Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology says it's unfortunate that the Self-Defense Forces booth at the Meidai Festival has been canceled. Students' free activities should not be threatened.

Regarding the cancellation of the Self-Defense Forces' booth at Nagoya University's school festival, the Nagoya University Festival, Yohei Matsumoto, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, stated at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on the 19th, ``Students' free activities must not be threatened due to acts or concerns about interfering with safe implementation,'' and expressed his intention to provide necessary advice based on the university's review.

The Self-Defense Forces booth was first invited by members of the executive committee with the hope that ``we would like people to know about our activities such as disaster relief operations.'' The exhibit was to exhibit high-mobility vehicles and introduce disaster prevention knowledge, and was approved by the university and was scheduled to be exhibited on the 13th.

Meanwhile, the staff union, which learned of the exhibit, submitted a statement to the university on the 12th calling for it to be canceled, saying, ``This is a one-sided advertising campaign that conceals the true nature of the Self-Defense Forces as a military organization and instills in students and local residents a sense of coolness and security.'' If this is to be carried out, they have been asked not to allow members to enter the research building. Afterwards, university authorities requested the executive committee to cancel the exhibition, citing ``there is no guarantee that it will be held safely,'' and the decision was made to postpone the exhibition.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Nagoya University explained, ``This decision was made only by the relevant departments without sufficient verification by the university as a whole, and there were governance issues in the process,'' and that they plan to proceed with further verification. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Matsumoto said, ``It is truly unfortunate that a student-led project was canceled due to these circumstances.''

On the 16th, the Ministry of Defense posted on its official Twitter account, ``It is extremely regrettable that despite careful coordination and preparation, it was canceled at the last minute.'' [Asako Takeuchi]