Science Council To Urge Govt. To Approve Nominees
The Science Council of Japan plans to ask the government to explain why it refused to appoint six people as new members of the leading academic body, and renew its request for their appointment.
The council on Friday decided to make the request after Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide did not appoint six of the 105 nominees, who would have joined the council from Thursday if they were approved.
This is the first time since the current nomination scheme began in fiscal 2004 that a prime minister has decided against appointing nominees.
The council is designated as a special organization under the jurisdiction of the prime minister, but makes policy proposals independently from the government.
Members of the particular section of the council that the six were to join discussed the matter. They said the membership of the council is set at 210 by law, so the current situation is illegal.
They urged the government to disclose why Suga rejected the six nominees and also to reconsider the decision.
After the section meeting, executives of the council decided at their meeting to ask the government to both explain the refusal and approve the rejected nominees' appointments.
