[Tentative Translation]

Science, Technology, and Innovation
Basic Plan

March 26, 2021
Government of JapanTABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION

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CHAPTER 1 BASIC PHILOSOPHY

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1. Recognition of the current situation(1) Changes in the situation at home and abroad(2) Expansion of the novel coronavirus that accelerated the changes in the situation

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2. Sixth Basic Plan as Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy(1) Review of science and technology policies based on Japan's Science and Technology Basic Plan
(2) Full-scale revision of the Science and Technology Basic Law for the first time in 25 years(3) Direction of the Sixth Basic Plan

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3. Realization of a future society called Society 5.0(1) Society for which Japan aims (Society 5.0)
(2) What is necessary to realize Society 5.0(3) Dissemination, sharing, and coordination of Society 5.0

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CHAPTER 2 STI POLICY FOR THE REALIZATION OF SOCIETY 5.0

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1. Transformation into a sustainable and resilient society that ensures the safety and security of the people
16(1) Creating new value through the fusion of cyber space and physical space
17(2) Promoting social change and discontinuous innovation to overcome global issues
24(3) Building a resilient, safe, and secure society30(4) Formation of an innovation ecosystem that is the foundation for creating new industries that share value 35(5) Urban and regional development (development of smart cities) as the foundation for succeeding to the next generation 40(6) Promotion of research and development and social implementation to solve various social problems and utilization of the convergence of knowledge
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2. Developing frontiers of knowledge and strengthening research capabilities as sources of value creation(1) Rebuilding the environment to produce diverse and outstanding research(2) Construction of new research systems (promotion of open science and data-driven research, etc.)(3) Promoting university reform and expanding functions for strategic management

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3. Education and human resource development to realize diverse happiness (well-being) and challenges for each individual

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CHAPTER 3 STRENGTHENING THE SYSTEM FOR PROMOTING STI POLICIES

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1. Revitalization of the financial cycle for the creation of knowledge and value82

2. Promotion of sectoral strategies through public-private partnerships

85[Reference] SIP (Phase 2) Research and Development Themes and Moonshot R&D Program Objectives (as of December 2020)

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SIP (Phase 2) Research and Development Themes (from FY2018)
Moonshot R&D Program Objectives

3. Strengthening the control tower function of the Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation
91(1) Strengthening functions that utilize the convergence of knowledge and drafting policies and transmitting information for the future91(2) Strengthening policy-making functions and ensuring the effectiveness of policies through the use of evidence systems (e-CSTI)
91(3) Implementation of policy evaluation linked to the Sixth Basic Plan and formulation of integrated strategy 91(4) Ensuring the effectiveness of the control tower function
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LIST OF ABBREVIATED NAMES

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Introduction

We are at a crossroads of a great age. Science, technology, and innovation policies will continue
to be formulated in every country for the foreseeable future in two major directions. In other words, scienceand technology require wisdom to overcome global crises stemming from the explosive expansion ofhuman activities since the late 20th century. At the same time, each country will accelerate domestic
reforms and expansion of future investment in science and technology to strengthen its competitiveness,while competing with other countries in various international proposals and concepts for global cooperationand harmony.
These heritages of the 20th century, also called the Great Acceleration 1 such as the exponential
growth of the population, the growing urban environment, the myth of GDP 2 growth supported by mass
production and mass consumption, and the progress of globalization that seeks to surpass national
constraints, are increasing atmospheric CO2 and methane gas, as well as creating marine pollution causedby the outflow of plastics and global crises such as extreme weather, climate change, and impacts on marine
ecosystems. This is also a recognition of the global challenge posed by the hypothesis that the Anthropocene
epoch has emerged 3. Meanwhile, the world is increasingly in turmoil, with the United States and China
increasingly confronting each other, and the security environment in our country is becoming increasingly
severe. Japan's science, technology, and innovation policy, which is set forth in the Sixth Science,
Technology, and Innovation Basic Plan (Hereinafter referred to as the "Sixth Basic Plan".), must intend to
make a political contribution to resolving these global issues. On the other hand, it is essential for thegovernment to take a domestic perspective on what benefits science, technology and innovation policy willbring to each and every citizen. Our country has already faced challenges such as a declining birthrate, anaging population, and depopulation. In recent years, however, the country has been facing new social
challenges, such as worsening natural disasters and declining international competitiveness in science andtechnology. Issues related to the next generation of human resources, such as the lack of self-affirmation
among the younger generation, have also been highlighted. In order to solve these problems, the creationof diverse knowledge, not only in the natural sciences but also in the humanities and social sciences, aswell as the redesign of existing society as a whole through the convergence of knowledge and thedevelopment of human resources to carry out these tasks are unavoidable.
What policy can be adopted to harmonize the two axes of contribution to global issues anddomestic structural reform? What is required in the Sixth Basic Plan is the creation of policies for thispurpose.
At that time, what we should aim for is to make Society 5.0, "a human-centered society thatbalances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates
cyberspace 4 and physical space" set forth in the Fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan (Hereinafterreferred to as the "Fifth Basic Plan".), a reality. While strongly sympathetic to the proposal of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5) adopted at the United Nations Summit in 2015, we will combine
them with the unique values of trust and sharing that Japan emphasizes and re-introduce Society 5.0 as avision of Japan's future society beyond the negative legacy of the 20th century. We will ask the world about
Society 5.0 as a vision of our country's future society by linking the values of soft power such as therealization of a recycling-oriented society in harmony with society and nature, a sense of citizenship basedon trust, common belief of “good for everyone”, and empathy for sharing, with highly reliable scientificresearch and technological capabilities, as well as the existence of extremely high-quality social data. In
addition, by proposing this concept, Japan aims to strengthen cooperation with countries, regions, andinternational organizations that can share this sense of value, and to become a cornerstone of trust in theinternational community.
Based on this basic understanding, the Sixth Basic Plan expressed the vision for the future societyof Society 5.0 that Japan should aim for as "a society that is sustainable and resilient, that secures the safety

1 Steffen, W., Broadgate, W., Deutsch, L., Gaffney, O. & Ludwig, C. The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration. The Anthropocene Review 2:
81 -98, doi: 10.1177/2053019614564785 (2015)

2 Gross domestic product3 In 2000, atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, proposed that the Earth has moved from the Holocene epoch, which has
lasted from 17,000 years ago until the present, to the Anthropocene epoch due to human impact on the global environment. As of February 2021, theAnthropocene epoch has not received official approval by any international academic society.

4 New social areas where diverse service supply chains and communities are formed
5 SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals

3and security of the people, and that enables each and every one of them to realize diverse happiness (wellbeing)" and set forth the direction of science, technology, and innovation policies that ”a virtuous cycle of‘social transformation through the convergencge of knowledge’ and ‘investment in knowledge and people’”toward the realization of this vision. In order to achieve this goal, the government will secure approximately
30 trillion yen in investment in research and development over the next 5 years, and the public and private
sectors will jointly invest approximately 120 trillion yen in research and development using this investment
as a catalyst. Over the next five years, in line with this direction, we will boldly promote each policy andredesign society as a whole. At the same time, we will pioneer the frontier of knowledge and develop humanresources to take on challenges in response to the demands of society, and we will create a dynamic virtuous
cycle that will further accelerate social reform. With the power of science, technology, and innovation, wemust realize an all-inclusive society in a new world order, together with countries that respect regional,
gender, language and cultural diversity and share the principles of freedom and trust. Japan should play acentral role in this.
Looking back, science and technology served as the basis for Japan's recovery fromthe devastation of the postwar period. If that is the case, then in an era facing a global crisis,
also called the Anthropocene epoch, we will put Society 5.0 to the forefront as a universal andglobal image of our future society in order to achieve what the Constitution of Japan declares,"we desire to occupy an honored place in an international society." This is the central messageof the Sixth Basic Plan.

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Chapter 1 Basic Philosophy
1. Recognition of the current situation
When the Fifth Basic Plan was formulated, the following were recognized as major issues :response to changes in the global industrial structure due to the rapid evolution of information andcommunications technology (ICT 6 ) and networking such as security issues; global constraints onenergy, resources, and food; environmental issues; and risks such as the declining birthrate and aging
population, exhaustion of local economies and societies, and risk of natural disasters.
While all of these issues remain important today, notable new social changes that haveemerged over the past five years include the reorganization of the world order, the global agenda thathas become a real threat, and the exposure of the limits of the information society (Society 4.0). The
spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 7 has accelerated these changes.
(1) Changes in the situation at home and abroad
1) Beginning of a world order reorganization
The current world is becoming increasingly chaotic due to changes such as the rise of China
and the radicalization of the intense confrontation between the United States and China. The search
for a new world order brought about by such geopolitical changes is an emerging competition among
countries and a new trend toward cooperation in which international cooperation is being restructured
for the survival of the country.
Science, technology, and innovation are at the core of an increasingly intense struggle forsupremacy between countries. Major countries such as the United States and China are devoting
themselves to cutting-edge basic research and the practical application of the results, positioning the
fruits of such research as effective measures for responding to security threats, etc. and promoting
efforts to utilize them, including in response to global epidemics of infectious diseases, international
terrorism and cyber-attacks, and increasingly severe large-scale natural disasters. In thesecircumstances, the problem of technology leakage has also emerged, and each country is strengthening
efforts to prevent this.
Looking at the situation in each country, while expectations for the role of the government isrising, and while each country supports the employment, business, and livelihood of the people
through large-scale fiscal measures, there are divisions at the regional and community levels. From a
global perspective, while the importance of mobilizing wisdom, cooperation, and solidarity in theinternational community beyond the framework of a single country is strongly recognized, the ideal
form of leadership in the world is being questioned.
In this way, countries around the world are in an age of groping for ways to establish a national andglobal order, and Japan, too, is required to play a leading role in creating a new world order and rules.
2) Global agenda as a real threat
Various issues facing the world (the global agenda), such as climate change, biodiversity
degradation, and the risk of a pandemic caused by an increase in the number of people interacting witheach other, have become real threats, warning our society, and global corporate activities have begun
to focus not only on efficiency, but on sustainability and resilience as well.
In particular, the climate change problem caused by global warming has manifested in theform of large-scale natural disasters with high frequency and severity, posing a real threat. It has
become the most serious problem facing mankind, which is also called a climate crisis. In light of this,foreign countries such as European countries, the United States, and China are planning large-scale
investment 8 in order to carry out economic recovery and environmental investment, both of which

