Recommendations for the 7th Basic Plan at Cabinet Office Expert Committee meeting

While the 7th Science, Technology and Innovation Basic Plan calls for global strategies including international cooperation, Japan must first strengthen its domestic capabilities as a prerequisite. Various proposals were presented at the 6th meeting of the Cabinet Office's Expert Committee on Basic Plans, held on May 22nd, including support not only for doctoral students but also for postdoctoral researchers, increased funding for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) and subsidies for operating costs, and establishing environments where researchers can concentrate on their research. Attention is being focused on the extent to which these proposals will be incorporated into the basic plan toward the summer interim summary.

During the committee meeting, a variety of questions were raised as discussion points. How will we promote international collaboration and cooperation in advanced science and technology fields such as AI and quantum? What bottlenecks stand in the way of progress in international joint research? Should we actively involve ourselves in rulemaking for international standardization? What needs to happen to encourage international brain circulation? What approaches should we take for different countries and regions to strategically promote STI policies? How should we utilize overseas diplomatic missions and science and technology attachés for science and technology diplomacy? And what efforts are needed to clarify the positions and roles of National Research and Development Agencies and strengthen their functions?

Professor Hirohide Saito from the Institute for Quantitative Biosciences at the University of Tokyo proposed four priority measures for Japan to take the initiative in international science and technology competition. "First is investment in Japanese-style innovation. With the intensifying competition for supremacy in advanced technologies, Japan cannot win by simply pursuing specific fields like AI and quantum. Japan traditionally has strong, persistent basic research. We should concentrate resources on original applied research stemming from that foundation. Second is creating core programs to attract global talent. The EU invests 95 billion euros in Horizon Europe to gather researchers from around the world. Japan should also establish similar-scale acceptance frameworks and build safe and secure research environments. Third is recovering researchers' funding and time. We should increase basic research funding and subsidies for operating costs, consolidate grants and calls for proposals to take place 1-2 times per year to clearly separate periods focused on applications from periods focused on research, and create one-stop support for international conferences and joint research so researchers can concentrate on research activities. Research funding should be fundamentally increased amid rising APC (article processing charges). Fourth is expanding the research base and elevating regional core universities. We should honestly acknowledge the negative impact of reduced subsidies for operating costs, strengthen support for regional universities, and connect unique regional research to the world. These need to be advanced in an integrated manner."

Jun Suzuki, member of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation and Senior Advisor at Teijin Limited emphasized that the greatest point is supporting young researchers while introducing recommendations from the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) and proposed specific measures. "There are about 7,000 doctoral students each year, from whom about 1,500 postdocs emerge. What we're focusing on is the doctoral course and the approximately 10 years of postdoctoral research after obtaining a doctorate. Researchers in their late 20s to 30s are at their most productive. It's unthinkable for these people to work part-time jobs while conducting research. I understand there's progress on providing doctoral students with scholarships of about 2.4 million yen plus an additional 500,000 yen, but quite a few students give up on becoming postdocs because they can't see a future. We should provide about 4-4.8 million yen, which is the salary level when master's graduates become civil servants. With about 15,000 postdocs over 10 years, providing the same level of funding would amount to about 100 billion yen annually. I believe this is a necessary budget for future human resource development and building Japan's science and technology foundation. Of course, we also recommend that companies improve treatment when hiring doctoral graduates and strengthen donations to academia." Many meeting participants agreed with this proposal.

Hideo Ohno, Special Advisor to the President of Tohoku University, reported on the outcomes of the study group on the role of National Research and Development Agencies, which he chairs. He reported that while these agencies are key to promoting science, technology and innovation, they are also expected to play important roles from an economic security perspective. Therefore, he proposed mission redefinition, examination of mechanisms to maximize the value of agencies and strengthening cooperation with universities through measures such as establishing satellites within universities.

Professor Makiko Takahashi from the Graduate School of Innovation Management at Kanazawa Institute of Technology pointed out that "in corporation evaluation at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, we are demanding too many different roles from National Research and Development Agencies despite their diversity," and noted that "unless we position activities within agencies as having value, they may not be able to fulfill their original purposes."

Professor Takayuki Hayashi from the School of Public Policy at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) stated: "The evaluation system for National Research and Development Agencies should be reviewed. Because various missions coexist within a single agency, they cannot be properly assessed in evaluations. We need to create a structure that evaluates these agencies by mission. Each agency should also have intelligence functions to make recommendations to the government. Furthermore, it might be good to add funding functions."

"Strategy and Emergence" are Important

In the meeting, recommendations from Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation) were also introduced. The most impressive point was the observation that innovation has high uncertainty, and "strategy and emergence" rather than "selection and concentration" are important. Various policies have been implemented over the 30 years through the 6th period, but in many cases, the policy framework has been distorted due to pressure from fiscal arguments of "selection and concentration." Whether this way of thinking can be changed in the 7th period, and whether bold policies like those proposed this time can be incorporated, will be important points for improving Japan's research capabilities in the future.