Statements made on a social media platform by Project Associate Professor Shohei Osawa on December 12th 2019 contain misunderstandings about an endowed program in the Interfaculty Initiative of Information Studies (III) at the University of Tokyo. I would like to take this opportunity to present the III’s official view on this matter.

Speaking on behalf of the III, it is my understanding that the inappropriate statements previously posted by Assoc. Prof. Osawa are the reason for the decision by a number of companies to suspend their funding of the endowed program. I have already expressed the view that these statements by Assoc. Prof. Osawa contravene the ideals of the University of Tokyo Charter and amount to unacceptable discrimination from the point of view of the III’s own principles(*1).

Based on the University of Tokyo Guidelines on Endowed Program(*2), an endowed program at the University of Tokyo is “a program established in an organization of the university, such as a faculty or graduate school, whose basic expenses are provided by funds from a donation by an individual or group”. The establishment and operation of endowed programs “has the aim of promoting and fulfilling education and research at this university and shall be conducted with regard to the changing academic needs of society and other conditions, while promoting flexibility, internationalism, interdisciplinarity, and openness in the structures of education and research.” Accordingly, the National University Corporation of the University of Tokyo is the recipient of all funding provided for the establishment of endowed programs at this university. Such funding is not provided to any specific individual. Furthermore, the activities of the endowed program in the III are unrelated to the business operations of Daisy Co., Ltd.

In view of the above, I have instructed Project Assoc. Prof. Osawa to delete the relevant tweets and post a correction.

December 13th, 2019

Noboru Koshizuka, Dean
Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies

*1) A message for students about inappropriate writings by a part-time project faculty of III/GSII

*2) 東京大学寄付講座等要項 (Tokyo Daigaku Kifu Kozato Yoko – The University of Tokyo Guidelines on Endowed Programs)
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/gen01/reiki_int/reiki_honbun/au07403811.html