6 ICT: information and communications technology
7 Coronavirus Disease 2019: COVID-19

8The European Commission announced that about 30% of the total budget of about 1.8 trillion euros

5have been depressed by the coronavirus, in an integrated manner.
At the 203rd session of the Diet in October 2020, the Prime Minister declared that Japan
would aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, in other words,
to create acarbon-neutral society. The growth strategy would be based on a virtuous cycle of the economy andthe environment, and Japan would make every effort to realize a green society through policies suchas those promoting revolutionary innovations and regulatory reforms to realize a decarbonized society.
3) Exposure of the limits of the information society (Society 4.0)
As the world shifts from an industrial society (Society 3.0) to an information society (Society4.0), IT 9 platformers such as GAFA 10 have built business models and services that are free fromtraditional business practices and rules, and have led international economic activities that generatehuge profits.
At the same time, problems have emerged that can be called harmful to individual happiness.
These include strong concern about the fact that international information monopolies by IT
platformers are constraining free competition, the emergence of information-vulnerable people whoare left behind in the information age, and the uneven distribution of wealth in which a small number
of wealthy people own the world's wealth, resulting in disparities, social divisions, and anxiety about
the future.
The scope of the Sixth Basic Plan is to define Japan's position in response to these domestic
and international changes.
(2) Expansion of the novel coronavirus that accelerated the changes in the situation
1) Major changes in the international community
Since around December 2019, Coronavirus Disease 2019 caused by the novel coronavirus 11
has spread from China to the world. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) 12declaredthat the spread of the novel coronavirus could be characterized as a pandemic, and this has become
one of the major factors to be considered for mankind.
While the sharing of infectious disease countermeasures and the development of vaccines andtherapeutic drugs should be promoted through international cooperation as common policy objectives
for the survival of mankind, each country is under pressure to make rapid changes in order to secure
the safety and security of their citizens such as preventing the spread of the infectious disease andmaintaining economic activities, for the continued existence and prestige of the nation. In addition,
the fragility and danger of the international supply chain, which was built with a focus on efficiency,
was exposed in the face of the spread of the novel coronavirus, which is pressing each country toreview the sustainability and resilience of its economy. Such movements are accelerating thereorganization of the world order, which has become tangible.
2) Rapidly changing people’s lives
Domestically, the novel coronavirus has completely changed our lives and has brought about
extraordinary things by force. In particular, it has become clear that digitalization of society as a whole,which is a prerequisite for the realization of Society 5.0, has not progressed sufficiently. The progress(219 trillion yen) for the reconstruction fund and the multi-year fiscal framework from 2021 to 2027
will be spent on climate change measures. The new Biden administration of the United States plans toraise 400 billion dollars (38 trillion yen) over four years to return to the Paris Agreement and promote
the introduction of clean energy infrastructure and technologies. China plans to invest about 10 trillion
yuan (150 trillion yen) in clean energy and next generation infrastructure by 2025 as a new basic
infrastructure construction policy.
9
IT: Information Technology
10 GAFA: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple
11
Novel Coronavirus: SARS-CoV-2
12 WHO : World Health Organization6

of environment improvement in response to digitalization, such as the digitalization of administration,
telework in enterprises, and online education in universities, has varied depending on the organization
or institution, and society as a whole is still in the process of introduction.
This pandemic has served as an opportunity to change the way our society should be. In Japan,
too, efforts have already begun in areas such as work styles and learning styles, medical services, foodand drink, and tourism in a way that is significantly different from the conventional common sense.
Efforts such as telework, online education, and remote medical care, which have been discussed manytimes up to now, are rapidly advancing as a result of being forced to respond to the novel coronavirus.
Specifically, in July 2020, theDeclaration to be the World's Most Advanced IT Nation:
Basic Plan for the Advancement of Public and Private Sector Data Utilization 13was compiled, and apolicy was formulated to promote both the use of IT to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus
and the transformation of social structure and social behavior through digital resilience. In October
2020, the Digital Government Ministers’ Meeting was reorganized to strengthen the system chairedby the Prime Minister in order to materialize and accelerate these efforts. Under the Ministers’ Meeting,measures to fundamentally improve the digital infrastructure of the national and local governments,
including the My Number system, and data strategies for public and private sector data utilization
were compiled.
In order to further promote online administrative procedures, the Cabinet Office Council for
Promotion of Regulatory Reform and the Cabinet Secretariat Headquarters for the Promotion of
Administrative Reform took the initiative in formulating policies for reviewing documents, seals, faceto-face meetings, etc. with regard to civil-to-government application procedures, etc. and with regard
to internal administrative accounting and personnel procedures, etc., respectively.
Furthermore, the Basic Act on the Formation of an Advanced Information andTelecommunications Network Society will be comprehensively reviewed, and in February 2021, acabinet decision was made on digital reform-related bills 14 and submitted to the Diet as a breakthroughfor breaking down the vertical division of administration and boldly carrying out regulatory reform.
As a result, the new lifestyle, also known as the "new normal," partly embodies the concept of Society
5.0, which was laid out in the Fifth Basic Plan.

13 Cabinet decision of July 17, 2020

14 A cabinet decision was made on February 9, 2021 on the bill for the Basic Act on the Formationof a Digital Society, bill on the Act to Establish a Digital Agency, bill on the Act Related to theFormation of a Digital Society, bill on the Act Related to the Registration, Etc. of Deposit andSavings Accounts for the Swift and Reliable Payment of Public Benefits, bill on the Act Related to
the Management, Etc. of Deposit and Savings Accounts Through the Use of Individual Numbers
Based on the Will of Depositors and Saving Holders, and bill on the Act Related to theStandardization of Local Government Information Systems. They were submitted to the 204th
session of the Diet.
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2. Sixth Basic Plan as Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
In Japan, the Basic Act on Science and Technology, which serves as the basis for the Scienceand Technology Basic Plan, was revised in June 2020 to change its name to the Basic Act on Science,
Technology, and Innovation in April 2021, and the promotion of the humanities and social sciences
and the creation of innovation will be added to the scope of promotion of the Act. This means that the
Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy has become a policy that contributes to thecomprehensive understanding of human beings and society and to the solution of problems, not only
through the promotion of science and technology, but also through the convergence of knowledge thatis the fusion of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences and knowledge in the natural sciencesthat creates social value.
(1) Review of science and technology policies based on Japan's Science andTechnology Basic Plan
1) History of the first to fourth periods
The First Science and Technology Basic Plan was formulated in 1996 based on the Basic Act
on Science and Technology. At that time, Japan, as one of the world's frontrunners, was required tochange its policy from a science and technology policy that followed Europe and the United States to
one that would challenge unexploited science and technology fields and open up the future, and tocontribute to the issues facing humanity. Against this backdrop, Japan placed emphasis on expanding
government investment in R&D, reforming the R&D system, and strategically prioritizing R&D.
The Second and Third Basic Plans set the main goal of enhancing Japan's international
competitiveness by making priority investments in important research areas while science andtechnology activities were becoming larger and more complex. The Fourth Plan, which focused onsocial implementation of science and technology, shifted its focus to social reform and problemsolving by returning the results of research and development to society through the power ofinnovation.
2) Concept of Society 5.0 proposed in the Fifth Basic PlanAt the time of formulating the Fifth Basic Plan, ICT had advanced around the world, andglobal IT platformers had significantly changed their business models. In addition, European countries,
the United States, and China were trying to bring about structural changes in industries, which could
be called the fourth industrial revolution, by making the most of ICT in the manufacturing field.
Under such circumstances, Japan come up with a new concept for building a future societythat will solve the problems facing Japan and the world and bring true prosperity to people by putting
human-centered values on a new method of merging cyber space and physical space, in order to makethe most of ICT and make it a driving force for the realization of not only an industrial structure but
also a rich and high-quality life for the people. This is the "Society 5.0" proposed in the Fifth Basic
Plan formulated in 2016.
This concept was consistent with the vision of the future guided by digital transformation 15(hereinafter referred to as "DX"), in which the penetration of ICT changes people's lives in a better
direction in all aspects.
3) Digitalization for its own sake and relative decline in research capabilities (review
during the 5th Basic Plan)
Looking back at the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy during the Fifth Basic Plan,
digitalization, which is the premise of Society 5.0, was promoted in all fields. However, efforts aimed
at improving the efficiency of existing operations were at the core, and creation of new businessmodels through data collaboration and utilization, as in other countries, could not be done sufficiently,
and the original power of ICT could not be fully utilized. In particular, as revealed by the coronavirus
pandemic, IT infrastructure for online meetings and telework has problems such as operational

15A concept proposed by Professor Eric Stolterman of Umeå University (Sweden) in 2004.

