Impact Objectives• Explore decision-making issues regarding the social
implementation of technologies that intervene in ‘life’ andthe ‘environment’• Comprehensive research on methods, ethics and policies
to help promote integrated research in the humanities andsocial sciences

Caution before
implementation
Professor Tsuyoshi Matsuda is collaborating with Professor Naoto Chantani, Associate Professor Mao Naka
and Associate Professor Takuya Niikawa to undertake extensive research regarding philosophy and applied
ethics. He talks about a new English book he co-edited which delves into this complex subject

Professor TsuyoshiMatsudaProfessor Naoto
Chantani

What inspired you to become involved in thisfield?
I have been teaching and researchingenvironmental ethics for nearly 30 years.
Over that time, I have come to realise
the importance of collaboration between
international scholars and citizens to address
issues such as wetland conservation,asbestos hazards and energy ethics,
especially following the Fukushima nuclear
accident.
You are based at the Organisation for
Advanced and Integrated Research, Kobe
University. What type of work is underway
here?
The Meta-Science and Technology projectis one of the main investigations within
the Organisation which is part of the fieldof Humanities and Social Science at Kobe
University in Japan. It was launched andstarted by volunteer faculty membersof the Graduate School of Humanities,
Graduate School of Law, Graduate Schoolof Economics, Graduate School of Human
Development and Environmental Studies,

Associate Professor Mao
Naka

Associate Professor
Takuya Niikawa

and the Graduate School of International
Cultural Studies. Its focus is ‘life’ and‘environment’. While individuals areconducting the research, researchers frominside and outside of the country are also
hired and invited to have joint discussions atthe Meta-Science and Technology Workshop.
We are also engaged with investigating
participation in environmental technologies
and promoting responsible scientificresearch and innovation. We plan to present
the results of our research in education anddisseminate these in Japanese as well.
Collaboration is an important part of yourwork. Can you talk a little about some of thecollaborators you work closely with?
I am working closely with a number of
researchers from the Graduate School of
Humanities, Department of Human Cultural
Studies at Kobe University. Professor Naoto
Chantani is focusing on the principle ofautonomy regarding modern medicine,including euthanasia, Associate Professor
Mao Naka is conducting theoreticaland practical research on reproduction

centered on gender and body and Associate
Professor Takuya Niikawa is undertaking aphilosophical study of consciousness, aswell as conducting research on experimental
phenomenology and psychology incollaboration with scientists andinvestigating ethical issues surrounding brainorganoid. These are three of my colleagues
from the Graduate School of Humanities
who have been part of the project innovative
ethics since 2007.
You have a new book being published bySpringer later this year. What value willreaders gain from the information in thisbook?
The book discusses decision-making issues
regarding the social implementation oftechnologies that intervene in ‘life’ and the‘environment’. It begins with a fundamental
consideration of the ethics and philosophyof science and public policy, as well as
providing concrete examples of reproductive
medicine, environmental technologies andurgent issues. The latest results from ourresearch have been integrated and presented,
including the introduction and elucidation ofproblems such as genome editing, climate
variability, geoengineering and a historicaland reflective inquiry based on science andtechnology within society. Ultimately, I think
it will be a reference for promoters of similar
integrated research, research in related
fields and young researchers looking forinspiration.
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Considering the ethicalimplications of innovations
A team based within the Organisation for Advanced and Integrated Research at Kobe University inJapan is involved in comprehensive research on methods, ethics and policies

Professor Tsuyoshi Matsuda, who is theVice Dean of the Organization for Advanceand Integrated Research and a Professor atthe Graduate School of Humanities, KobeUniversity, has an extensive career studyingphilosophy and environmental ethics.
Matsuda has established the Meta Scienceand Technology Research Project (MST)
to look at many of the risks associatedwith new technologies. In his role at Kobe
University he is leading a team that isdedicated to conducting comprehensive
research on methods, ethics and policy,
with a view to inspiring the next generationof scientists to find the correct answers tosome of the world’s biggest problems.
THE PRECAUTIONARY ATTITUDE
Matsuda has almost 30 years’ experiencein the field of environmental ethics andhis research often adopts a philosophicalapproach. He takes an epistemologicalposition, which asks questions regardingknowledge and what it is we can (andcannot) know. ‘Over the years I have
performed research on environmental risk
theory as well as the risks and regulations of
new technologies,’ explains Matsuda. ‘The
findings have been, and will be, variously
published and are concerned with risk
and how it is related to the precautionary
attitude.’
The precautionary attitude Matsuda refers
to is one regarding the idea that innovations
have the potential to cause harm when
not enough scientific knowledge has beengathered. ‘Importantly, it holds that itis better to adopt a cautious approach,78 www.impact.pub

as opposed to simply going ahead andimplementing policies that could end up
being disastrous,’ observes Matsuda. ‘I am
hopeful that by keeping the precautionary
attitude in mind, it will help better elucidate
public health ethics and eventuallycontribute to an institutionalisation of social
decision-making regarding science andtechnology.’
ADVANCED FUSION RESEARCH
MST fuses research in the humanities andsocial sciences and consists of three key
divisions: Science Methodology; Scienceand Technology Ethics; and Science andTechnology Political Economy. ‘This study
emphasises the methods of inquiry andnormals of value, as well as the politicaland economic factors that define modern
science and technology,’ comments
Matsuda.

