Photo/Illutration Author Mariko Hayashi in July 2021 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nihon University in Tokyo on June 3 appointed award-winning novelist Mariko Hayashi as board chair, a post that was vacated by a powerful, long-term chairman who became embroiled in scandal.

Hayashi, 68, a graduate of the private university’s College of Art, succeeds Hidetoshi Tanaka, 75, who resigned in December and has been convicted of tax evasion.

Tanaka was also questioned in suspected breach of trust investigations concerning funds earmarked to upgrade the university’s hospital, but he was not arrested in those cases.

Hayashi, who is scheduled to start her four-year tenure on July 1, was born in Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture.

In 1986, she won the prestigious Naoki Prize for two books: “Saishubin ni Maniaeba” (If I make it to the last flight) and “Kyoto made” (To Kyoto).

Hayashi has been serving as a judge on the Naoki Prize committee since 2000, and became the chief director of the Japan Writers’ Association in 2020.

According to sources, Nihon University’s new board chair selection committee, comprising four outside experts and two directors, decided on Hayashi on June 1 because she was deemed the best fit for the job among all candidates, including former bureaucrats.

In its report released in March, a university reform council blamed the “tyrannical” control over the university exerted by Tanaka, who served as board chairman for 13 years over five terms, for the scandal.

The council also noted the homogenous nature of the board, which has no female or outside directors.

In April, Nihon University told the education ministry that it would choose a new board chair, mainly from among outsiders who have never been involved in the management of the university but have experience and expertise in managing an organization.

The university on June 3 also appointed Takeo Sakai, 78, a former Nihon University president, as the next president. He is expected to officially start at the post on July 1.

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