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2. The Science and Technology Basic Plan (2001-2005) (unofficial version)(decided by the Government of J apan on March 30, 2001)
Chapter 2 Important Policies
2. S&T system reforms
6. Ethics and responsibility to society on S&T


  S&T progress has been significantly affecting human beings and society in various ways. Bioethi cs are a prime example of the seriousness of ethical issues relating to S&T development. Organiza tions/researchers are increasingly faced with the need to address social problems. Given the present climate, the relationship between S&T and society will need to be restructured in the 21st centur y.

(1) Bioethics

  On the one hand, life science developments have widely benefited society by improving disease diagn osis, prevention and treatment. At the same time, some of the new techniques have seemed to threaten human dignity, such as in vitro fertilization followed by embryo transfer, transplantation of organs from brain-dead patients, genetic diagnosis, gene therapy, human cloning, and use of human embryonic stem cells. Reproductive cloning of human beings in particular has caused great concern among the nat ions of the world. In Japan, a law prohibiting reproductive cloning of human beings was adopted in No vember 2000.

  Clearly, modern physicians and researchers should have morals. And the basic human rights of patien ts must be respected through the use of informed consent and enforcement of patients' privacy ri ghts. People are also concerned about such bioethical issues as clinical tests, transplantation, and regeneration of organs. Due to their unprecedented complexity, bioethics issues should be discussed o penly as a problem for all of Japan.

  In the future, S&T especially life sciences and IT will make even greater advances that impact society in new and unexpected ways. It is thus imperative that a social consensus be reached on bioet hical issues, and that this consensus be used to forge ethical rules for life science research. Furth ermore, in light of increasing globalization, it is also important to promote international cooperati on on bioethics. S&T activities on this matter should be directed quite carefully, through discus sion among experts and polls of public opinion in a spirit of complete disclosure.

(2) Ethics of researchers and engineers

  S&T has the potential to seriously impact both individuals and society.

  One example is the current rash of laboratory and manufacturing-site accidents. In order to manage R&D activities properly, researchers and engineers must recognize the import of their S&T act ivities and their responsibility to society.

  R&D activities have generally been conducted under the rules adopted by academic communities. However, as the range of R&D activities continues to increase, and the relationships between R&D activities and society continue to gain in complexity, researchers will need to elevate their ethical standards in regard to dealing with conflicts of interest in S&T, application of R&D results, financial resource allocation, etc. At the same time, researchers and engineers will need to disseminate R&D information to society in order to explain the social impact of their results.Considering the aforementioned, in order to ensure the highest professional ethics in researchers and engineers, academic societies will need to form guidelines on ethics for researchers and engineers, and ethical issues will have to be considered in the evaluation of an engineer's certification. Here again, education for professionals should be provided not only in universities but also in academic societies through various training courses.

(3) Accountability and risk management

  Research organizations and researchers should recognize their responsibility to explain the content s and results of their research. Research organizations should have open exhibitions, open lectures, information disclosure through the Internet and academic societies. Researchers should maintain inter active communications with society. To achieve all of the above, the government will provide training courses to help researchers improve their communication abilities. This will help establish closer r elationships between researchers and laypeople, so that people can more deeply understand S&T and researchers can direct their R&D activities in response to people's opinions.

  Organizations related to S&T should evaluate the potential risks of accidents or crises, conduc t R&D activities so as to minimize potential damage, and cultivate understanding of ethical issue s among their researchers and engineers.


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