issues relating to the global COVID-19
pandemic. This new virus provides avaluable example of how a cautious
approach to implementing new innovations
is the best approach. It is clear that a
vaccine will be developed at some stage,
but it is essential that trials, procedures
and standard protocols are followed prior
to making the vaccine widely available.
Matsuda is promoting the idea thatscientists should ensure they have enoughknowledge to inform their decisions before
making them, and as COVID-19 forms a partof the team’s considerations it helps show
the benefits of the precautionary attitude
Matsuda is a keen supporter of.

This study emphasises the methods of inquiry andnormals of value, as well as the political and economic
factors that define modern science and technology
THE BENEFITS OF MULTIPLE EXPERTS
A particularly important aspect of thisproject is that, while it will deepen researchon individual subjects, it will provide new
insights by integrating knowledge acrossdifferent fields. By bringing together
researchers who have expertise in applied
ethics, humanities and the social sciences,each individual researcher will help tocomplement all the others. ‘It is essentiallypooling together knowledge and generating
expertise that is greater than the sum of its
parts,’ notes Matsuda.
However, while this is an effective
approach, it is not without its problems.
‘The biggest challenge is that eachmember of this research is already busy
and it is not always easy to communicate
effectively with researchers in fields
beyond their own specialties,’ observes
Matsuda. ‘Although this situation cannot
be completely overcome, the direction inwhich joint research should converge isto set the decision regarding the social
implementation of ‘life’ and ‘environment’technologies,’ he says. It is for thispurpose that the team have set a policy ofutilising their own expertise and providing

One of the main ways Matsuda says they
are hoping to disseminate the findings
from their research and ensure they are inmanageable amounts for people to digest isthrough the Meta Science and Technology
Research Workshop. He notes that joint
discussions will be held at the Workshop
under the banner of Advanced Integrated
Research on Social Implementation of Lifeand Environmental Technology-Vision andTrial of 21st Century Participation fundedby the Japan Society for the Promotion ofScience (JSPS), which will last until the endof 2020.
The team has also been quick to adapt
to the ever-changing world and integrate

A manga product about the history of asbestos
hazards from the activities of this project

information that can be easily sharedwith each other to support and foster anunderstanding of the work.
Ultimately, by combining the various
methodologies that scientists use in theirsearch for, and justification of, ‘scientifictruth’ that form the basis of science andtechnology research with ethical and legal
issues, the team is hopeful that it will bepossible to incorporate the research results
into the curriculum of common education
for graduate schools and faculties in thefuture.
PLANTING SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE
Matsuda is keen to plant the seeds ofinquiry into ethics, methods and policy
so that they can be sown by the next
generation of researchers. ‘As technologicaldevelopments continue to accelerate, moreand more questions regarding the ethics
of innovations will present themselves,’ hecomments. It is that which forms the basisof Matsuda’s inquiries and while he is notproviding a definitive answer, he is at leastencouraging us to take a step back andconsider the potential implications of ouractions before we perform them. l

Project Insights
FUNDING
JSPS, ‘Leading Humanities/Social Science
Research Promotion Business Area
Development Program by Setting Issues’,‘Advanced Fusion Research on Social
Implementation of Life/Environmental
Technology-Vision and Trial of 21stCentury Participation’ (2017 to 2020)
CO-INVESTIGATORS
Kobe University - Professor Masayuki Ito,Professor Togo Tsukahara, Professor
Hiroshi Takahashi, Associate Professor
Takeshi Haraguchi
RESEARCH COLLABORATORS• Kobe University - Professor Takashi
Yanagawa, Professor Tetsu Ichizawa,
Professor Narufumi Kadomatsu,
Professor Emeritus Masanobu Ishikawa,
Professor Naoto Chantani, Associate
Professor Mao Naka, Associate Professor
Kengo Itamochi, Associate Professor
Takuya Niikawa• Kyoto University – Associate
Professor Jun Otsuka• Kobe City College of Nursing –Associate professor Atsushi Fujiki
CONTACTProfessor Tsuyoshi Matsuda
T: +81 78 803 5502
E: tmatsuda@lit.kobe-u.ac.jp
W: http://www.oair.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/ssh/05.html
BIO
Professor Tsuyoshi Matsuda is currently
the Vice Dean of the Organization forAdvance and Integrated Research andis based at Kobe University. He is alsoa Board member of both the Japanese
Leibniz Society and Kansai Philosophical
Association.

A picture of a meeting with the family of asbestos victims
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