Japanese Academic Societies Unite to Release a Joint Statement to Protect the Independence of the Science Council of Japan and Call for Supportive Messages

December 2nd, 2020

Japanese scholars have met the Prime Minister Suga’s decision to reject the candidacy of six humanities and social sciences scholars for the Science Council of Japan with grave concern. 226 academic societies in the humanities and social sciences in Japan issued a Joint Statement on November 6th. Since then, the number of co-signers has reached 310. On December 2nd, they issued the same statement in English, gave a press interview and appealed to scholars and citizens worldwide for support and cooperation.

The Science Council of Japan, which is a national academy and not a federation of academic societies, does not directly represent the interests of the societies. Nevertheless, the societies are deeply concerned with the issue as the Prime Minister’s rejection of appointment not only violates the independence of the Science Council of Japan but also further threatens academic freedom, autonomy and democracy in Japan.

As one of the societies that have co-signed the Joint Statement, hereby the Japanese Historical Council also releases it.

"Joint Statement by the Academic Societies of the Humanities and Social Sciences on the Refusal to Appoint Nominees as Council Members to the 25th Term of the Science Council of Japan"

Press Conference (YouTube) at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, December 2nd, 2020:
"The Government's Decision to Refuse the Science Council of Japan's Nominations"
by Yukio Himiyama, Yoichi Kibata & Izumi Sato

We call for your supportive message, please visit to the following website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdG8c42G4jnqvV3WygBNkttnEAzIeB-UiHMcOMhtE-INn0z3w/viewform?usp=sf_link

See also our statement on this issue: “Statement against Prime Minister SUGA’s denial of the appointment of six academics who were recommended as new members of the Science Council of Japan”