The Upper House of the Diet is debating legislation aimed at turning national universities into "independent agencies."
Several years ago, a University of Tokyo professor quipped, "Japan's national universities could not get worse no matter how they are changed." No doubt state-run universities are beset by numerous problems both in research and education. The need to reform national universities goes without saying. However, opinion is sharply divided over what needs to be changed and how.
Although Japanese National Railways and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp. were successfully privatized, more or less, in the mid-1980s, privatization will not necessarily produce better results in scientific and academic research. Given the degree of diversity, however, some areas of research could be privatized one way or another.