Asahi Shimbun “National University’s Scream” Reporting Team 2024.11.28 7:30 Toilets can’t be renovated! “Western-style waiting traffic jam” occurs at Kanazawa University In June 2024, Kyosuke Nagata (President of the University of Tsukuba), chairman of the National University Association, which consists of 86 national universities nationwide, held a hasty press conference and made an unusual statement. He explained that the finances of national universities are in a critical situation due to cuts in government operating subsidies, which are used to cover the salaries of faculty and staff and research expenses, combined with rising utility costs and prices in recent years. He appealed to the public to “support an increase in operating subsidies.” Although the amount has been reduced since they were incorporated in 2004, national universities as a whole still receive more than 1 trillion yen in operating grants. But why are there such cries? What is happening now at national universities, which are now in a critical financial situation? We want to increase the number of toilets that each and every student at Kanazawa University can use with peace of mind. In the fall of 2011, Kanazawa University conducted a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to renovate toilets on campus. It has been more than 30 years since the university moved from the center of Kanazawa to its current location in the mountains on the outskirts of the city. At the time, there were approximately 300 toilets that were due for renovation all at once. Don’t think it’s just a toilet. This is a particularly non-negotiable issue for female students, whose numbers have increased dramatically over the past 30 years. The university has many Japanese-style toilets, but these are avoided, resulting in “traffic jams waiting for Western-style toilets.” Complaints such as “I can’t go to the toilet during breaks” were also received, and the situation had become one that the university could no longer ignore. However, as the Ukraine crisis continued and the coronavirus pandemic emerged, electricity bills and other prices began to soar. With operating subsidies being cut, it would take a long time to carry out small-scale renovations using only limited self-funding. The school decided to collect donations from both inside and outside the school and bring forward renovations such as converting the toilets to Western-style toilets and repainting the floors. The target amount is 3 million yen. It was impossible to know whether donations would actually be collected until the results were announced, but in just two months, 3.55 million yen was raised. The results were better than the university had expected. On the other hand, when it comes to Kanazawa University, considering its size and research results, it can be called a “leading regional university.” There were many shocked comments on the internet, such as, “How little money do you have?” Similar, somewhat heartbreaking cases are now occurring all over national universities. In a survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun in January and February 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the incorporation of national universities, university presidents and faculty and staff from across the country complained that “lack of budgets is having a negative impact on students’ educational and research environment.” Even for those of us who regularly report on these situations, we received many comments describing specific plights that surprised us, making us wonder, “Is it really that bad?” Staff from another university also complained about the dire situation regarding toilets. “We can no longer spend money on equipment, and we can’t even repair leaking toilets.” It’s unbearable to imagine faculty members devoted to cutting-edge research and students studying hard with an eye to the future using toilets that leak. Nowadays, Japanese-style toilets are rarely seen in stores or homes. However, when you visit national universities, you will often see them still in use. When the reporter visited Osaka University’s Faculty of Engineering in 2011 to cover the Society for University Education, he used several toilets in one building, but all of the private rooms were Japanese-style. Most national universities believe that the development of education and research requires the interaction of diverse human resources. In response to requests from industry and other sectors that want to secure diverse and talented human resources, the government is also working hard to increase the number of female students, particularly in engineering faculties. For this reason, in recent years, an increasing number of national universities have been trying various measures to increase the number of female students, such as creating a “women’s quota” for entrance exams open only to women and holding information sessions aimed only at female junior and senior high school students. It goes without saying that the content of education and research, as well as the entrance examination format, are important. However, students will spend just four years at undergraduate level, and if they go on to a doctoral program in graduate school, they will spend nearly ten years attending university. The campus environment, where women spend a lot of time, is also an important factor in enabling them to study comfortably and continue their research. A university that once had a strong image of being rebellious made clean toilets one of its selling points when it renovated its campus. This is because it is a great way to demonstrate a positive attitude towards women. Meiji University has now become known as an extremely popular university among female high school students. ■See the quote below.
>>9 That’s true, and the squatting style (also known as Yankee sitting) also strengthens the lower back. This is just right because Japanese people have become too weak.
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