chapter 6. 



possible future directions 



As Japan's leaders look to the next 

 century, they have identified areas 

 of change for Japanese S/T efforts. 

 These areas are characterized by three 

 major policy themes involving (1) a 

 shift in research focus to more fun- 

 damental scientific research, (2) a re- 

 form of some of the more 

 constraining aspects of the Japanese 

 S/T system, and (3) greater partici- 

 pation within the international sci- 

 entific community. 



shifts in focus 



Perhaps the most important state- 

 ment concerning the need for change 

 is the Eleventh Recommendation by 

 the Council for Science and Tech- 

 nology, which reflects a growing 

 consensus sentiment in Japan that 

 the nation must become more self- 

 reliant in the production of science 

 and technology. This recommen- 

 dation acknowledges Japan's use of 

 foreign technology, but cautions: 



Japan will no longer have any 

 model in the world to lead her fu- 

 ture. Therefore, it is absolutely 

 necessary for Japan to make ef- 

 forts, trials, and even errors. That 



means Japan will have no way to 

 ensure the development of the na- 

 tion, without plentiful stocks of 

 fundamental basic research activ- 

 ities. 5° 



The recommendation goes on to 

 stress the importance of "promoting 

 creativeness in science and technol- 

 ogy" by placing greater emphasis on 

 fundamental research and strength- 

 ening interaction with scientists from 

 other nations. 



A second major concern of the 

 Council's recommendation is to pro- 

 mote new fields of scientific and 

 technological inquiry. Altogether, 103 

 S/T fields are given high priority: 33 

 in fundamental and leading science 

 and technology, 33 concerning sci- 

 ence and technology for economic 

 development, and 37 concerning 

 science and technology for improv- 

 ing the quality of society and life. 



^Council for Science and Technology, Compre- 

 hensive Fundamental Policy for Promotion of Science and 

 Technology to Focus Current Changing Situations from 

 the Long-Term Vieio: Recommendation on the 11th In- 

 quiry (Tokyo, Japan, November 1984). 



The recommendation places great- 

 est stress on the first group, but — 

 since the areas covered by the report 

 are so comprehensive and interde- 

 pendent — it is difficult to judge which 

 specific needs will actually receive 

 the highest funding priority. 



Other sources do provide addi- 

 tional indicators of short-term prior- 

 ities, however. Concerning basic 

 research, the best resource is the list 

 of topics supported by the Ministry 

 of Education, Science, and Culture 

 (Monbusho) under the Specially 

 Promoted Distinguished Research 

 Program. (See appendix D.) These 

 topics have received exceptionally 

 careful competitive review and rep- 

 resent the highest quality and most 

 advanced Japanese basic research. 

 They are skewed towards biological 

 medicine and biology, physics, and 

 electrical engineering. 



Another source for determining 

 future Japanese S/T directions is the 

 list of research areas considered most 

 important by the panelists of the 1986 

 Delphi Survey. The panelists, con- 

 sisting of some 2,500 individuals in 

 positions of research leadership from 

 all research sectors, rated research 

 areas in terms of their importance. 



39 



