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  The First Basic Plan was adopted by the government in July 1996, covering a five-year period from F Y 1996 to 2000. The primary principle of the plan was to concurrently promote R&D to meet social and economic needs, and basic research to create human intellectual assets. To put this principle int o practice, the plan endorsed policies to structure new R&D systems, realize desirable R&D ba ses, promote education on S&T, and form a national consensus on S&T. Governmental expenditure on R&D under the plan was initially set at an estimated 17 trillion yen for the five-year period , while necessary budget to implement the plan was to be secured in annual negotiation, taking into c onsideration the severe fiscal situation.

  Following is a summary of the achievements of the policies implemented during the period of the Fir st Basic Plan, as well as the remaining problems.

  To provide competitive and flexible R&D environments, the government nearly doubled funds for p roposal-competition-based research (hereinafter referred to as "competitive research funds" ), and substantially increased funds for young researchers.

  The plan to support a targeted 10,000 young researchers, especially post-doctoral fellows, was nume rically achieved in the fourth year. While this enriched the crop of young researchers and activated R&D fields, it failed to reconcile several problems, including the flawed relationship between yo ung researchers and research advisors, and for some, difficulty in finding jobs after the post-doctor al period. Though mobility of human resources was not improved to the desired extent, there were cons tructive system innovations, such as fixed-term appointment and a relaxation of the restrictions on t he side employment of civil servants for industry-academia-government collaboration.

  With regard to R&D evaluation, the prime minister endorsed a set of "National Guidelines o n the Method of Evaluation for Governmental R&D" in August 1997, and a system for the earnes t evaluation of research institutes and research themes was introduced. Though there were several imp rovements in research evaluations, for example, the introduction of a system requiring universities t o conduct self-evaluations, overall there was not adequate consideration of the transparency of the e valuation process and optimal ways to reflect evaluations in resource allocation and personnel change s. To upgrade effectiveness of R&D evaluation, the methods for evaluation and publication of resu lts will have to be promptly improved.

  To encourage industry-academia-government collaboration, national research institutes were restruct ured to facilitate the application and commercialization of R&D results, and reforms were made in several systems, including the system for the adoption of research sponsored by private companies to national institutes, and the system for patent rights for research results produced by such sponsors hip. As a consequence, the numbers of patent applications by national research institutes and public- private joint research bodies have been increasing steadily, and technology licensing organizations t o connect these patents with industry have become active all around Japan. Further, a law was revised to promote joint-research facilities in national universities.

  However, research facilities and the number of research assistants have not been improved sufficien tly. In spite of an expenditure of over 1 trillion yen in five years, national universities are conge sted and their facilities continue to fall into disrepair. The source of the problem lies partly in t he rapid increase in the number of graduate students. The number of research assistants at national i nstitutes increased slightly over the five year period of the First Basic Plan. While the number of r esearch assistants at the national universities fell over the same period, conditions of research pro jects were supplemented with graduate students' participation.

  The First Basic Plan did not clearly specify priorities among S&T related goals. Therefore, the second basic plan is expected to clearly specify R&D goals that relate to national and social pr oblems, and to set forth a strategy and priorities regarding those goals.

  The total budget for government R&D expenditure exceeded the 17 trillion yen initially estimate d for FY 1996-2000, despite the government's severe fiscal constraints.

  Although it is quite difficult to fully evaluate the effect of such expenditure at this stage, when only four years in the five-year period have actually passed, the policies under the First Basic Pla n are thought to have activated R&D fields. During this period, Dr. Hideki Shirakawa was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry for his creative scientific achievements with conductive polymers. Moreove r, the number of papers written by Japanese scientists and published in the world's highest-leve l science periodicals has been increasing. In basic sciences, as well as in newly developing fields, Japanese researchers have obtained the highest-level results in the world. Of special note are the e lucidation of the so-called suicide mechanism of cancerous cells, and the findings on the origin of s ubstances through world's first detection of a neutrino event by the Super-Kamiokande detector.

  In line with the increase in R&D expenditure, various research institutions are now being encou raged to conduct higher-quality R&D more effectively and more efficiently than in the past, as we ll as to cooperate more closely, more appropriately allocating responsibilities amongst themselves.

  In light of these achievements, further reforms called for during the period of the First Basic Pla n should be pursued in the future, and the problems that emerged during the period should be appropri ately addressed.