At this time, I would like to offer an explanation concerning the Act for Establishment of the National Language Research Institute submitted by the government.

Given the current state of the national language in our country, improvements will have a tremendous impact not only on education but also on people's lives as a whole, and it is no exaggeration to say that solving this problem is a fundamental requirement for rebuilding our country.

However, solutions to the fundamental problems absolutely require the establishment of a large-scale research organization to conduct scientific and comprehensive research on the national language and on public language life as a whole.

In other words, since the serious problems of the national language are intimately connected to the nation and its people, fundamental solutions must be based on the scientific research results produced by such a research organization.

Indeed, the establishment of a national institute for national language research has been a matter of concern among visionaries since the Meiji period. After the end of the war, the Lower House and the Upper House accepted a petition for the establishment of a national language research institute and voted in favor of it in the first Diet. Subsequently, strong support for the establishment of the institute came from various quarters, including a proposal from the National Language Council and a recommendation from the United States Education Mission.

The government has also conducted various studies on its establishment but has not as yet achieved the goal. Now, however, the petition has been accepted in the Diet, and the decision has been made to push forward with preparations immediately.

When the bill was drawn up, a Committee for the Establishment of the National Language Research Institute was created, and opinions from academic circles and authorities in other related fields were carefully considered.

At this point, I would like to give an outline of the bill.

Firstly, it specifies that the National Language Research Institute is an organization for conducting scientific research on the national language and public language life, and that the research is to be conducted freely by the Institute using scientific methods.

Secondly, it specifies that the Institute's responsibilities are to conduct wide-ranging research on public language life as a whole and to provide basic materials for planning national language policy and improving public language life.

Thirdly, a Council will be created to manage the Institute so that its research activities are not isolated from educational circles, academic circles, and other sectors of society, and so that the Institute benefits from sound, democratic management.

Establishing this Institute and developing its research activities will greatly contribute to the cultural development of our country.

I ask you to kindly recognize the necessity of this bill and, after sufficient discussion, to vote in favor.