The proposed trilogy of tax and fiscal reforms, aimed at giving more fiscal independence to local governments, is troubled by disputes over whether the state should continue paying for compulsory education. At issue is whether the education ministry or the local autonomies should be responsible.
Japan is unusual among advanced nations in that the central government administers education. I believe the central government should discontinue state support for education and transfer its administrative authority to local autonomies. And there would be no problem if the education ministry were abolished altogether in time.
A brief history of the ministry is in order. After World War II, Japan implemented major administrative reform, eliminating the army and navy ministries and the interior ministry (which used to control police activities). Under orders from the General Headquarters for the Allied Powers, the education ministry, which had fostered nationalism during the war, was forced to restructure.