8

problems and psychological concerns regarding its stability and security. In addition, under the current
situation in which each organization uses networks in different systems in a closed manner, there isno environment for real-time data collection, analysis, and utilization across sectors. Thus, there wasa lack of sense of speed and sense of crisis in infrastructure development for realizing Society 5.0.
For this reason, during the period of the Fifth Basic Plan, the government is promoting thedevelopment of public and private data utilization environments through the development of datacollaboration infrastructure and the formulation of AI Strategy 2019 16 , as well as the creation of
innovation through the establishment of large-scale programs for solving social issues such as SIP 17
and the Moonshot Research and Development Program.
With regard to research capabilities, although a large number of Nobel Prize winners havebeen produced, the international position of research papers in terms of both quantity and quality has
continued to decline, and the environment surrounding young researchers who support researchcapabilities continues to be severe, with an increase in the number of posts with fixed terms and adecrease in the time available for research.
During the period of the Fifth Basic Plan, efforts were made to improve the research
environment. However, under the constraints of the existing framework, measures to truly drive
innovation in the research field were not always implemented with sufficient speed and scale. For thisreason, drastic measures have been taken, such as the formulation of a comprehensive package tostrengthen research capacity and support young researchers 18 in January 2020, but progress is still
midway.
(2) Full-scale revision of the Science and Technology Basic Law for the first time in
25 years
At the 201st session of the Diet in 2020, the Basic Act on Science and Technology was revisedin earnest for the first time in 25 years. In this revision, the name of the law was changed to Basic Act
on Science, Technology and Innovation, and the part related to "other than science or technology
whose sole concern is the humanities and social sciences (the law states "the humanities")," which had
been excluded from the provisions of science and technology, was positioned within the scope of"science and technology," which is the subject of the law, and "creation of innovation" 19 was set as
one of the pillars.
The promotion of the humanities and social sciences as one of the pillars of the revised Basic
Act on Science and Technology, was added to the scope of the law because the policy for science,technology, and innovation had changed from targeting only R&D to a policy that creates social value.
In the future, it will be necessary to question the value of each individual and the value of the global
scale in the policy. In the future, it will become increasingly important to accumulate “knowledge”
with depth in the humanities and social sciences, and to create and utilize “convergence of knowledge”
that contributes to comprehensive understanding and problem solving of human beings and society
through fusion with “knowledge” in the natural sciences. It is also necessary evolve the science,technology, and innovation policy itself into a policy that provides solutions to society by taking in
the value-finding viewpoint that is the true value of the humanities and social sciences.
Another pillar, the creation of innovation, has been added to the scope of the law due to the

16 Decided by the Council for Integrated Innovation Strategy on June 11, 2019. A follow-up on thestrategy was held in June 2020.
SIP: Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program
18
Decided by the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation on January 23, 2020. Developing
Research Capacity Improvement Reform 2019, it is a policy packaged formulated tocomprehensively and fundamentally strengthen Japan’s research capacity through an integrated
reform of human resources, funding, and environment.
19
The Basic Act on Science, Technology and Innovation defines the “creation of innovation” as “togenerate new value through scientific discovery or invention, development of new products orservices, or other creative activities, and through the dissemination thereof, create great change inthe economic society.”17

9significant change in the implications of the concept of innovation over the past 25 years. The concept
of innovation, which was once seen as an act directly connected to product development andproduction activities in corporate activities, is now seen as an activity by a wide range of actors thatcreates major changes in the economy and society, and is evolving into the concept of transformative
innovation which focuses on the creation of new value and the transformation of society itself. 20
The two pillars of this revision are essential for Japan's efforts to realize Society 5.0 bydrawing up a vision of the future through “convergence of knowledge”, formulating policies throughbackcasting, and promoting social change through the creation of innovation. The 6th Basic Plan aims
for more advanced science, technology, and innovation policies from the perspective of “convergenceof knowledge.”On the other hand, basic and academic research is becoming increasingly important not only
for discovering and identifying new phenomena, but also for creating “knowledge” that will lead tothe creation of original new technologies. “Knowledge” is the source of innovation creation that will
respond to discontinuous changes and solve social problems. We have a duty to hand over to the next
generation the vast amount of “knowledge” accumulated over the long history of mankind, and at thesame time, to open up frontiers and create new “knowledge” by discovering and identifying new
phenomena and presenting new concepts and values.
Japan must make efforts to further strengthen its basic research capabilities, such as
strengthening outstanding research that leads the world and securing various research sites that serve
as a basis for rich ideas.
It is also important to strengthen international cooperation to link research activities to theglobal agenda, and to build a mechanism to utilize created knowledge for innovation.
In particular, in recent years, there have been cases in which basic research and academic research
have been directly linked to social implementation, such as deep learning in AI technology and genome
editing technology. There is a need for a mechanism for close cooperation between industry andacademia, such as start-ups established by universities and national research and development
institutions and the advancement of industry-academia cooperation.
(3) Direction of the Sixth Basic Plan
Based on the changes in the domestic and international situation over the past five years, theSixth Basic Plan must demonstrate to the world through policy creation how to bring about diverse
well-being for each and every citizen of the world by realizing the two axes: contribution to
overcoming global issues such as the exploration of a world order such as the intensifying
confrontation between the United States and China and the climate change issue, which has become areal crisis; and domestic structural reform in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought
about extraordinary things by being semi-forced.
In order to achieve this, it is necessary to materialize Society 5.0 set forth in the Fifth Basic
Plan with a strong awareness that we must push through social reforms, based on the experience thatthe transition from an industrial society (Society 3.0) to an information society (Society 4.0) was not
an extension of the past due to changes in the social structure, including lifestyle and industrial
structure. At the same time, it is necessary to demonstrate to the world Society 5.0 as the image ofJapan's future society beyond the negative legacy of the 20th century, by combining Japan's uniquevalues that emphasize trust and sharing with the SDGs, and by Japan's highly reliable scientificresearch and technological capabilities with the presence of extremely high-quality social data.
By embodying this vision of a future society, Japan aims to strengthen cooperation withcountries, regions, and international organizations (such as the EU, the G7, and the OECD) that canshare these values and enhance Japan's presence in the international community.

20Innovation aimed at social change in order to respond to complex and wide-ranging social issues

such as global environmental issues.

103. Realization of a future society called Society 5.0(1) Society for which Japan aims (Society 5.0)
Society 5.0 is proposed in the Fifth Basic Plan, etc. as "a human-centered society in which
economic development and the resolution of social issues are compatible with each other through ahighly integrated system of cyber space and physical space" 21. It is necessary for the Sixth Basic Plan
to embody this in light of domestic and international changes.
Although economic development remains one of the objectives that should continue to be
pursued, the meaning of the GDP indicator is changing as economic activities in cyberspace with noborders are rapidly expanding, and people's values are also changing as they emphasize diverse
happiness and contribution to the nation and the world not limited to pursuing wealth. In light of thesechanges, it can be said that ensuring the safety and security of the people, which is the major premiseof economic development, building a sustainable and resilient society, and creating a world where
everyone can pursue diverse happiness, will lead to economic development.
In particular, overcoming immediate threats, such as pandemics and major weather disasters
posed by climate change, and gaining insight into and preparing for the discontinuous changes thatwill occur in the future, are urgent issues for Japan. With ICT penetration, the promotion of DX as a
new value that will change people's lives for the better in all aspects, opens up the possibility ofproviding solutions that meet individual needs. These achievements will lead to changes in thebusiness models of companies and reform of the industrial structure, which in turn will contribute toJapan's international competitiveness.
Based on this background, the expression of the society for which Japan aims can besummarized as "a society that is sustainable and resilient against threats and unpredictable anduncertain situations, that ensures the safety and security of the people, and that individual to realize
diverse well-being." The realization of such a future society is the purpose of formulating the Sixth
Basic Plan. This is also in line with the SDGs.
1) Sustainable and resilient society that ensures the safety and security of the people
Japan's society and people's lives are exposed to various threats such as disasters, unknown
infectious diseases, and cyber terrorism, and the security environment surrounding Japan is becoming
increasingly severe, which is one of the causes of great anxiety among the people. In addition to thesethreats, the establishment of stable and robust economic activities is also required, as exemplified by
the intensification of technological hegemony disputes between the United States and China, and therisks of disruption of the international supply chain and technology outflow emerging. Therefore, themaintenance and securing of Japan's technological superiority is the key.
With regard to environmental issues, the increase in human activities places a large burden
on the global environment, causing global environmental crises in various forms such as climatechange, marine plastic waste, and biodiversity loss. In order to realize a society in which future
generations can live in abundance while satisfying the needs of the present generation, it is essential
to reform the conventional economic and social systems and daily life of mass production, massconsumption, and mass disposal such as addressing the food waste problem, while harmonizing themwith the environment, economy, and society in order to resolve issues in Japan’s social security system,
etc. in a manner that addresses the declining birthrate and aging population and changes in theeconomy and society.
The government is required to strengthen Japan's international competitiveness by leveraging
the development of science and technology, and to aim at building a sustainable and resilient societythat can always respond appropriately to these various threats and realizing comprehensive security.
It is necessary to enhance and strengthen various efforts to ensure the safety and security of the people.
When doing so, considering that science and technology have diversity and the results of R&D

21The Fifth Basic Plan states, " Through an initiative merging the physical space (real world) andcyberspace by leveraging ICT to its fullest… a “super smart society” that will bring wealth to thepeople. "11conducted for a certain purpose can be applied to other purposes, it is essential that the results are
utilized appropriately.
2) A society in which each individual can realize diverse well-being
Our society, which regards the expansion of economic wealth as the manifestation of
affluence and has aimed to increase GDP as a representative indicator, is facing the negative effectsof economic priorities, such as environmental destruction, the uneven distribution of world wealth,and social division.
In the world of Society 5.0, what should be achieved is not only the expansion of economic
affluence but also the realization of qualitative affluence including mental health. In order to achievethis, it is necessary to provide education that enables everyone to develop their own abilities
individually, to have many opportunities to work using their abilities, to have multiple jobs at the sametime in order to choose a way of life that is more suitable for them, and to have an environment where
even if they fail, it is acceptable to society and it is easy to change careers midway. Moreover, such a
way of working must not only provide a livelihood, it must also secure sufficient time to spend withfamily and to enjoy hobbies and leisure.
In addition, in order for many people to live a long, healthy and fulfilling life in an age of 100 years,
it is necessary to extend not only the healthy life expectancy but also the so-called “social participation
life expectancy 22 ” in which people can be independently involved with society no matter how oldthey are.
In addition, there is a need for an environment in which people can always take a positive view of theirpresence in the community, so that they can continue to have their own dreams and participate insociety with a sense of purpose, even if they leave one organization. Being able to improve their own
abilities and to be able to find places where they can play an active role without interruption throughsuch an environment is also essential. We will aim to build a society with such inclusiveness.
(2) What is necessary to realize Society 5.0
1) Transforming into a sustainable and resilient society through the fusion of
cyberspace and physical space
The transition from Society 4.0 (an information society) to Society 5.0 is impossible with
policies that are an extension of existing policies. In order to make this transition, it is essential toredesign the entire society by taking a back-cast approach based on a new vision of the future society.
The key to achieving this is the fusion of cyberspace and physical space, which is the premiseof Society 5.0, and the values of a human-centered society. In Society 5.0, every element of society
will be built as a digital twin 23 in cyberspace, restructured in terms of systems, business design, urban
and regional development, etc., and then reflected in physical space to transform society. In thisprocess, a series of infrastructure (social infrastructure) is required to collect and accumulate highquality data in a form that enables advanced analysis, and to perform advanced analysis in cyber space
using mathematical models and data analysis technology.
By incorporating the human-centered values into these new processes, we will encourage
individual Japanese citizens and citizens of the world to play a central role in decision-making, andsociety will change flexibly and expeditiously into a better shape. We will provide highly convenientservices that are tailored to individual citizens, solve various social issues, and build a sustainable andresilient society. Furthermore, we will open the way for new industries and new cities to bloom, andit will be possible to present a new model for the international community to overcome global
challenges represented by climate change.

