# 石田英司「東京大学の次期学長選考、文科省が東大側に過程検証求める」「75歳以上の医療費負担、金融所得を反映へ」「東京でインコが大量発生！」10月23日

- Show: 上泉雄一のええなぁ！
- Published: 2026-10-22
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1588682529_3fa7c1832b9e.html
- Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/MBSINC9722299073.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

Japan's Ministry of Education has made an unprecedented demand for the University of Tokyo to verify its presidential selection process after the selection council passed over the top faculty vote-getter in favor of the second-place candidate — a margin of two-to-one. Separately, the government has decided that stock dividends and other financial investment income will be factored into medical costs for people aged 75 and older starting in August 2029. And a colony of roughly 3,000 rose-ringed parakeets, tracing back to Japan's 1960s pet boom, has firmly established itself across Tokyo.

## What this episode answers

### Why was the top vote-getter not chosen as the University of Tokyo's next president, and is that illegal?

It is not illegal, because the selection council holds final decision-making authority; under the 2004 corporatization of national universities, the 16-member presidential selection council — including outside members — selects the president as a CEO figure, and the faculty preference vote is legally advisory only. The double-score gap between first and second place, however, triggered strong demands for explanation from inside and outside the university.

### When and how did the system for selecting national university presidents change?

The system changed with the 2004 corporatization of national universities; before that, decisions were made entirely by internal faculty bodies, but corporatization repositioned the president as both academic head and corporate CEO, giving binding decision-making power to a 16-member council of eight internal and eight external members, independent of the faculty preference vote.

### What does the new system for incorporating financial income into medical costs for those 75 and older cover, and what is excluded?

Starting August 2029, stock dividends, capital gains, investment trust returns, FX, and cryptocurrency income will be factored into premiums and co-payment tiers under the Late-Stage Elderly Medical Care system; NISA income is excluded as tax-free, bank and postal savings interest is also excluded, and the specific income thresholds that will trigger higher burdens have not yet been decided.

### Why did an unfair gap exist in medical cost burdens between people using specific accounts with withholding tax and those who filed tax returns?

Users of a specific account with withholding have roughly 20.3% tax automatically remitted by their broker, but that information stays with the tax office and never reaches municipal governments; people who file a tax return have the same income shared with their municipality and reflected in their medical cost calculations, meaning two people earning and paying the same amount could end up with different burdens solely based on which account type they used.

### Where did the rose-ringed parakeets now thriving in Tokyo come from, and why did they establish themselves there?

They are descended from rose-ringed parakeets imported in large numbers during Japan's 1960s pet boom that escaped and went feral; Osaka's population was devastated by crow attacks on their eggs and is now rarely seen, but Tokyo's larger initial population survived and has grown to a colony of roughly 3,000 birds today.

## Article

## University of Tokyo Presidential Selection — Ministry of Education Makes Unprecedented Demand

A controversy over the selection of the University of Tokyo's next president is drawing national attention. The university's presidential selection council passed over Professor Yuko Fujigaki (藤垣裕子), who topped the faculty and staff preference vote, in favor of the second-place candidate — a gap of two-to-one in the vote count. The mismatch prompted calls from inside and outside the university for an explanation, and Minister of Education Seki announced at a press conference that the ministry had formally asked the university to verify its selection process, a step described as unprecedented. The selection council is chaired by Hiroko Kuniya (国谷裕子), a former NHK anchor.

## How the 2004 Corporatization Changed University Presidential Selection

The way national university presidents are chosen changed fundamentally in 2004. Before that year, the decision was made entirely by people within the institution. When each university became an independent national university corporation, however, the president was repositioned as both the academic head overseeing research and education and a corporate CEO. Selection authority passed to a 16-member presidential selection council — eight internal members, eight external — and the faculty and staff preference survey became legally advisory only, with no binding power over the council's decision. The logic mirrors the corporate world: a company's top executive is not chosen by employee popularity vote alone; shareholders and outside directors have a say.

Since this structure took effect, mismatches between the preference survey and the selection outcome have occurred repeatedly. At Kochi University in 2008, the dispute went to court, but the ruling confirmed the principle: the preference survey is advisory, and the council decides. The same kind of gap appeared at Niigata University in 2025 and at Kyoto University between January and February 2026. At Kyoto, the third-place preference candidate was chosen unanimously by the council after an interview tied to the Designated National University Excellence program gave high marks to that candidate's strategic vision.

Until now the Ministry of Education had declined to intervene in such cases, citing the law. This time — for the first time — it declared that the explanation was insufficient and asked the University of Tokyo to verify its process. Commentator Eiji Ishida (石田英司) put it this way: in the past, "that's what the law says" was the end of the conversation; now, selection councils are expected to answer for their decisions.

## Financial Investment Income to Affect Medical Costs for Those 75 and Older from 2029

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has decided to incorporate financial income — stock dividends, capital gains, investment trust returns, FX, and cryptocurrency — into the premium and co-payment calculations for the Late-Stage Elderly Medical Care system, which covers people aged 75 and older. The new rules take effect in August 2029.

Co-payments under the current system default to 10%, rising to 20% or 30% for higher earners. The problem has been a structural inequity. About 90% of stock investors use a specific account with withholding tax, in which the broker automatically remits approximately 20.3% in tax. That transaction data stays with the tax office and never reaches municipal governments. By contrast, when someone files a tax return, the same income information is shared with the municipality and factored into their medical cost calculations. Two people earning the same amount and paying the same tax could end up with different co-payment burdens depending solely on whether they used a specific account — a clear unfairness.

From August 2029, specific-account data will flow from the national tax office to municipal governments. Assets in scope include stock dividends, capital gains, investment trusts, FX, and cryptocurrency. NISA is excluded because it is tax-free; interest on bank and postal savings deposits is also excluded. The specific income level above which burdens will increase has not yet been determined. A potential second phase — applying financial income to long-term care insurance premiums for people aged 40 to 74 — is also under consideration.

## The History of Tokyo's 3,000 Rose-Ringed Parakeets

A photograph of green parakeets massing on Tokyo power lines went viral on X, accumulating more than 6.1 million views. The birds are rose-ringed parakeets (ワカケホンセイインコ), native to southern India and Sri Lanka. They were imported to Japan in large numbers during the 1960s pet boom, and birds that escaped went feral and bred successfully in the wild. A colony of roughly 3,000 now lives in Tokyo.

The birds measure about 40 cm from beak to tail — approximately 20 cm of body and 20 cm of tail. Their plumage is yellow-green, their beaks are red, and males display a distinctive ring-shaped marking around the neck. They live roughly 20 years and are skilled mimics, capable of picking up the calls of nearby cats or mechanical sounds from their environment.

Osaka once had a population too, but crow attacks on their eggs drove numbers sharply down, and the birds are rarely seen there today. Tokyo's colony survived because its initial numbers were large enough to absorb the losses. The backdrop for their original arrival is Japan's high-growth era of the late 1960s, when rising living standards generated strong demand for exotic pets.

## Takeaways

- Since the 2004 corporatization of national universities, the presidential selection council — not the faculty preference vote — holds final authority; the Ministry of Education's demand that the University of Tokyo verify its process is an unprecedented intervention.
- Starting August 2029, stock dividends and other financial investment income will be factored into medical costs for those 75 and older, closing the gap between specific-account holders and tax-return filers, while NISA income and bank interest remain excluded.
- Tokyo's colony of roughly 3,000 rose-ringed parakeets traces back to the 1960s pet boom and survived because its initial population was large enough to withstand attrition, unlike Osaka's population, which was largely wiped out by crow predation.