A view emerged within the government and the ruling parties Wednesday that shifting the start of the school year from April to September by next year would be difficult.
During a meeting of senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's working team, chairman Masahiko Shibayama -- acting chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council -- presented a proposal calling for putting off the adoption of the new school year by at least one year. The government has been set to decide on whether or not it should be adopted by this summer.
The chairman's proposal stipulated that the introduction of September admissions either this year or next year should be shelved. As there was a succession of voices saying that discussions should continue in the future, the chairman's proposal was not approved at the meeting.
"The majority of the working team members recognize that introducing a September school year start [just in response to the impact of the coronavirus] would not be good," Shibayama said after the meeting, indicating that he thinks it would be difficult to introduce by next year. Shibayama intends to present a new proposal to the government by early June.
Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, also held a meeting Wednesday of a similar project team. It discussed the issue on the assumption that a new school year starting in September would not be adopted as a measure to cope with delays in education due to long school closures.
Given these moves, opinions that it would be difficult to start the new system next year have emerged within the government. As a senior government official put it: "It would be difficult to start something next year that the ruling parties oppose. At the present stage, there isn't an environment in which a system for September admissions could be implemented immediately."
Even if the adoption of a new school year is postponed for the time being, relevant discussions will continue. As a senior government official said, "If school closures continue for a protracted period in a possible second wave of the coronavirus epidemic, there is a possibility the September start of the school year could be adopted."
There is also a suggestion that relevant discussions should be entrusted to such entities as the government's Education Rebuilding Implementation Council.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