22Average period of active engagement with society.

23A cyberspace reproduction of a real world consisting of elements such as geography, humans,organizations and time in which a large amount of high-quality and reliable data are linked with eachother.
12

2) Creation of knowledge as a source of value creation by designing a new society
In order to design a new society and promote the creation of new value in that society, avariety of knowledge is necessary. In particular, in order to respond to ELSI 24 that arise when newtechnologies are used in society at the time of the transition to Society 5.0, it is necessary to look atthings from an overhead perspective. It is necessary to construct a system that can utilize convergenceof knowledge not only in natural science but also in humanities and social science.
Knowledge is a source of innovation that responds to discontinuous changes and solves social
problems. It is necessary to open up frontiers by discovering and identifying new phenomena andpresenting new concepts and values based on the intrinsic motivation of researchers. There isaccumulation of various types of research such as basic research and academic research, and as a resultof this accumulation, at times creative results are created and new technologies and new knowledge
that change the world are born.
3) Developing human resources to support a new society
In the era of Society 5.0, it will be important to develop the abilities and qualities that can beacquired through exploratory activities to discover problems and find solutions by oneself. It will benecessary to produce human resources who can create new value in the world and to realize an
education and human resource development system that will realize this.
As the social structure rapidly changes, there is a need for the ability to tackle issues thatcannot be addressed by existing frameworks or extensions. From the primary and secondary education
stage, it is necessary to realize learning based on curiosity and to strengthen students’ inquiring ability
to tackle issues.
In addition, the age of 100 years of life has come, and in order to pursue a variety of forms ofhappiness that suit the interests and interests of each person for an unprecedented length of life, anenvironment in which there are opportunities for diverse relearning even after becoming a member ofsociety and in which people can pursue a lifestyle that suits the new age is necessary.
At the same time, it is also necessary for society to promote the circulation of knowledge andconnect it to the creation of new value. It is also necessary to establish an environment in which
individuals can demonstrate their abilities to the maximum at any stage of their lives, build doubletrack career paths, and take on new challenges.
In addition, when all kinds of information are delivered online and communication isconducted in a non-face-to-face and anonymous manner, such as through social media, there is apossibility that there will be a bias in the information to be touched and the relationship between people
based on the assumption of conventional face-to-face communication will change. Information
literacy that appropriately responds to such changes in society is required.
Moreover, as the experience of directly touching the real thing decreases, it becomes evenmore important to accumulate the experience of directly touching the real thing through STEAM25
education including A and to polish sensitivity and senses.
(3) Dissemination, sharing, and coordination of Society 5.0
In order for Japan to lead the international community during the period of searching for aworld order in the post-coronavirus era, it is necessary to verbalize a new social model, values, andstrategies for realizing them, to question them in and outside Japan in concrete terms as Society 5.0.
For Japanese citizens, we will continue with efforts such as information transmission in orderto improve consistent interest in science, technology, and innovation, such as by encouraging dialogue
and collaboration between diverse sectors through the use of various media and spaces for co-creation,

24 ELSI: Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications/Issues.

25Cross-disciplinary education to utilize learning in each subject such as Science, Technology,

Engineering, Art(s), Mathematics, etc. for finding and solving problems in the real world. In
addition, there are cases in which the scope of A is narrowly defined as design or sensitivity, andcases in which it is defined in a wider range including art, culture, life, economy, law, politics,
ethics, etc.
13

etc., and vitalize the resolution of social problems through civic participation and citizen science.
We will also share and cooperate on this social image with respective countries, regions, internationalorganizations, etc. (EU, G7, OECD, etc.).
In other words, we should present our vision to the world as a future image that incorporates
elements such as traditional values, modes of behavior of compassion and empathy for others, and cocreation based on trust, which are historically and culturally inherent in the Japanese people 26, whileworking to rebuild society as a whole based on the major trends of the times, namely digitalization,
data collaboration, and utilization. Using this new social model, we will draw a future image that willlead to the assurance of safety and security and the maximization of diverse well-being of eachindividual, in cooperation with countries that share our values.
Japan, the third largest economy in the world in terms of GDP, aims to create a new futuresociety for the first time in the world at this turning point, which can be said to be a paradigm shift.
By doing so, Japan aims to attract the attention of the world, attract the interest of world-class humanresources and investment in the future, and establish itself as a place of co-creation. Once established,Japan will occupy an honored place in the international community.
In 2025, the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will be held. The Expo, which is based on thetheme of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," will be a befitting showcase for Society 5.0. We
need to present a concrete image of the future society without wasting this chance.

26For example, Japan has a certain kind of ethical and social view of symbiosis with nature; value ofsharing; and good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society that it has cultivated overmany years.
14Chapter 2 Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy for the Realization of Society
5.0
Chapter 1 presented a sustainable and resilient society that ensures the safety and security ofthe people and a society in which each and every person can realize a variety of well-being as the
future society for which Japan aims (Society 5.0). It also took up the following items that are necessary
for realizing Society 5.0: redesign of society, construction of social infrastructure in cyberspace,creation of knowledge, and development of human resources.
In this chapter, these points are divided into three sections based on the concept of the revised
Basic Act on Science and Technology: the image of society as a result of the creation of innovation(social change), research capabilities to develop frontiers of knowledge, and human resource
development to support the creation of science, technology, and innovation. With a view to 2030, themeasures to be taken by the government over the next five years are summarized.
With regard to specific initiatives, we will clarify who will do what by when 27, and aim toachieve targets together with stakeholders by sharing predictability with stakeholders and aim toachieve targets together with stakeholders and with relevant control tower councils and relevant
ministries through cross-sectoral coordination by the Science, Technology, and Innovation Promotion
Secretariat 28 under the control tower functions of the CSTI. 29
Based on Chapter 1, the major objectives of the three sections are as follows: Enable each and every one of the people to enjoy diverse happiness by redesigning Japan's society,achieving solutions to global issues ahead of the rest of the world, and ensuring the safety andsecurity of the people.
 Continue to create knowledge with diversity and excellence, and restore the world's highest levelof research capabilities
 In order to transform Japan as a whole into Society 5.0, develop human resources who pursue
diverse happiness and face challenges.
In implementing these science, technology, and innovation policies, it is necessary to always bestrongly aware of the perspective of international cooperation and competition. For example, sinceinnovation is created through collaboration and competition among diverse human resources,
strengthening the international brain cycle is an essential requirement for vigorous research anddevelopment. Japan must promote exchanges of knowledge globally and strengthen its research andinnovation capabilities. On the other hand, there are emerging concerns about competition forsupremacy among countries over technology and international technology leakage. Under thesecircumstances, research organizations such as universities and their researchers are required to conductrisk-aware research management. In particular, the government is required to show a certain direction
so that researchers can understand the significance of research soundness and fairness (research
integrity) and fulfill their responsibilities to society, as well as participate proactively in international
science, technology, and innovation activities.
Based on this, Japan will develop new science and technology diplomacy, taking into account its
contribution to the resolution of global issues, the strengthening of international communication, andthe perspective of overall security, while taking advantage of its strengths.

27 In each section of Chapter 2, the relevant ministry or agency listed within the brackets (in the casethat multiple ministries or agencies are involved, the ministry or agency in charge will be
underlined) indicate which relevant ministry or agency will take the lead to engage in what measureby when.
28 See Chapter 3, 3. (4).
29 CSTI: Council for Science, Technology and Innovation. One of the important councils for key
policies aimed at the planning, formulation, and comprehensive coordination for comprehensive andbasic science, technology, and innovation policies from one position higher that respective ministries
under the leadership of the Prime Minister and Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy
15

1. Transformation into a sustainable and resilient society that ensures the safety andsecurity of the people
By redesigning Japan's society, achieving solutions to global issues ahead of the rest of theworld, and ensuring the safety and security of the people, we aim to transform Japan into a society inwhich each and every one of the people enjoy diverse happiness.
To this end, we must first: (1) transform our society into one in which cyberspace and physicalspace create a dynamic virtuous circle, so that anyone can use data and AI anytime, anywhere withpeace of mind, and maximize the use of data and AI to contribute to the resolution of global issues
and reform domestic systems.
Specifically, (2) In response to global issues, Japan will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
to zero in real terms by 2050, leading the world to become carbon neutral, and building a sustainable
society by promoting the transition to a cyclical economy. (3) In addition to reducing risks to theeconomy, society, and people's daily lives, such as natural disasters and the novel coronavirus infection,
we will build a resilient society by protecting important information that is the source of national
power.
In addition, (4) the government will create a new industrial base in which diverse entities,
such as corporations, universities, and public research institutes will work together to create value by
creating a succession of start-ups that tackle challenges driven by the needs of society, and (5) the
government will develop diverse and sustainable cities and regions (smart cities 30) across the country
and around the world that will realize Society 5.0 ahead of the rest of the world in order to solve
regional problems.
(6) In addition to supporting the above efforts, in order to respond to various social issues, wewill strategically promote mission-oriented R&D and social implementation by utilizing the“convergence of knowledge,” and create innovation. In addition, we will develop science andtechnology diplomacy to support social change, and strategically build international networks.
This section summarizes the items (1) through (6) above. In each of these areas, the public
and private sectors will work together to develop human resources for innovation, such as those who
design societies to support these efforts. In addition, we will actively contribute to the resolution of
global issues as well as domestic reforms.
[Major goal] By redesigning our society, achieving solutions to global issues ahead of the rest of the world,and ensuring the safety and security of our citizens, we will ensure that each and every one of
our citizens can enjoy diverse happiness.
[Reference index]
 The Sustainable Development Goals Report31
 Better Life Index 32
 Healthy Life Expectancy
 GDP
 International Competitiveness

30Sustainable cities or regions that utilize new technologies such as ICT while resolving various

issues faced by the city or region through the sophistication of management (planning, development,
control, operation, etc.) and continue to create new values.
31
United Nations
32
OECD
16

