Keio University President Yasuhiko Torii is likely to chair the Central Council for Education, an advisory body to the education minister, sources close to the minister said after panel members were named Friday.
The 64-year-old economics scholar at the Tokyo university, who was the vice chair of the panel until last month, is expected to play a leading role in the sweeping reforms that the government is planning for the nation's education system.
Also named to the 30-member panel by Education Minister Nobutaka Machimura were Takayasu Okushima, president of Waseda University, Yuzaburo Mogi, president of Kikkoman Corp., and former Olympic marathon runner Akemi Masuda, who is now a sports journalist.
The government is mulling major changes to the education system by revising the Fundamental Law of Education.
A high-profile advisory panel to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori initially suggested reviewing the 1947 law to reflect current needs. The issue is likely to be high on the agenda of the upcoming regular Diet session.