Summary

 The Third Science and Technology Basic Plan established in March 2006 holds the principle of developing science and technology measures which will be supported by the public, will benefit society, and will focus on fostering human resources and developing a competitive environment. In order to address issues such as global environmental problems and the changes to society due to the rapid progression in an aging society with fewer children, it will carry out activities evaluated by strategic priority in science and technology, science and technology system reforms, and activities to improve understanding of science and technology. Science and technology is expected to make a contribution to society which is undergoing changes due to the aging trend and fewer children. These contributions will include measures to ensure stable economic growth, and assurance of the health and safety of the citizens for their daily lives.

1.3.1.1 Context and Basic Philosophy

● Formulation of the First and Second Science and Technology Basic Plans and Status of Completion

 In order to achieve the goal of “becoming an advanced science- and technology- oriented nation” the Science and Technology Basic Law was promulgated in November 1995. The following year the First Science and Technology Basic Plan based on the stipulations of the above Act was established for the period from FY1996-2000. During that period government investment in research and development reached over 17 trillion yen. The Second Science and Technology Basic Plan was established for the period from FY2001-2005, with government investment in research and development of over 21 trillion yen. In addition to a focus on four priority fields （life sciences, information and telecommunications, environmental sciences, nanotechnology/materials） for prioritized investment, there was also progress on renewal and upgrades to the science and technology system. As a result, positive results and improvement in the research environment and increase in quality of scientific papers have been seen. Nevertheless, there still remains the issue of the need to increase the independence of young researchers and create a research environment that enables the full utilization of the talents of women （Figure 1-3-1）.

● Basic stances, ideas and goals of the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan

 Under the intensification of science and technology competition in the world, the progression in the aging of society with fewer children, the high expectations of the people regarding the role of science and technology for safety and security issues and global problems like environmental problems, and the decline in interest in science and technology apparent among citizens, the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan enacted in March 2006 adopted two basic stances: “Science and technology to be supported by the public and to benefit society,” and “Emphasis on fostering human resources and competitive research environments─Shift of emphasis from hard to soft such as human resources; greater significance of individuals at institutions.”

 Furthermore, continuing with the three basic ideas from the Second Science and Technology Basic Plan （create human wisdom, maximize national potential, protect nation’s health and security）, six main targets were announced as the concrete policy goals （discovery, and creation of quantum jump in knowledge; breakthroughs in advanced science and technology; economic growth and environmental protection; innovator Japan; good health over life-time; and a nation proud of its safety）. These targets are practical policy goals for the realization of the accountability to people and return of science and technology benefits to society. In addition to implementation of policies to achieve these aims, evaluations of the policy results are also being conducted.

 As the financial state of Japan has become the worst among major developed countries, the promotion of financial restructuring through the integrated reform of expenditure and revenue is crucial. Under these circumstances, there is a need to ensure a ratio of government research and development expenditure to GDP in the period of the third basic plan of at least the same level as the U.S. and major European countries; this is from the viewpoint of continuing the effort of S＆T promotion made during the period of the previous basic plan. To achieve this goal, the total amount of government research and development expenditure needed is estimated at about 25 trillion yen. （This estimation is based on the assumption that governmental research and development investment should be 1% of the GDP, of which the nominal growth rate is 3.1%, during the period of the third basic plan.）

 In light of these circumstances, taking into account societal and economic trends, the needs of science and technology promotion and the financial conditions that have become worse than they were in the period of the second basic plan, effort will be made to secure annual budgets in order to provide the expenditure necessary to promote measures in the basic plan with the assumption that the effects of government research and development investment will be maximized by steadily implementing science and technology system reforms.

Figure 1-3-1 Government R＆D expenditure （on a Budget Basis）

Note：
 Includes the science and technology related expenditures of local governments （FY2005 budget numbers are the initial budget）
Source：
 Created by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

1.3.1.2 Aims of the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan

A summary of the concrete measures mentioned in the Third Basic Plan is presented below.

（1）Strategic priority setting in science and technology

● Promotion of basic research

 Basic research producing diverse wisdom and innovation will be steadily promoted with a certain amount of investment. Basic research consists of research based on the free ideas of researchers aiming to accumulate intellectual achievements including those in human and social sciences in order to generate new knowledge constantly, and research based on policies aimed at developing new understanding for renewal in the economy and society, and for future applications are all being advanced with due consideration to their respective significance. Each of these types of basic research is promoted based on the importance.

