Photo/Illutration Science Council of Japan members listen to an explanation by a Cabinet Office official at a Dec. 21 meeting. (Rintaro Sakurai)

The Science Council of Japan is raising alarm over a government proposal to alter the process for selecting its membership, which comes two years after it publicly fought with the previous prime minister over appointments.

Council members unanimously approved a resolution calling on the government to reconsider its proposed changes out of concern they will tarnish its independence.

Nobuya Hashimoto, a history professor at Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, who sits on the council, said the move “will fundamentally alter the nature of the Science Council and create a totally different organization.”

The Kishida administration intends to move legislation forward next year to create a new third-party organization to recommend future Science Council appointments to the prime minister, a Cabinet Office official overseeing the changes explained at a Dec. 21 meeting.

This will ensure that he is presented with an “appropriate” list so candidates can be selected smoothly, the official said, and the Science Council will be asked to “respect” the recommendations.

The nation's leading scientific body came under the spotlight in 2020 when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga refused to appoint six members nominated by the council.

While no clear reason was ever given for the rejection of the six nominees, they were known for taking positions critical of the government.

At that time, some within the government and ruling coalition criticized the Science Council as being a closed organization, despite receiving funding from the government.

The proposal is expected to be submitted to the ordinary Diet session scheduled to convene early next year.

But Takaaki Kajita, current council president, said the organization already takes the views of outsiders into consideration before it submits its recommendations.

He expressed confusion over the government’s insistence on a legal change.

The science council’s statement said the government did not provide a reason for why the bill is needed. It said the move could legitimize Suga’s decision to reject the six candidate members.

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