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  The facilities at national universities,etc.,are centers of activity for original and leading scientific research,and for the development of richly creative human resources,and constitute an essential foundation for a Japan that aims to become a creative science and technology nation.

  In the Second Science and Technology Basic Plan adopted by the Cabinet in March2001,improvement of obsolescent and increasingly cramped facilities at universities and colleges is positioned as being of supreme importance for developing the foundations for promotion of science and technology.In addition,the Basic Plan called for development of facilities at national universities,etc.,within the period of the plan,stating that"in view of the need to eliminate cramped conditions at graduate schools,to develop research centers boasting superior education and research performance,and to revitalize existing facilities,a facilities redevelopment plan incur-porating all facilities in urgent need of redevelopment shall be adopted for the next five-year period,and shall be implemented as planned."

  In this regard,the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science,and Technology adopted the"Five-Year Plan for Urgent Redevelopment of Facilities at National Universities,etc."on April18,2001in order to secure world-class achievements in education and research,and is currently engaged in the prioritized and planned redevelopment of facilities in accordance with the five-year plan.

  A summary of the"Five-Year Plan for Urgent Redevelopment of Facilities at National Universities,etc."is shown in Figure3-3-26 .

  For research facilities at national universities,etc.,the Ministry is working on efforts such as the expansion of cutting edge research facilities that are necessary for the implementation of research that spurs development and growth in new fields of research.

  In support of the development of research facilities and equipment at private universities,the Ministry subsidizes expenditures necessary for large-scale education and research tools,educational equipment,on-campus LAN systems,and IT environments with computers and other equipment in order to promote the advancement of academic research and information processing education. In particular,the Ministry is prioritizing assistance for unique education and research projects,such as the"Program for Promoting Advancement of Academic Research at Private Universities,"which offers comprehensive support with research facilities,equipment,and funds for top-level research projects undertaken at private universities.

Figure3-3-26Five-Year Plan for Urgent Redevelopment of Facilities at National Universities,Etc.

  As facilities and equipment which form the infrastructure for research activities are upgraded and expanded,the development of these facilities and equipment has not only become necessary for the promotion of efficient research,but also has had major effects on affecting the actual results of R&D.The national government is working to maintain and enhance research and development facilities at national research institutes,etc.,focusing on priority research topics.In FY1998,the national government issued the supplementary budget to provide funds necessary for the development of research facilities at national research institutes,etc.,which are too old or require upgrading.

  As for the upgrade of the facilities and equipment,the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology has been promoting the plan to upgrade the world's highest-performance large-scale synchrotron radiation facility,SPring-8,as one of its measures.

  As far as the contract beamlines are concerned,in addition to the seven beamlines(Hyogo Prefecture,Institute for Protein Research at Osaka University,the Research Center for Nuclear Physics at Osaka University,National Institute for Inorganic Materials,and Asia and Pacific Council for Science and Technology,located in Taiwan,have one beamline each,and Industrial Consortium has two)that were already operational were joined by two new beam-lines(one by Protein Structure Analysis Consortium,and the other by Asia and Pacific Council for Science and Technology,located in Taiwan)be-came operational in FY2002,giving a total of nine beamlines currently in operation.

  Similar plans on large-scale synchrotron radiation facilities have been pursued in Europe and the United States.Europe started the public use of the facility in1994and the U.S.started in1996respectively,as shown in Table3-3-27 .

Table3-3-27Large-scale synchrotron radiation facilities in the world

  Additionally,the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology is promoting efforts such as the development of the"E-Defense"3-D Full Scale Earthquake Testing Facility,which aims to dramatically reduce earthquake damage through improvement of the earthquake-resistant structures.

  The FY2002 budget for remedying obsolescent and cramped facilities at independent administrative institutions was94billion yen,and the percentage of facilities requiring repairs or improvements was15.7%.In addition,the percentage of facilities(valued at10million yen or more)at independent administrative institutions deemed obsolescent was8.4%.