Japanese University Humanities and Social Sciences Programs Under Attack

Abstract

On June 8 the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) sent a ten-page directive to all 86 national universities in Japan, apparently calling on them, inter alia, to abolish or reorganize their humanities and social sciences (HSS) departments. I use the word “apparently” because the wording of the letter is ambiguous. A former Ministry of Education official's Facebook posting in September is quoted on the European Association of Japanese Studies online forum asserting that the directive has been misinterpreted. The post refers to an article in Japanese by Kan Suzuki, Special Advisor to Japan's education minister. Kan acknowledges that MEXT failed to consult various stakeholders and that the new policy was not properly presented, but insists that the ministry is not moving to abolish HSS. Rather, he says, MEXT wants the national universities to concentrate on what they do best and develop survival strategies based on demographic trends.