Education ministry secretly mobilized local officials at its forums to fabricate favorable opinion on education bill

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Education ministry secretly mobilized local officials at its forums to fabricate favorable opinion on education bill

In an attempt to fabricate public opinion favorable to the adverse revision of the Fundamental Law of Education, the education ministry mobilized many local government officials by disguising them as ordinary citizens at public meetings on education reform.

This manipulation of public opinion was revealed at a House of Councilors special committee meeting on December 13 by Japanese Communist Party representative Inoue Satoshi. He showed that they took place at education reform forums which the education ministry promoted under the pretext of providing the general public with a chance to express opinions on the revision of the education law, separate from the town meetings in which similar maneuvers were carried out.

The forum was held in ten places in 2003 and in 2006. At forums held in May 2003 in Yamaguchi and Kumamoto prefectures, according to Inoue, the ministry requested each prefectural board of education to have some 100 persons from prefectural governments and related organizations attend.

On October 4, 2003, a forum was held linking via the satellite communication system three venues in Tokyo, Kagawa, and Ishikawa prefectures, but the public was not invited in Kanagawa and Ishikawa.

Pointing out that an elementary school principal took the rostrum at the forum in Kagawa without stating his occupation, Inoue criticized the ministry for having pretended as if it listened to the general public at the forum.

Education Minister Ibuki Bunmei in reply said that it was appropriate for the ministry to invite persons concerned with the issue, throwing the committee meeting into confusion.

"Discussion on the bill has not yet completed, and the committee should not take a vote," Inoue stated.

At a rally in opposition to the adverse revision of the education law held later in the day JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, "It was reveled that these forums were used to manipulate public opinion. What the education ministry should do now is stop pushing for the revision of the education law and address its own corruption."
- Akahata, December 14, 2006