(1) Creating new value through the fusion of cyber space and physical space
1) Recognition of the current situation
Society 5.0, which was first proposed in the Fifth Basic Plan as a vision of the future society
for which Japan should aim, was defined as "a human-centered society in which economic
development and the resolution of social issues are compatible with each other through a highly
integrated system of cyberspace and physical space." During the period of the Fifth Basic Plan, thepublic and private sectors have been working together to realize this. For example, Japan has led
international discussions through the proposal33of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), the formulationof the Social Principles of Human-Centric AI 34 to promote the appropriate implementation of AI insociety, and the compilation of the G20 AI Principles. 35
However, in response to the novel coronavirus, Japan was unable to fully benefit fromdigitalization in all areas, including administration, education, and medical care. This could be
attributed to the fact that administrative systems, such as the My Number system, were not sufficiently
convenient for the people, the reform of operational processes of the national and local governments
were insufficient, the lack of trust in the use of personal data, and insufficient expansion of cooperation
areas among industries.
It is necessary to make efforts with a sense of urgency and speed to develop data collaboration
mechanisms that create new value, to develop an environment in which players responsible for data
distribution can play an active role, and to further develop the infrastructure for data utilization in
Japan (such as development of digital data, cooperation between the national and local governments,
standardization, and handling rules).
With regard to communication infrastructure, as the amount of data distributed over networks
will increase explosively in the future, many issues such as power saving, reliability, and real-time
performance have been pointed out, and drastic measures are required.
In addition, the development of trust among stakeholders is becoming the key to thepromotion of data collaboration. For example, we must strongly promote the revision anddigitalization of business operations to improve productivity and convenience and at the same time,
resolve concerns about the use of personal data, which have been vaguely expressed by the people,
and expand areas of cooperation in the industrial sector.
On the other hand, countries all over the world regard data as the foundation of national wealthand international competitiveness in the digital society, and aim to expand the amount of data andimprove AI capabilities by promoting digitalization and innovation. For example, in the United Statesand Europe, comprehensive and concrete strategies for data have been announced over the past one to
two years 36, and measures are being strongly promoted in line with these strategies. In some countries,
digital twins have been built on a national scale, and the provision of highly convenient services has
begun in earnest 37. In response to this situation, countries and regions are beginning to formulate basic
principles for the handling of data, and discussions are beginning in the international arena on the ideal
way of a digital society. In response to this situation, the public and private sectors in Japan havebeen working in cooperation with each other. For example, the SIP has played a central role in thedevelopment of collaboration infrastructure in each field, such as agriculture and transportation

Prime Minister Abe's Speech at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, January 23,
2019
34
Decision of the Council for Integrated Innovation in March 201935
At the G20 Ibaraki-Tsukuba Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Digital Economy (June 8-9, 2019),
for the first time in the G20, the G20 members agreed for the first time to the AI Principles based on
the concept of "human - -centered" (the "G20 AI Principles") in order to promote the development
and utilization of AI, and a ministerial statement containing the contents of the Principles was
adopted.
36
Federal Data Strategy (US) (June 2019), European Data Strategy (EU) (February 2020), National
Data Strategy (UK) (September 2020), etc.
37
“Virtual Singapore" in Singapore and "India Stack" in India, etc.
33

17

infrastructure, the development of inter-field data collaboration infrastructure to interconnect them 38,
and the formulation of the Smart City Reference Architecture 39 as a basic design guideline for smart
cities. In addition, in order to strongly advance the digitalization of society in conjunction with thereform of systems, policies, and organizations, the Basic Act on the Formation of an Advanced
Information and Telecommunications Network Society (the IT Basic Act), which specifies policies
for the formulation of measures, has been comprehensively reviewed. Moreover, the Digital Agency
has been established as a new control tower, and the "Basic Policy for Reform for the Realization of
a Digital Society 40," the "Digital Government Action Plan 41," and the "First Report of Data Strategy 42"
have been formulated, thus opening the door for Japan to become one of the world's leading countries
in data utilization.
[Current situation data] (Reference index)
・ State of opening of administrative service-related data (open data types): 27,635 43
・ Ratio of companies engaging in DX: 41.5% for user companies, 33.8% for IT companies(2020) 44
・ ICT market size: 99.1 trillion yen (2018) 45
・ IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking: 27th among 63 countries (2020)
・ The number of catalog sets that can be searched by the inter-field data cooperation basis:
52,797 (including private sector: 5,535) 46
・ Number of sites providing the above catalog sets: 35 (including 1 private site) 47

・ Public metadata (by institution, program, etc.) 48 of publicly funded research data contained inresearch data infrastructure systems 49
・ Network development: 5G infrastructure deployment rate 50 (as of the end of March 2020, no
index), 530,000 households without optical fiber (as of the end of March 2020) 51
A foundation for realizing distributed inter - -field data collaboration, which has functions forutilizing data safely and securely and in which the data collaboration infrastructures in various fields
is are connected across boundaries
39
Announced on March 18, 2020. A common design framework that embodies the components of asmart city and should be used as a reference for smart city promoters and stakeholders when building
smart city services. It was made in the SIP second period "Architecture construction anddemonstration research in cyberspace basic technology using big data and AI".
https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/stmain/20200318siparchitecture.html
40
Cabinet decision of December 25, 2020
41
Cabinet decision of December 25, 2020
42
Decision of the Digital Government Ministerial Conference, December 21, 2020
43
From Data.go.jp as of November 27, 2020.
44
Information-technology Promotion Agency, “IT Human Resource White Paper”
45
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Information and Communications White Paper
2020"
46
As of October 2020
47
As of October 2020
48
Chapter 2, 2. (2) states that systematic metadata will be added to research data obtained frompublic funds by FY2023, and that a system will be established from that year in which these
metadata can be searched on the research data infrastructure system.
49
The Research Data Infrastructure System (NII Research Data Cloud) described in Chapter 2,
Section 2 (2), began full - -scale operation in fiscal FY2020 as a core platform for managing andutilizing research data using public funds.
50
The ratio of the number of 5G advanced specified base stations to the total number of meshes
divided into about 4,500 in 10 km square nationwide.
51
As of the end of March 2020. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey.
38

18

・ Recognition of Society 5.0, expectations and concerns about services: recognition rate 12.9%(2019) 52
・ Number of accredited education programs under the mathematics, data science and AI
education program accreditation system
・ R&D expenditure in the information and communications field: 2,362.4 billion (FY2019) 53
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
For the realization of Society 5.0, in order to create new value by combining cyber space andphysical space, we aim to transform into a society that creates a dynamic virtuous cycle that constantly
changes. In this way, a digital twin with high-quality and diverse data is created in cyber space, andphysical space is changed based on this digital twin while actively using AI, and the results are
reproduced in cyber space.
To this end, under the command tower and national strategy for realizing a digital society, thegovernment will build a sustainable and resilient society that ensures the safety and security of thepeople by building and thoroughly utilizing this new social system infrastructure while reviewing
necessary regulations, and taking on global issues and domestic system reforms. In addition, it isnecessary to build a rational cyber space based on the overall architecture from strategy toinfrastructure and human resources, and to continuously reform business operations in physical space
and the industrial structure on the premise of its utilization.
Human resources and social infrastructure will support such a society. We will train a large
number of human resources with knowledge of mathematics, data science, and AI who will play anactive role in all fields of society. We will also implement technologies that utilize data and AI in anenvironment where next-generation infrastructure has been established all over Japan. Through these
efforts, we will build a foundation on which anyone, anywhere, anytime, can use data and AI to create
services that have never been realized before.
In addition, administrative organs will play the role of a data holder platform to develop abase registry 54, standardize data related to administrative services, and open it to the private sector. In
the fields of education, medical care, disaster prevention, etc., the government and the private sector
will work together to utilize a safe, secure, and reliable data platform developed by the national
government to build a digital twin in cyberspace based on a wide variety of data on all goods andservices.
In addition, by establishing a reliable data distribution environment, ensuring security andprivacy, and establishing fair rules, etc., companies will mutually provide and utilize data, and highly
convenient services that support people's convenience and safe lives that are developed and provided
in various fields will be activated. Such establishment will also address the negative aspects and ethicalissues, etc. that accompany data and the social implementation of AI. Participation of various people
in society will also be promoted, accelerating the development of domestic and foreign societies.
In response to these changes, business reforms and digitalization based on the use of data in
all areas of business in all fields will advance, industrial structure reforms and international industrial
competitiveness will improve, public acceptance of data utilization and awareness of cooperation bycorporations will increase, and a virtuous cycle will emerge in which data utilization will further
advance across borders.
By realizing such a society, Japan will support efforts to build a sustainable, safe and securesociety and to resolve various social issues. Japan will also communicate to the world its vision ofrealizing Society 5.0 ahead of the rest of the world.

From the Fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan Review (August 2020))
Science and Technology Research Survey Results 2020, Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications (December 2020)
54
Basic social data such as persons, corporations, land, buildings, qualifications, etc., which areregistered and disclosed at public institutions, etc. and are referenced in various situations
52
53

19

[Target]・ By completing the Data Strategy, we will transform society into one in which cyberspace andphysical space create a dynamic virtuous circle, and anyone can create new value anytime,
anywhere by utilizing data and AI with confidence.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Create an environment where anyone, including startups and researchers, can collaborate andconnect data across fields
・ Disaster prevention field: Disaster response utilizing SIP4D 55 will be possible in all prefectures
・ Smart Cities: Around 100 local governments and regions (including startup / ecosystem hub
cities)3) Concrete measures
a. Strategies and organizations for building cyber space Under the Basic Policy for Reform for the Realization of a Digital Society, we will launch a
Digital Agency during 2021 as a control tower for the formation of a digital society, which
will have a powerful comprehensive coordination function (advisory authority, etc.), form
plans, and will manage and supervise information systems 56 of the national government, local
governments, quasi-public departments, etc., as well as develop important systems by itself.
[IT] 57We will review regulations from the viewpoint of promoting the formation of a digitalsociety. [IT, Regulations Office, and relevant ministries and agencies] We will clarify the action principles of each player, including administrative organs and theprivate sector, regarding data, and confirm the progress of measures taken by the relevant
ministries and agencies from FY2021, starting with the formulation of the First Report at theend of FY2020, with regard to data strategies for building cyberspace and creating new
business and administrative services using data, and constantly review and implement them.
[IT, STI]
b. Development of data platforms and provision of highly convenient data utilization services
 With regard to the base registry (individuals, corporations, addresses, land, offices, etc.), which
will be the basis of data utilization services, the relevant ministries and agencies of the dataholder and the IT Headquarters will cooperate to examine the direction of development by June
2021. Some of the preceding projects will start operation by the end of FY2021, and thedevelopment of data standards will be sequentially implemented. [IT, relevant ministries andagencies] We will enable each citizen to enjoy the same level of detailed administrative services and to
perform procedures online in both regional and urban areas. For this purpose, the government
will promote integration and unification of government information systems while ensuring
mutual cooperation through standardization and unification, and promote the reform ofadministrative services and operational systems from the users’ point of view in an integrated
manner while facilitating cooperation with private systems. By doing so, we will further
improve the convenience of citizens and businesses and reduce operating costs (by 30% by
FY2025 compared to FY2020). The government will also promote standardization and

55 See Chapter 2, 1. (3).

For local governments and quasi-public departments, etc., limited to systems for which subsidies
from the national government are granted.
56

57
After the launch of the Digital Agency in 2021, the Digital Agency will handle operations. Hereinafter
the same applies.

