TOYOSHIMA Kouichi
The following is a report about the General Meeting of the Association of National Universities (JANU). It also gives an abstract of our statement on the outcome of the meeting.
On 12th and 13th June, 2001 the annual meeting of the Association of National Universities, where 99 presidents assembles was held in Tokyo. About 100 anxious people, professors and students, gathered at the gate of the hall and urged the participants not to approve the report of the committee, which was nothing different from the government's idea. I and Toru was among them and asked to sit in on the meeting, but it was refused by the chairman. Unusually and strangely enough, many police officers were present and they often impeded us to walk freely in the hall.
In spite of the many oppositions expressed by sign-in, as well as the plea of the presidents in the southern district (Kyushu Island) to seek a deliberate discussion, the meeting "fuzzily" approved the report to change the national universities into "Administrative Institutes".
Our statement denounces the decision and blames all participants for throwing away the loyalty to the idea of academic freedom. It also criticizes the chops and changes of the Ministry of Education which proposed a new plan to reduce the number of national universities only a few days before the meeting.
The statement also urges the media to report the situation and the developement fair-mindedly.
We continue the sign-in campaign to submit to the Diet. Also we are inviting supports from abroad. Your collaboration in any way will encourage us very much.