Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s education ministry on Tuesday urged the University of Tokyo to review whether the selection process for its next president was appropriate, in response to doubts raised both within and outside the school. This marked the first time the ministry has requested a university to verify the new president selection process. Tetsuo Goda, director-general of the ministry’s Higher Education Bureau, visited the university the same day to hand a written request for the review to its current president, Teruo Fujii, and other officials of the national institution. Specifically, the ministry urged Fujii and two auditors of the university to inform the education minister immediately if serious problems are found through the review of the selection process. Yuko Fujigaki, a professor at the university’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, was elected new president in late September to succeed Fujii in April 2027 although she placed second in an opinion vote among the teaching and other staff of the university. Following a request submitted by teachers for a detailed explanation, the university replied after extensive discussions that Fujigaki won support from the largest number of members of the university’s president screening and inspection committee. At a press conference Tuesday, education minister Yoshihiro Seki said that the university’s response has been “limited to a superficial explanation of the selection process” and that the university “has not fully disclosed the evaluation of each candidate.” “It’s regrettable that there are still many voices pointing to the lack of clear explanations regarding the selection process and the reasons for the outcome,” Seki said. “I hope the university will fulfill its accountability by explaining what objective facts led to the decision.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
