But it may still take some time for the universities to fully adapt to the system. Hotta emphasizes the importance of evaluation in improving prospects for young researchers. He plans to use evaluation at NIG to get rid of incompetent researchers and to introduce postdoctoral researchers. Many argue that the lifetime tenure system that plagues Japanese universities with bureaucratic and conservative values can only be eradicated by external reviews. The system has long been criticized for inhibiting competitiveness at Japanese universities.
Some researchers say the main difficulty is the lack of a single framework.
Although strong resistance from universities and Monbusho meant that the proposal was omitted from the final version of the government's 1997 administrative reform plan, it resurfaced after last year's appointment of prime minister Keizo Obuchi. But the strongest opposition comes from Akito Arima, the education minister and recently appointed director-general of STA, who has declared that such changes will be detrimental to research and education, as universities do not have the capacity to manage their increased autonomy. In a bid to resist the government's plans on autonomy, the Council on University Education, chaired by Arima, plans to set up an independent body to assess national universities.