PART II Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture
Chapter 6. Promoting Scientific Research
Section 2. Supporting Scientific Research Through Research Funds and Facility Improvement
3. Improving the Research Environment: Enhancement of Research Equipment
Progress in scientific research is generating a growing need for high-performance research equipment. More and more research is being carried out in fields in which the performance and precision of research equipment can influence the research results. In addition, the growing scale of research and the development of interdisciplinary fields has been paralleled by increases in the sophistication, diversity, and cost of research equipment.
Various organizations, including the Science Council of Japan, have expressed concern about the decline of research infrastructure in Japanese universities and other institutions, and in particular about the aging and deterioration of research equipment. In fiscal 1994 the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture responded to reports from the Science Council and other organizations by increasing expenditure on research equipment for priority themes, which provides funds to provide an improved and more advanced research environment in national universities and other institutions. The Ministry also increased its expenditure on advanced research equipment in order to provide funds for research leading to the exploration and development of new fields.