● Priority setting in R＆D for policy-oriented subjects

 In the Second Science and Technology Basic Plan there were four fields to be promoted that were given priority for resources allocation. Based on the degree of contribution to the three basic ideas of the plan, there will also be continued priority resource allocation in the “four priority fields to be promoted” based on consideration of the areas of focus within each field in the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan. The “four fields to be promoted” that are fundamental for the nation's existence and need to be addressed by the government include energy, manufacturing technology, social infrastructure, and frontier areas, and resource allocation will be made in an appropriate manner.

 In order to closely investigate the important research and development topics to achieve the policy goals in each field, “field-specific promotion strategies” will be designed, clarifying the relationship with the policy goals and ways to deal with emerging and interdisciplinary fields. For the formulation of the Promotion Strategies, it is necessary to narrow down the research and development topics to receive priority allocation in the budget during the period of the Basic Plan based on a consistent concept. Therefore, the Council for Science and Technology Policy will establish the priorities for the field-specific promotion strategies, selecting “Strategic Prioritized Science and Technology” as the target for focused investment during the period of the Basic Plan from the three viewpoints of the need to rapidly solve social problems such as the threats to safety and security from large-scale natural disaster, the need to overcome international competition in science and technology, and the key technologies that should receive focused investment during the Basic Plan period as large-scale government projects （“Key Technologies of National Importance.”）

（2）Reforming the Science and technology system

● Developing, securing and activating human resources

 To foster the human resources that will play the central role in the future of science and technology in Japan and the strengthening of international competitiveness, an environment will be developed where human resources with diverse talents, including the young, female, foreign and senior researchers can demonstrate their motivation and abilities to the fullest. In addition, through the drastic enhancement of graduate education, the human resources development function of universities will be enhanced, and the human resources that will lead the industry-academia-government collaboration and the returning of the results of research and development to society will be fostered, while consistent and comprehensive measures for human resources development will be taken, right from the elementary and lower secondary education stages through to the level of full-fledged researchers/engineers. In this way, the quality and quantity of human resources will be secured even as society continues to age.

● Creating scientific development and persistent innovation

 In order to realize the social and economic value of the results of research and development through innovation and to find the intellectual and cultural value form scientific progress, there is an aim to effectively utilize resources for science and technology and promote science and technology that returns results to society and the people. To this end, a competitive environment will be developed and university competitiveness will be enhanced, while efforts to strengthen the system for generating innovation will be promoted along with other measures. In order to effectively and efficiently promote research and development, there will be measures to reform the assessment systems and thoroughly eliminate waste in the allocation of research funds, as well as measures to resolve the institutional and operational bottlenecks impeding smooth operation and regulation of science and technology activities and a return of results to society.

● Reinforcing the foundation for promoting science and technology

 In order to develop and train talented personnel and promote creative, cutting-edge research and development, progress will be made on the preparation of equipment and facilities of universities and public research institutes that form the foundation for research and development activities. Besides, to achieve results of the highest level in the world, promotion of the preparation and shared use of large, state-of-the-art research facilities will be needed. Furthermore, in order to return the innovative, ground-breaking research and development results to society and the public, promotion of measures related to the creation, protection and use of intellectual property will be carried out.

● Strategically promoting international activities

 For strategic promotion of international science and technology activities, science and technology alliances with other Asian nations will be strengthened, in addition to the promotion of collaborative research and formation of multi-layered networks within bilateral and multilateral frameworks. Besides, the environment to enhance international activities will continue to be developed in order to promote the welcoming of talented foreign researchers.

（3）Science and technology to be supported by society and the public

 In order to further develop science and technology activities in the future, it is crucial to obtain the widespread support of society and the public. To achieve this, the following measures will be taken to assign the roles to each of the various levels, in the research community, research agencies and individual researchers, and obtain the confidence of society and the public.

 Science and technology also has a large influence on social areas like law and ethics, including the ethical questions about clone technology with regard to humans, and the question of misconduct in research, such as falsification of experimental data, which damages the reputation of all those associated with science and technology, and destroys confidence in science and technology itself. In light of this, in addition to encouraging the establishment of rules to be followed by those associated with science and technology, there will also be support of measures to rationalize risk management for the return of science and technology results to society.

