Photo/Illutration Scholars and citizens protest Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Science Council rejections in front of the Diet building in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district on Nov. 3. (Yusuke Nishimura)

An estimated 800 scholars and citizens gathered in front of the Diet building on Nov. 3 to protest Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s refusal to appoint six scholars to the Science Council of Japan.

The rally in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district was organized by the Association of Scholars opposed to the Security-related Laws, an academic group critical of national security legislation enacted in 2015 during the administration of Shinzo Abe, and other groups.

The protesters yelled: “Protect academia. Protect freedom.”

Academics and others suspect Suga rejected the six scholars because of their past objections to government policies, including the security-related laws.

“Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s outrageous act must not be tolerated in a democratic nation,” Manabu Sato, a specially appointed professor at Gakushuin University, who is the representative founding member of the association, said. “It’s an arbitrary reinterpretation of the Constitution.”

Tamie Kaino, a professor emeritus at Ochanomizu University and former member of the Science Council, said the six scholars, who were recommended by the council, should immediately be given positions.

“The denial of membership deeply hurt the honor of the scholars,” she said. “If people are deprived of their dignity without any explanation, they will be more traumatized.”

A female first-year college student attended the protest.

“Attempts to tame people threaten not only scholars but also students,” the 19-year-old said. “Such acts will deprive students of the purpose and the right to study hard.”

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