Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi will appoint Olympic gold medalist Yasuhiro Yamashita and 25 others to his advisory panel on education reform to be launched this month, Obuchi's adviser on education issues said Wednesday.
Other members of the panel will include Tama University President Gregory Clark, writer Ayako Sono and Hayao Kawai, head of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Nobutaka Machimura said at a news conference.
Machimura, a former education minister, announced last week that Nobel Prize in physics winner Reona (Leo) Esaki will head the panel. Esaki is a former president of the state-run Tsukuba University.
The members were chosen from various fields including business, culture and sports, Machimura said. Yamashita, who won a judo gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, was one of three people chosen from sports and other youth-related activities.
Machimura said the panel plans to hold its first meeting on March 27.
Obuchi considers education reform one of the most pressing issues to be tackled by his Cabinet.
During a policy speech in the Diet in January, Obuchi said he wants to work on education reform in order to nurture "human resources imbued with immense creativity."