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PART Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture

Scientific research includes a wide range of intellectual creative activities in various scientific disciplines in the fields of humanities, social science and natural science. This research is based on the fundamental intellectual desire of human beings for the pursuit of truth. Scientific studies also play a crucial role in sustaining and enriching the daily life of human beings, through the application and development of the outcome of these studies, and thus provide a foundation for the development of mankind.

In recent years, dramatic changes have been taking place in economic and social circumstances affecting scientific activities, and the public's recognition of the importance of scientific research has been increasing.

To cope with this situation, the Ministry has been carrying out various active measures for promoting scientific research, placing emphasis on the following policies:

The first policy concerns the development of infrastructures for scientific research, by expanding grants-in-aid for scientific research, by improving postdoctoral fellowship programs, by strengthening research institutes, by developing science information systems and by other means.

The second policy is for the promotion of key research areas, which are of great scientific significance, and for which there are acute social demands. Such areas include astronomy, accelerator science, space science, fusion research, life science including cancer research, etc.

The third policy is for the promotion of research cooperation between university and industry, by developing joint research projects between university and industry, by creating joint research centers at universities for facilitating joint projects with industry, and by other means.

The fourth policy is for the promotion of international exchange and cooperation in the field of scientific research, in such forms as the organization of international joint research projects and the exchange of researchers with other countries.