20







c.

commonization of information systems 58 pertaining to 17 operations of local governments andaim to shift to information systems conforming to standards (standard specifications) by
FY2025. Based on the effects of standardization and cloud computing, the government will
aim to reduce operating costs of local governments’ information systems by at least 30% from
FY2018 by FY2026, when the shift to standards-based systems is scheduled to be completed.
[IT, MIC]
In the fields of education, medical care, disaster risk reduction, etc., the government and theprivate sector will work together to develop and implement a data platform that will contributeto the creation of private services by 2025 in accordance with the timeline of the data strategy.
At the same time, the government will aim to establish and implement measurable indicators
for the development and utilization of the data platform. [IT, STI, Disaster, MEXT, MHLW,
MLIT, relevant ministries and agencies]
With regard to private services, in order to establish a data sharing platform in a collaborative
area as soon as possible, IPA 59will work on the creation of model cases by FY2021. In addition,in order to strengthen Japan's industrial competitiveness and realize safe and secure data
distribution, IPA will develop and examine architectures including systems individuallydeveloped by different business and fields and standards for connecting data by FY2022, anddraw conclusions in multiple fields. [METI]
In order to solve problems related to data distribution and utilization across fields and common
problems faced by relevant organizations by mobilizing the wisdom of industry, academia, andgovernment in terms of technology, systems, and human resources to build a sustainable data
ecosystem, we will build a data collaboration mechanism between fields with DSA 60 at thecore in 2023. We will promote the interconnection of data infrastructure for each field, datacollaboration infrastructure for smart cities and super cities, and research data infrastructure
systems, which will be built on research and development issues (SIP, etc.) implemented by
the Cabinet Office, and will work on raising awareness through DSA and smart cities publicprivate collaboration platform 61 . In addition, we will examine measures to realize moreadvanced data utilization in line with the expansion of the role of administrative organs as dataholder platforms, the increase in international data distribution, and the development ofservices using data and AI. [IT, STI, Disaster, NPA, FSA, MIC, METI, MHLW, MAFF, METI,
MLIT, MOE]

Establishing a reliable data distribution environment including data governance rules
 By the end of FY2021, we will consider the current situation, issues, and rules for thedevelopment of an environment for promoting data distribution (information banks, datatransaction markets, etc.), and draw a conclusion on them. [IT, SIPSH, STI, PPC, MIC, METI] In order to promote the utilization of data held by the private sector, by the end of FY2021, we
will consider ideal rules for the handling of data held by the private sector, such as easing theconcerns of citizens and companies on the side of providing data, and improving the reliabilityof organizations and to which data is provided. [IT, SIPSH, PPC, relevant ministries andInformation systems related to administrations directly related to people’s lives and that require
mutual connections (17 operations of Basic Resident Register Network, voter registration list
management, property tax, individual inhabitant’s tax, corporate inhabitant’s tax, light vehicle tax,
national health insurance, national pension, disabled persons welfare, late-stage elderly medical care,long-term care, child allowance, public assistance, health care, schooling, child-rearing allowance,and child and childcare support)
59
Information-technology Promotion Agency
60
DSA: Data Society Alliance. Established in December 2020. Called dataex.jp (tentative name)since the launch of a preparatory council for the establishment of a new organization in July 2020.
Going forward, DSA will provide functions related to data connection under the name DATA-EX.,
61
Established in August 2019 for the purpose of accelerating public and private sector cooperation
for smart city efforts based on Integrated Innovation Strategy 2019 (Cabinet decision of June 2019).
58

21



agencies]
With regard to trust services that support the data society as a whole, such as personalauthentication and assurance of data authenticity, the direction of resolution will be indicatedby the end of FY2021, and improvements will be made starting with those that are possible by
FY2025. [IT, MIC, METI]

d. Development and R&D of next-generation infrastructure, data, and AI technologies for adigital society We will realize next-generation social infrastructure suitable for data and AI usage in terms of
power saving, high reliability, and low delay, which will be spread like a net over the wholecountry. For this purpose, the development of 5G / optical fiber will be promoted. The 5G will
cover 98% of the country by the end of FY2023, and the number of undeveloped optical fiber
households will decrease to about 170,000 by the end of FY2021. In addition, the development
and improvement of next-generation computing technologies including space systems(positioning, communication, observation, etc.), geospatial (G-space) information, SINET 62,
and high-performance computing (HPC) in terms of software and hardware, quantum
technology, semiconductors, and R&D for post-5G 63 and Beyond 5G 64 will be promoted.[Gspace, Space, MIC, MEXT, METI] In addition to the development of post-5G systems and semiconductors used in such systems,
the government will promote R&D by mobilizing the wisdom of both the public and private
sectors by utilizing research and development funds in order to establish elemental
technologies gradually from around 2025 toward the realization of Beyond 5G. [MIC, METI] In order to provide services tailored to each and every person making full use of nextgeneration infrastructure, data, and AI, we will engage in core infrastructure R&D as specified
in AI Strategy 2019. [STI, MIC, MEXT, METI]e.

Human resource development for a digital society From FY2021, the government will accelerate dialogue between universities and thegovernment, and industry to further enhance the system for education of knowledge andabilities, which will form the foundation of a digital society, in cooperation with industry,
academia, and government, so that human resources who will play a leading role in the digitalsociety will be produced and employed and will be able to play an active role in society. In thisway, the government will foster a common understanding of the ideal way of employment andthe matching of learning provided by higher education by promoting the development of asystem for the early development of specialized statistical teachers, measures for the
dissemination of the mathematics, data science and AI education program accreditation system,and education that emphasizes learning results using internships and PBL. 65 [IT, CBPA, NPA,
MEXT, METI]f.

Contribution to the international community concerning the ideal form of the digital society In order to establish a global framework for data distribution, by FY2021, the government will

SINET: Science Information NETwork. An information and communications network built andoperated by the National Institute of Informatics as an academic information base for universities,
research institutions, etc. across Japan.
63With regard to 5G, which is a next-generation mobile communications system with thecharacteristics of ultra-high speed, ultra-low delay, and high numbers of simultaneous connections,
5G with enhanced functions such as further ultra-low delay and high numbers of simultaneousconnections.
64
Essential infrastructure of the Society 5.0 era equipped with characteristics such as ultra-large
capacity, ultra-low delay, high numbers of simultaneous connections, ultra-low power consumption,
ultra- safe, and ultra-reliable that exceed 5G and post-5G.
65
PBL: Problem Based Learning
62

22





indicate the direction of the resolution of issues that need to be addressed in promotinginternational data distribution, such as data quality, privacy, security, mutual trust in
infrastructure, rules, and standards, and will implement measures to resolve such issues.
[Cabinet Secretariat, IT, SIPSH, PPC, MIC, MOFA, MEXT]
In order to promote international dialogue on the ideal way of a digital society, the government
will lead international discussions by providing the results of good practices obtained throughthe above-mentioned efforts to the international arena such as the OECD, and by reflecting
them in the outcomes of the G7 66 and IGF 67, for which Japan will host in 2023. [IT, STI, MIC,
MOFA, METI]At the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan to be held in 2025, based on the Basic Policy on the
Promotion of Preparation and Implementation Measures for World Expo 2025 (Expo 2025
Osaka, Kansai) 68, Japan will embody the Society 5.0 by utilizing data and AI. Through this,Japan will widely demonstrate its mounting capabilities both at home and abroad and attract
foreign investment. [Expo, STI, MIC, METI]

g. New policy issues
 In the midst of severe changes in the social situation surrounding digitalization, measures topromote the use of data across national borders, measures to promote the construction of digital
twins in the public and private sectors, measures to attract highly skilled human resources fromaround the world to Japan, and measures to reflect social acceptance in policies are to bereviewed according to the situation at all times using evidence. By FY2023, policies will be
evaluated and reviewed, and new policies will be considered. [IT, STI]

G7 Summit to be held in Japan in 2023
ICF: The Internet Governance Forum. To be held in Japan in 2023
68
Cabinet decision of December 21, 2020
66
67

23

(2) Promoting social change and discontinuous innovation to overcome global issues
1) Recognition of the current situation
Global social issues such as climate disasters caused by rapid climate change, increased
human and economic losses due to climate change, the deterioration of biodiversity, and marine plastic
waste, are becoming increasingly serious. In particular, responding to climate change is an urgent issue.
It is essential to steadily implement the Paris Agreement, which has been in full operation since 2020,
in order to resolve this issue, and to advance efforts aimed at realizing a global decarbonized society
in the latter half of this century.
Against this backdrop, the EU, the United States, China, and other countries around the world
have announced and are planning to make active investments in the development of technologies andsocial implementations to realize carbon neutrality 69 , and this trend has been accelerated by the
positioning of carbon neutrality as a pillar of economic recovery from the ravages of the novel
coronavirus, as seen in the EU's Green Recovery. 70
At the 203rd session of the Diet in October 2020, the Prime Minister expressed his intention
to address the climate change issue as one of the most important issues for Japan, and to aim for a
carbon-neutral society by 2050. 71 In order to aim for a carbon-neutral society that is fundamentallydifferent from the current social structure based on economic activities that are premised on
greenhouse gas emissions, social change and discontinuous innovation are essential. For this purpose,a fund worth 2 trillion yen was established to continuously support the development of innovativetechnologies. 72 In addition, "Zero Carbon City," local governments aiming to achieve zero CO2emissions in real terms by 2050, have also increased to over 300 nationwide, and efforts are being
made in each region.
On the other hand, medium- and long-term resource constraints and increases in waste
emissions associated with global population growth and economic development have become global
issues, and efforts to achieve a circular economy are being promoted in each country. 73 Japan is also

