June 9, 2018

A civil group consisting of trade unions and human rights groups on June 7 held a rally in the Dietmembers’ office building to petition lawmakers to realize free education which should be recognized as a fundamental human right and improve the grant-type scholarship program.

The lawmakers who attended the rally were Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Hatano Kimie, JCP member of the House of Councilors Tamura Tomoko, and Okinawa Whirlwind (a political group in the Upper House) member Itokazu Keiko.

At the rally, Chiba University Professor Emeritus Miwa Sadanobu, who heads the civil group, spoke about the 2013 recommendation from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to the Japanese government.

The recommendation advised Japan to set a goal for a swift introduction of free education at all levels, implement measures to achieve the goal in a systematic manner, and expand the grant-type scholarship program.

Miwa said that the Abe government’s education policy totally goes against the UN recommendation. He went on to say, “The heavy financial burden of educational costs has led to the lower birthrate and shrinking labor force that Japan faces today. It is vital to realize free education in order to open a bright future for the nation.”

Miwa called on group members to work to increase public awareness of this matter by utilizing the UN committee’s recommendation in various activities such as study meetings.

Past related articles:
> The amount borrowed for enrolling in private universities hits record high [April 5, 2018]
> Local assemblies in Nagano adopt DYLJ’s request for better ‘grant-type’ scholarship program [August 10, 2017]