University of Tokyo Urged to Review President Selection

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan's education ministry on Tuesday urged the University of Tokyo to review whether the selection process for its next president was appropriate, in response to doubts raised both within and outside the school.

This marked the first time the ministry has requested a university to verify the new president selection process.

Tetsuo Goda, director-general of the ministry's Higher Education Bureau, visited the university the same day to hand a written request for the review to its current president, Teruo Fujii, and other officials of the national institution.

Specifically, the ministry urged Fujii and two auditors of the university to inform the education minister immediately if serious problems are found through the review of the selection process.

Yuko Fujigaki, a professor at the university's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, was elected new president in late September to succeed Fujii in April 2027 although she placed second in an opinion vote among the teaching and other staff of the university.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]