former ABE cabinet as security laws, the secret
information protection act, and the revision of the organised crime punishment law, whichaddresses punishment for conspiracy crimes. If this is the reason, it means that the government iscompelling the Science Council to become an organisation that always supports government
policies uncritically. The prime minister’s actions completely contradict the stipulation laid out in
Article 3 of the Act, according to which the Science Council should ‘independently’ discuss andmaterialise significant matters concerning science, act as a liaison between various fields ofscience, and promote efficient research. Ultimately, it infringes on academic freedom, which isguaranteed by Article 23 of the Japanese constitution.
The current situation reminds historians of past precedents before the Second World War,such as the Kunitake KUME incident of 1892, in which KUME was forced to leave Tokyo
Imperial University after being officially reprimanded for his treatise, ‘Shinto is an outmoded
remnant of heaven worship’, or the Sokichi TSUDA incident of 1940, in which TSUDA’s books
on ancient Japanese history were suppressed because of his rational interpretation of ancient texts.
In these incidents, the academic results of historical research were politically denied, and the same
political pressure led to the imposition of a historical education that ignored historical facts withthe view of controlling people’s thoughts.
When the Science Council of Japan was established in 1949 in a post-war democratic
atmosphere, it declared: ‘We deeply reflect on the past attitude of Japanese scientists and swear
that henceforth, we will contribute to the peaceful reconstruction of our country and to thepromotion of human welfare with the strong conviction that science is the foundation of a culturaland peaceful nation.･･･We will secure freedom of thought and conscience, academic freedom,and freedom of speech, all of which are guaranteed by the Constitution, and at the same time, weare ready to make all our efforts for the advancement of academic activities in order to secureworld peace in cooperation with the international academic world’ (‘Declaration of ourdetermination as scientists on the occasion of the foundation of the Science Council of Japan’, 22January 1949). The current incident is nothing but the total denial of the spirit expressed in thisdeclaration.
We are also concerned about the fact that the academics whose appointment was denied
are all engaged in research in the humanities and social sciences, the mission of which is to2

discover political and social problems and propose ways to solve them. This is worrying becausesuch an action can and will enhance the recent trend in some parts of the government circle toignore and deny the meaning of the humanities and social sciences. For example, on 8 June, 2015,
the then Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hakubun
SHIMOMURA sent a note to the governing bodies of national universities implicitly asking themto scale back in the humanities and social sciences. If this tacit directive had been followed, andthe number of students who wanted to study humanities and social sciences had dwindled, thenacademic activities in Japan would be doomed to shrink.
We historians are well aware of the Science Council of Japan’s past contributions in ouracademic field. Its report led to the creation of the current National Institute of Japanese Literature,
which includes a section on historical archives, and its recommendation on the prevention of thedispersal of public records resulted in the foundation of the National Archives of Japan. We also
know that the Science Council of Japan has always done its best to improve the basic conditionsof research activities by issuing various recommendations and reports annually. In the field ofhistory, the preservation of historical sources and cultural materials, as well as control of publicrecords, are now urgently needed, and the Science Council of Japan’s role in these matters is very
important. We hope that it will strengthen its appeal to the government and to society as a whole.
Regarding the current situation, it is concerning that freedom of thought and conscience,
academic freedom, and freedom of speech are likely to be neglected and infringed upon. TheJapanese Historical Council, which comprises various historical studies organisations, hasdecided to issue this statement in cooperation with historical societies that are of the same opinion.
We strongly demand that the six academics whose appointment was denied be
immediately appointed as council members of the Science Council of Japan.

Signed:The Japanese Historical Council
Akita Kindaishi Kenkyukai (Akita Association for Modern History)
The Association for High School-University Collaboration in History Education
Association of Historical Science (Rekishikagaku Kyogikai)
Chiba Historical Society
Chihoshi Kenkyu Kyogikai (The Local History Conference)

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Chiiki Joseishi Kenkyukai (Association for Local History of Women)
Chuo Shigakkai (Historical Association of Chuo University)
The Board of the Gender History Association of Japan
Hakusan Shigakukai
The Historical Association of Beppu University
The Historical Association of Senshu University
The Historical Science Society of Japan (Rekishigaku Kenkyukai)
The Historical Society of Akita University
The Historical Society of Hosei University
The Historical Society of Rikkyo University
The Historical Society of Tokyo Gakugei University
Historical Society, Sophia University
History Educationalist Conference of Japan
Institute of Science of Cultural History
The Iwate Society for Historical Studies
Japanese Association of Modern East Asian History
The Japanese Historical Society
The Japanese Society for Historical Studies (Nihonshi Kenkyukai)
The Japanese Society of the History of Transport and Communications
The Japan Society for Historical Research of Manners and Customs
Kanto Kinseishi Kenkyukai (Association for Early Modern History of Kanto)
Kyoto Historical Science Association
Kyushu Seiyoshi Gakkai (The Society for Research of Occidental History, Kyushu)
Nara Historical Society
The Osaka Association of Historical Sciences
The Osaka Historical Association
The Seiyoushikenkyukai (The Society for the Study of Occidental History)
Sengokushi KenkyukaiSociété d'anthropologie historique du Japon
The Society for Korean Historical Science
The Society for Research of Occcidental History, Osaka University
Society for the Study of Diplomatics in JapanThe Society of Historical ResearchSociety of Inner Asian Studies
Sogo Joseishi Gakkai (The Society for Research on Women's History)
Sundai Historical Association
Syutoken Keiseishi Kenkyukai (Association of History of Creation of Metropolitan Area)
Tohoku Historical Society
Tokyo Rekishikagaku Kenkyukai (Tokyo Association for Historical Science)
Waseda Daigaku Toyoshi Konwakai (Forum of Oriental History of Waseda University)4