69 Under the European Green Deal, the EU formulated an investment plan in January 2020 with theaim of achieving zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in real terms by 2050. Over the next 10
years, the EU and the private sector will invest approximately 120 trillion yen. The new Biden
Administration of the United States will return to the Paris Agreement and will invest 0 yen in aim
for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will invest about 200 trillion yen in
decarbonization over four years. At the UN General Assembly in September 2020, China announced
that it would peak out its CO 2 emissions before 2030 and aim to achieve carbon neutrality before
2060. Through the government's promotion policy, new energy vehicles and investment inrenewable energy will increased.
70 In September 2020, the EU announced its 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by atleast 55% from the 1990 level (approved by the European Council in December 2020). Over the next
seven years, approximately 70 trillion yen (equivalent to 30% of the total sum of the Multiannual
Fiscal Framework and Reconstruction Fund) will be allocated to the Green Recovery. In November
2020, the UK announced its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, and announced plans
to invest approximately 1.7 trillion yen in offshore wind power generation, hydrogen production
facilities, and other measures. In December of the same year, the EUK announced a new target to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 68% from the 1990 level by 2030.
71 In his policy speech in October 2020, Prime Minister Suga stated, "We hereby declare that by
2050 Japan will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero, that is, to realize a carbonneutral, decarbonized society."
72 Green Innovation Fund Project: The third supplementary budget for FY2020 is 2.0 trillion yen.
73 For example, the EU announced a Circular Economy Package in December 2015 as the core of its
growth strategy toward 2030 to actively advance the transition to a circular economic society
including measures for the drastic reduction of plastic marine litter. In March 2020, the EU
formulated an action plan incorporating more specific measures.
24

actively promoting efforts to achieve thorough resource circulation throughout the entire life cycle andthe formation of a regional circulation and symbiosis zone based on the Fourth Fundamental Plan for
Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society. 74
With regard to the issue of marine plastic waste, which has received increasing attention
rapidly in recent years, at the G20 Osaka Summit held in June 2019, leaders shared the "Osaka Blue
Ocean Vision," which aims to reduce additional pollution to zero by 2050 as a first step in efforts
involving emerging and developing countries.
[Current situation data] (Reference index)
・ Progress of the Innovative Environmental Innovation Strategy (Innovation Action Plan,
Acceleration Plan, Zero Emissions Initiative) 75
・ Number of zero carbon cities: 325 local governments (March 17, 2021)
・ R&D expenditure in the environmental field: 1,289.4 billion yen (FY2019) 76
・ R&D expenditure in the energy field: 1,165.4 billion yen (FY2019) 77
・ Number of RE100 member companies (Japan)78: 50 (February 1, 2021) 79
・ Greenhouse gas emissions: 1.213 billion tons (FY2019 (preliminary report)) 80
・ Average temperature increase in Japan: 1.24°C (1898-2019) 81
・ Resource productivity: Approx. 393,000 yen / ton (FY2017) 82
・ Market size for circular economy businesses: approximately 4 trillion yen (FY2000) 83

Cabinet decision of June 19, 2018
The Innovative Environmental Innovation Strategy (decided by the Council for Integrated
Innovation on January 21, 2020) is composed of (1) an "Innovation Action Plan" that specifies
concrete cost targets for 16 technological issues, (2) an "Acceleration Plan" that specifies researchsystems and investment promotion measures to realize these, and (3) the "Zero Emissions Initiatives
Tokyo Beyond-Zero Week" that are to be communicated and co - created together with global
leaders for social implementation. A review of the Innovation Action Plan will be released asnecessary as the Innovation Dashboard."
76
Science and Technology Research Survey Results 2020, Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications (December 2020)
77
Science and Technology Research Survey Results 2020, Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications (December 2020)
78
Companies that aim to and engage in switching over the power they use to 100 percent% renewableenergy..
79
Tabulated by the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP) Secretariat based on the RE100
website.
80
FY2019 Greenhouse Gas Emissions (preliminary figures) (announced by the Ministry of theEnvironment on December 8, 2020)
81
Climate Change in Japan 2020 – Observations of the Atmosphere, Land, and Oceans / Forecast
Assessment Report – (released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology and Japan Meteorological Agency on December 4, 2020)
82
Resource productivity = GDP / natural resources, etc. input. The input of natural resources, etc.
refers to the total amount of domestic and imported natural resource and imported products (directmaterial input: DMI). Resource productivity is an indicator that comprehensively shows how much
wealth is generated with fewer natural resources, such as whether each industry is improving
production activities with fewer natural resources or how things are being used efficiently inpeople’s living, by calculating the real gross domestic product (real GDP) generated per certain
amount of natural resources, etc. input. When comparing on an international scale, it is necessary tonote differences in industrial structures, etc.
83
Calculated from the FY2019 Report on the Market Scale, Employment Scale, etc. of theEnvironment Industry (released on July 20, 2020), Ministry of the Environment (Reference; The 4th
74
75

25

2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
Japan will achieve zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, carbon neutrality by 2050,
and a circular economy through sound and efficient waste treatment and advanced recycling ofresources. By responding to these goals, we aim to create a society that leads the world and creates avirtuous cycle of economy and environment by leading to economic growth through the developmentof green industries.
In order to achieve this, it is essential to redesign the economy and society through the threetransitions of "decarbonized society," "circular economy," and "decentralized society" in order toreform the lifestyles of the people, the industrial structure, and the economy and society as a whole,and to resolve social issues. In addition, it is necessary to establish high goals and visions, and it isnecessary for industry, academia, and government to work together widely to achieve them first
towards 2030.
From this perspective, in order to realize carbon neutrality, the government will promotethorough energy conservation, electrification, and decarbonization of electricity (accelerated
dissemination of technologies for maximum introduction of renewable energy and utilization of
nuclear energy with priority given to safety) based on discussions at the Green Innovation Strategy
Promotion Council, and will strongly promote groundbreaking innovations such as next-generation
solar cells, CCUS 84 / carbon recycling, and hydrogen. In this regard, the government will promotedecarbonization of people's lifestyles, realize and expand zero carbon cities, and foster public
understanding in order to encourage technology introduction and social implementation, and will also
consider necessary systems and standards.
In addition, by actively disseminating information on Japan's efforts and enhancing Japan's
presence, we will gather the wisdom of research institutes from around the world to promoteinternational joint research and build up supply chains. At the same time, we will attract investment
in energy and environment-related businesses to Japan and promote the visualization of corporate
activities.
In order to realize a circular economy, in addition to the treatment and proper management ofwaste, we will promote innovation such as the development of alternative materials by extending thelife of products, long-term conservation and maintenance of resources, and minimization of waste
generation. In addition, we will promote sustainable regional development and the transformation ofpeople's lifestyles, while creating a regional recycling and symbiosis zone in which each region forms
an independent and decentralized society by utilizing local resources such as natural resources andecosystem services and supplements and supports each other according to the characteristics of theregion.
[Target]・ As global issues become more serious, Japan's greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced tozero in real terms by 2050, leading the world to become carbon neutral and promoting thetransition to a circular economy. This will contribute to overcoming climate change andother environmental problems, and will ensure sustainability based on the SDGs.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Japan's greenhouse gas emissions: real zero (2050)
・ Resource productivity: Approx. 490,000 yen / ton (FY2025)
・ Market size for circular economy businesses: approximately twice that of FY2000 (FY2025)
3) Concrete measures

Fundamental Plan for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society (June 2018))
84
CCUS: Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage
26

a. Promotion of research and development and cost reduction of innovative environmental
innovation technologies
 With regard to the Innovative Environmental Innovation Strategy, the Innovation Dashboard,
the Acceleration Plan, and Tokyo Beyond Zero Week will be reviewed in a timely andappropriate manner in light of the global situation, and industry, academia, and government
will steadily promote the implementation of innovative technologies in society. In addition,
regarding the fields essential for achieving carbon neutrality, the government will promote theimplementation of innovative technologies in society by utilizing fund projects that provide
continuous support for the development of innovative technologies based on the Green Growth
Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050 85 that includes (i) targets with clear
time frames, (ii) research and development and demonstration, (iii) institutional development
such as regulatory reform and standardization, and (iv) international collaboration, and will
promote the implementation of innovative technologies in society by utilizing fund projects
that provide continuous support for the development of innovative technologies. [STI, MIC,
MEXT, MAFF, METI, MLIT, MOE]
 In order to maintain data interoperability and system scalability between cities and fields, theimplementation of urban Oss 86 (data linkage infrastructure) in each region will be accelerated
while referring to the Smart City Reference Architecture. In addition, support will be started
in FY2021 to contribute to the progress of efforts for zero carbon cities so that local
governments, etc. that have announced zero carbon cities will implement climate change
measures using a wide variety of big data. [STI, MIC, MEXT, MAFF, METI, MLIT, MOE]
 The government will accelerate necessary R&D to achieve the 2050 goals of the Moonshot
Research and Development Program ("Realization of Sustainable Resource Circulation for
Global Environment Restoration" and "Creation of a Sustainable Food Supply Industry withNo Excess or Waste on a Global Scale through Full Utilization of Unused Biological
Functions"), and will clarify the path toward social implementation. [STI, MAFF, METI] In cooperation with the international community, the government will strengthen the functionsof the "Innovative Global Research Centers" such as the AIST Global Zero Emission ResearchCenter, the Next-Generation Energy Infrastructure Research Center, and the Tokyo Bay Area
Innovation Area, and activate exchanges of human resources and knowledge both in Japan andoverseas. [MEXT, METI] By May 2021, the government will formulate the Green Food System Strategy, which will
include achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and active participation in international rulemaking. The strategy will examine the development of new agricultural, forestry, and fisherypolicies and present a vision to be achieved by 2050. Based on this, the government will realizeboth the improvement of productivity and the sustainability of the food, agriculture, forestry,
and fishery industries through innovation. [MAFF, relevant ministries and agencies] For the transition to a recycling-oriented economy, the government will promote thedevelopment of environment-friendly designs, the development of advanced recycling
infrastructure technologies such as improved sorting efficiency of used products, the researchand development of innovative materials with low environmental impact such as marine
biodegradable plastics, and investment for the promotion of innovation. [MEXT, METI, MOE] While climate change is a cause of biodiversity degradation, forest ecosystems, etc., which are
the basis of biodiversity, are closely interrelated and related to each other such as CO2 sinks.
Therefore, research and development will be conducted to realize carbon neutrality throughsynergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change measures, and the use of
ecosystem functions in sinks and adaptation to climate change will be promoted. [MAFF,

Released by the Committee on the Growth Strategy on December 25, 2020.
Abbreviation of urban operating systems. A collective term for IT systems to realize the easy
implementation of services in various fields to be introduced in smart cities and aggregate functions
for regions that are attempting to realize smart cities to share, for the realization of smart cities.

