菅首相、任命拒否「私が判断」　学術会議、組織改革を主張―参院代表質問

　菅義偉首相の所信表明演説に対する各党代表質問が２９日午前、参院本会議でも始まった。首相は日本学術会議の会員候補６人の任命拒否について、民間出身者や若手研究者の推薦が少ないことを指摘した上で、「多様性が大事であることを念頭に、私が任命権者として判断を行った」と明言した。立憲民主党の福山哲郎幹事長への答弁。
　首相は会員の任命に関し、日本学術会議法の解釈変更を否定。学術会議について「国の予算を投じる機関として、国民に理解される存在であるべきだ」と述べ、組織改革の必要性を強調した。（2020/10/29-12:58）

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday acknowledged that he made the decision not to appoint six of the 105 nominees recently recommended by the Science Council of Japan.
   "Keeping in mind the importance of diversity, I made the decision as the appointer," Suga told a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.
   He also said that the SCJ recommended only a small number of member candidates from the private sector and younger generations.
   During the meeting, in which party representatives questioned Suga about his recent policy speech, the prime minister denied that the government has changed its interpretation of the SCJ law for the rejection.
   The council "should be an entity that can gain public understanding as an institution on which state funds are spent," Suga said, stressing the need to reform the government organization representing Japan's academic community.