People's Network Against the Plan to Destroy Japan's National Universities

executive secretary : TOYOSHIMA Kouichi, Prof. of Physics, Univ. of Saga

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full text of the plea	petition form	related articles	supporters' list
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Message from Professor Richard Gombrich, Fellow of Balliol College, UK

Ver. 1.0 (Last update: Sept 30, 2003)

Invitation to the symposium on the University Corporation Law
September 27, 10 a.m.--5:30 p.m.,Tokyo
press release on 29 Sept. 03 (in Japanese)

Alleged "independence" may deprive universities of their freedom (translation from a weekly magazine 'Syukan Kin-yobi' April 19, 2002 issue)
On recent development after the release of the "final report" of the Ministry of Education (24/5/02)
Talk with Korean Professors Union, March 2, 2002 at Seoul

demonstrators

Prof. S.Ikeuchi

Action to the Presidents' meeting on March 24, 2003 (link to the Metropolitan Network Against the Incorporation of Universities)

Link to KPU

Japanese government is planning to change the national universities into the so-called "Independent Administrative Institute" (IAI). The prefix "Independent" is misleading, because under this proposed regime the universities would be given their objectives by the Minister and be forced to meet the direct demands of the national government. Moreover the Minister of Education can even abolish any university if he/she thinks it is "bad".

Obviously this greatly harms the academic freedom of Japan's national universities. As a matter of course, many professors as well as faculties at national universities have expressed their concern.

We invite all who love universities and appreciate the academic freedom and the autonomy of universities to take part in our People's Network for blocking the plan.

Although it is true that Japan's national universities chiefly serve Japanese people directly, they also serve mankind indirectly. So we ask for and welcome support from all over the world.

For the moment the full detail of our plan of the People's Network is mostly written in Japanese. Please take a look at the following pages if you read Japanese. We will translate the documents into as many languages as possible shortly.

Plea in Japanese
http://pegasus.phys.saga-u.ac.jp/znet/plea-znet.html

Various information on this issue in English, including government's explanation
http://fcs.math.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/dgh/e-index.html
Japanese page
http://www.geocities.co.jp/CollegeLife-Cafe/3141/dgh/

The IAI Act (in Japanese*)
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