OIST Faculty and Staff Association Founded

The following statement was supplied to the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo on 29 November and was reported by both papers.

Tancha, Onna-son

Kunigami-gun Okinawa-ken

29 November, 2018

All major Japanese Universities have labor unions, and now OIST does also. We took this step in order to address collective issues and problems at OIST for which there is currently no effective solution. We will work with other organizations, including the University of the Ryukyus and Rengo Okinawa, and we will learn from them.

We would like to work with the OIST administration to resolve problems, but we believe that OIST’s greatest asset is its people. OFSA is an independent organization dedicated to the welfare of OIST’s employees and their families and to upholding Japanese law. If we are to achieve OIST’s scientific and educational objectives, OIST must also be a world-class university in terms of ethics, as well as science.

The OIST Faculty and Staff Association can be reached at: OIST.FSA@protonmail.com. A membership application form is available on the OFSA website:

Steven D. Aird, Chair Executive Committee, OIST FSA

Article that appeared in the Okinawa Times on 30 November, 2018.

Article that appeared in the Ryukyu Shimpo on 30 November, 2018.