 In addition to return the fruits of science and technology to the people, research institutes and researchers have a basic responsibility to publicize the research activities as much as possible and to explain the content and results in an understandable way to society. In order to enable researchers to understand peoples’ needs, dialogue between researchers and the public will be promoted. In addition, to promote interest in science and technology among the public, there should be an improvement in education in math and science in primary and secondary education levels, and widespread distribution of easy-to-understand documents on knowledge, techniques, and viewpoints related to science and technology in order to increase the understanding and ability of adults regarding science and technology. Furthermore, there will also be efforts to develop museums and science centers to expand the opportunities for the public to have contact with science and technology from childhood through old age.

（4）Dealing with a declining population and an aging society with fewer children

 The Third Basic Plan indicates that, while a declining population and an aging society with fewer children give rise to not only economic problems, but also various new social problems including health issues and the social security burden on citizens, science and technology is sought to make some contribution to the significantly changing society as the aging of society progresses and the number of children continues to decline, based on the need to continuously improve productivity in order to achieve stable economic growth and the spiritual well-being strongly desired by the public as well as a sense of security and stability in daily life.

 It implies the importance to maintain and promote science and technology as a source of power for the country in order to sustain development and overcome population declines and an aging society with fewer children. The goals put forward in the plan are to overcome diseases afflicting the public, from children to the elderly, and to achieve a society in which everyone can stay healthy. By achieving this goal, science and technology will make a greater contribution to the people, society and the world.

1.3.2 Japan and Science and Technology in the Future

Summary

 Although the economy in Japan shows signs of a sustained growth process, there are still many problems to be overcome, such as the worry of a shrinking work force due to declining population, and the progression of an aging society with fewer children, intensified international competition, and global problems such as the possibility of large-scale natural disasters, terrorism, and environmental problems.

 Japan will be the first developed nation to pursue solutions to the problems from a declining population and an aging society with fewer children. Science and technology is expected to make a large contribution to the goal of becoming a problem-solving nation, through the realization of a vigorous, abundant society.

1.3.2.1 Science and Technology as a Source of Vitality

 Although the Japanese economy has shown signs to shift to a sustainable growth process, there are many problems that Japan needs to handle, including the rapid aging of society and decline in the number of children, the fear of a shrinking labor force, intensifying international competition, large-scale natural disasters, terrorism and global problems like environmental problems. To solve these problems, there are greater and greater expectations placed on science and technology. Indeed, many of the issues that society faces are those that should be addressed by approaches other than science and technology, such as improving the social system, but there are also problems that can only be resolved by introducing new science and technology innovations that go beyond the level of the existing technology. The scope of such societal issues is widening further with the expanding needs of people and society. Science and technology is expected to contribute to realizing a society in which people can act freely and comfortably, bringing economic benefits through innovation, and building a social environment in which people can enjoy spiritual and material ease.

 What will science and technology bring forth in the future? According to the survey “Comprehensive Analysis of Science and Technology Bench-marking and Foresight” （May 2005）, regarding the development trends at science and technology by the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, the importance of technology regarding safety and security is increasing, and the fusion of fields and interdisciplinary research should be promoted in many fields, starting with life sciences. This is expected to result in improvements in medicine and daily life through a safer and more convenient society.

 To build a society desired by the people, it is not sufficient to simply improve safety and convenience through science and technology; there must also be social systems and mechanisms prepared to deal with the changes. Science and technology alone cannot provide the solutions to all problems, but through a shared understanding of the issues, and solutions to each of the problems that can be addressed, science and technology will be a force that provides enormous benefits to the society of man, and can be a source of social, economic and cultural vitality for the nation.

1.3.2.2 Becoming a Problem-solving Leader

 As the historical products of the 20th century, mankind now faces various global problems in the 21st century. In the midst of this, Japan is also the first among developed nations to face a rapidly declining population and the progression of an aging society with fewer children. In order to become a country of significance in the world, Japan needs to become a nation that can contribute to the settlement of those problems and actively propose solutions to create a sustainable society.

 Science and technology is one of effective means for Japan to overcome these problems and to make a contribution to the rest of the world. Japan has become one of the earliest developed countries in the world to be forced to resolve the problems of a declining population and an aging society with fewer children.

 By achieving an abundant and vigorous society even with an aging society with fewer children, Japan should show the world effective solutions and aim to be a leading problem-solver for the world, and in this area science and technology is expected to make a large contribution.