Photo/Illutration Yuko Fujigaki speaks at a news conference at the University of Tokyo after being chosen as its next president. (Reo Komeda)

Yuko Fujigaki will become the first female president of the University of Tokyo next spring.

A professor in Todai’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Fujigaki was recently selected to lead the prestigious institution.

Women have been chosen to head such outstanding universities abroad as Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge.

But in Japan, the ratio of women university presidents is under 20 percent.

Among the 85 national universities, only four are headed by women, which is less than 5 percent.

There is major significance in Todai’s selection since the gender gap in various aspects of society and the small number of women in leadership positions in organizations have become major issues.

But there were likely many people puzzled by the selection process.

In a vote among university faculty, Takao Someya, a professor in the Graduate School of Engineering, garnered 1,107 votes, while Fujigaki had 553.

In the past, presidents of national universities were chosen by a vote of faculty members. But after 2004 when such universities became incorporated, a new process involving a selection committee that includes outside members, such as company representatives, has been utilized.

The vote by faculty members is considered just one factor in choosing the president.

In 2014, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the education ministry issued a notice saying it was inappropriate to have only the faculty vote reflected in the selection of a university president.

Candidates from faculties or graduate schools with large numbers of professors will have an advantage in voting among faculty members.

But, at the same time, such votes were held in the past because it was considered important for self-governance, which lies at the root of a university.

Amid the backdrop to university reform is the thinking that universities must also contribute to economic growth.

In responding to the business sector’s requests, the government has emphasized competition and results, leading to strong concerns that free research and education based on a long-term perspective is being made light of.

Todai is now at a crossroads for being chosen for the government’s Universities for International Research Excellence project, which could bring in huge amounts of funding.

There are questions as to whether the candidates were evaluated based on their stance on that issue as well as what discussions were held before the selection committee overturned the result of the faculty vote.

Many questions were left unanswered at the news conference held by Todai as well as the reasons it gave for the selection.

There have been other cases, such as at Kyoto and Chiba universities, in which the outcome of the faculty vote was overturned.

Such universities must provide a more detailed explanation for their decision.

One example may be the precedent set by Chiba University, which released a summary of the discussions regarding how to handle the faculty vote as well as the results of the vote within the selection committee.

When asked at the news conference about being chosen after placing second in the faculty vote, Fujigaki said, “I want to overcome that by improving communication within the university.”

According to the campus newspaper published by students, Fujigaki did not agree to an interview prior to the selection process.

Because students are members of the university, Fujigaki must conduct serious dialogue as she has promised.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 5

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