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Grants-in-aid for scientific research are research grants provided with the aim of encouraging significant growth in pioneering scientific research in all fields. Such grants provide basic funds for the promotion of science and have made an important contribution to the advancement of scientific research, including the training of able researchers and the exploration of new fields of research. Grants-in-aid have also encouraged countless original contributions to knowledge.

Achievements in recent years include scientific advances, such as the synthesis of atoms, including antimatter; new discoveries about limb formation mechanisms in vertebrates; analyses of global environmental problems; and contributions to other fields that have major social relevance, such as efforts to overcome cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and other diseases that are incurable at present.

To facilitate the provision of grants-in-aid to meet the diverse needs of researchers, a number of application categories have been established according to the objectives and characteristics of research ( Table II.6.3). Grants are allocated on the basis of deliberations by the Science Council.

The fiscal 1994 budget for grants-in-aid for scientific research was 82.4 billion yen, an increase of 8.8 billion yen (12.0%) over the previous fiscal year. The number of applications increased by approximately 4,000, to 80,000, and the number of approvals was approximately 3,000 higher, at 29,000 ( Figure II.6.2). Approximately 72,000 of the applications were new, and the approval ratio for new applications increased from 27.4% in fiscal 1993 to 28.6% in fiscal 1994. The ratio of funds provided to funds sought was 74.0% (74.5% in fiscal 1993).