The government is considering overhauling the operation and structure of the Science Council of Japan as part of its administrative reforms.
Despite the fact that nearly 1 billion yen from government funds is used to operate the council every year, it has not issued any recommendations to the government based on law since August 2010. For that and other reasons, the government will review the validity of the council under the initiative of Taro Kono, administrative reform minister.
Article 5 of a law on the SCJ provides that the council can issue recommendations to the government on measures related to the promotion of science and development of technologies and those that help reflect science in public administration, among other measures. However, no recommendations have been issued since one that reviewed the basic law on science and technology and other matters in August 2010.
Based on Article 4 of the SCJ law and Article 2 of an SCJ bylaw, the council is supposed to submit a report in response to a consultation with the government. The government has not consulted the council since a consultation on disaster measures in May 2007, and thus the council has not issued any reports since then. However, based on the bylaw, the SCJ issued more than 80 proposals over the past three years, including the Large Scale Research Project Master Plan.
Moreover, some government officials have raised questions over the council's need for about 50 secretariat staffers, who are central government employees.
The government plans to review the council in cooperation with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Kono on Thursday met with LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Hakubun Shimomura and they reaffirmed that the government and the LDP will cooperate in discussing what the SCJ should look like. Shimomura announced Wednesday that the LDP will set up a project team within the party to discuss the issue.
With regard to this, LDP member Eriko Yamatani asked the government to discuss the issue at a meeting of the House of Councillors' Committee on Cabinet on Thursday. In response, Hiromi Mitsubayashi, state minister of the Cabinet Office, said, "We would like to take that suggestion seriously and deal with the issue."
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