85
86

27





MLIT, MOE]
The government will promote efforts to save energy in social infrastructure facilities and toachieve zero emission as well as innovative technology development for reducing energy
consumption at construction sites. At the same time, the government will promote the social
implementation of green infrastructure that contributes to CO2 sink measures by utilizing
various functions of the natural environment.[MLIT, MOE]
In order to contribute to the creation of highly accurate climate change prediction informationand the resolution of climate change issues, the government will promote the accumulation
and utilization of global environment big data such as observation data and prediction
information on greenhouse gases. [MEXT, MOE]

b. Promotion of R&D and demonstration for utilization of various energy sources Based on the Basic Energy Plan, which is currently under review, the government will promote
necessary research and development, demonstration, and international cooperation in energy
conservation, renewable energies, nuclear power, and nuclear fusion. [MEXT, METI]c.

Promotion of economic and social redesigns
 With the aim of creating industries, reforming the economy and society, and solving social
problems, concrete efforts will be made to redesign the economy and society through the threetransitions to a "decarbonized society," a "circular economy," and a "decentralized society." In
this regard, the regional perspective, which is conscious of social implementation, as well as a
global perspective, is also important. Therefore, the government will promote cross-sectoral
R&D to support regional decarbonization efforts, and aim to create local SDGs that will realize
the three transitions in an integrated manner. [MEXT, METI, MOE]
 In preparation for COP26 87 in November 2021, the government will boldly implement global
warming countermeasures such as further acceleration of technology development,
implementation in society, and reform of lifestyles and work styles, based on the Plan for
Global Warming Countermeasures under review. [METI, MOE]
 In order to promote the spread of technologies for decarbonization of lifestyles, the government
will promote lifestyle changes and expand the prosumer of decarbonization by taking into
account the discussions at the "National and Local Decarbonization Realization Conference,"
etc., by working on total management of housing and transportation (practical application of a
combination of ZEH 88 and ZEB 89, appliances on the demand side (home electric appliances,
hot water supply, etc.), local renewable energies, and EV 90 and FCV 91 as mobile fuel cells),
action modification through nudge 92 and sharing, technology development and demonstration
to encourage crediting of CO2 reduction using digital technologies, support for introduction,and establishment of systems. 93 [MOE, relevant ministries and agencies] The government will accelerate the transition to a circular economy by promoting resource
recycling through such means as reducing waste emissions, improving the sophistication andefficiency of recycling processes, and turning products into biomass. At the same time, thegovernment will aim to recover energy from waste that must be incinerated, and to separate,
store, and effectively use greenhouse gases generated by processing. [METI, MOE] With regard to responses to biodiversity, which forms part of a distributed society, the26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties
Net zero energy house89
Net zero energy building
90
Electronic vehicle
91
Fuel cell vehicle
92
Nudge: to gently push
93
Prosumer: a concept introduced by futurist Alvin Toffler in his book released in 1980, The Third
Wave. It is a portmanteau combining the words “producer” and “consumer,” meaning a consumer
who conducts production activities.
87
88

28

government will promote research and development on technologies for the protection ofendangered species and the control of invasive alien species, technologies for the monitoring,
maintenance, and restoration of ecosystems including secondary nature, technologies for theassessment of economic and social values of ecosystem services including genetic resources
and natural capital, and technologies for sustainable management and utilization to realize"coexistence with nature." [MOE]d. Encouraging changes in people's behavior
 The government will promote the creation of a public understanding of the importance ofindividual efforts to realize carbon neutrality and the transformation of behavior todecarbonizing by utilizing the convergence of knowledge through the fusion of humanities,
social sciences, and natural sciences. In particular, the government will aim to expand themarket for products, services and lifestyles utilizing BI-Tech (the fusion of the knowledge of
behavioral science and advanced technology) 94 by the end of FY2022. It will also aim to build
a platform using blockchain technology that can freely trade individual CO2 reduction credits
at low cost. At the same time, the government will actively communicate Japan's efforts toboth in Japan and overseas.[STI, METI MOE]

BI-Tech: Behavioral Insights x Technology. Based on behavioral insights such as nudge, big dataon the situation of energy usage by individuals / households and attribute information is collectedusing IoT technology and analyzed using AI technology to encourage behavioral change throughpersonalized messages.

94

29

(3) Building a resilient, safe, and secure society
1) Recognition of the current situation
With discontinuous changes in the natural environment and in economic and social activities
in recent years, the safety and security of the nation and its people are under threat. In addition to thefrequent occurrence and aggravation of wind and flood damage due to climate change, etc., large-scale
earthquake and tsunami disasters are expected to occur at a high probability in the near future. Under
the current level of disaster prevention measures, it is difficult to prevent deaths and missing persons
due to delayed escape and damage to the lives of the people and the economy and society due todamage to houses and infrastructure.
In addition, the maintenance, management, and renewal of infrastructure are extremely
important as a basis for ensuring the safety and security of the people and supporting socioeconomic
activities. However, as infrastructure deterioration accelerates, there are concerns about loss offunctions, occurrence of large-scale accidents, and vulnerability to disasters due to insufficientmaintenance caused by insufficient budget and manpower.
On the other hand, the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus has exposed the vulnerabilityof social systems to infectious diseases. In a globalized society, there is a risk that infectious diseases
will spread across national borders in a short period of time due to the movement of people and goods
across national borders. There is also a risk that new biological threats will arise in the future, which
will have a major impact on people's lives and economic society.
In addition, along with the rapid expansion of cyberspace, cyber attacks have become morediverse and sophisticated through the use of new technologies and methods, and there are concerns
about unexpected threats to critical infrastructure and supply chains. There are concerns about threats
associated with the activation of human activities not only in cyberspace but also in outer space andmarine space.
While the security environment in Japan is becoming increasingly severe, the struggle forsupremacy in science, technology, and innovation is intensifying, and countries are competing fiercely
in research and development of advanced technologies. Against this background, the problem oftechnology outflow has already become apparent, and security risks are assumed due to military
diversion. In order to appropriately address this, it is increasingly important to understand, develop,
and utilize technology R&D trends and important technologies from the viewpoint of ensuring
technological superiority, and to control technology outflow.
[Current situation data] (Reference index)
・ Number of fatalities and missing persons due to natural disasters: 114 persons (2019) 95
・ Damage to facilities due to natural disasters: approximately 1 trillion yen (2018) 96
・ Annual number of events with precipitation of ≥ 50 mm per hour: about 327 times/year (20102019 average)97
・ Percentage of infrastructure more than 50 years old: (e.g.) road bridges: about 63% (2033) 98
・ Number of cyber attacks (e.g., ransomware, about 61.13 million in 2019) 99
・ Number of reported cases of infectious diseases in the Survey on Infectious Diseases (e.g.):tuberculosis: 22,448 cases (2018) 100
Cabinet Office, White Paper on Disaster Management 2020
Cabinet Office, White Paper on Disaster Management 2020
97
Japan Meteorological Agency, "Annual precipitation of 50 mm or more per hour nationwide(AMeDAS)" (2020)
95
96

URL: https://www.data.jma.go.jp/cpdinfo/extreme/extreme_p.html

MLIT, "White Paper on Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism 2020
IPA Information Security White Paper 2020
100
National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases Report (2020)
URL: https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/ja/ydata/9008-ydata2018.html
98
99

30

2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
In response to frequent and intense natural disasters, the government will build a resilient society
in which the damage caused by delayed escape is minimized due to appropriate evacuation actions,etc., and early recovery and reconstruction of citizens' lives and the economy is facilitated bydemonstrating comprehensive disaster prevention capabilities that make use of knowledge from thehumanities and social sciences in addition to advanced ICT. In addition to this, the government will
promote comprehensive efforts utilizing science, technology, and innovation related to national land
strengthening, such as ensuring functions and soundness and reducing the risk of accidents anddisasters by efficiently implementing the necessary construction, maintenance management, renewal,
and improvement of infrastructure.
Furthermore, the government will ensure the safety and security of the lives of the people as wellas the economy and society from attacks in new areas such as cyber space, which is becoming
increasingly diverse, sophisticated, and constantly changing, and new biological threats.
Under the current situation in which geopolitical changes have occurred on a global scale andscience, technology, and innovation has become the core of the struggle for supremacy, industry,
academia, and government will cooperate to promote research and development of cutting-edge
technologies across fields, contribute to the construction of a safe, secure and resilient society, andprotect important information that is the root of national power, with the recognition that the impactof science, technology, and innovation on the state is increasing.
In order to aim for a resilient, safe, and secure society, and maintain the peace of Japan and ensure
the safety and security of the nation and the people through the realization of comprehensive security
against various threats, it is important for the relevant government ministries and agencies, industry,
academia, and government to gather together Japan's high-level technological capabilities, and to takethe perspectives of "know," "nurture," "utilize," and "protect." In other words, based on "the directionof science, technology, and innovation toward the realization of safety and security 101 ," we willconsider what kind of threats exist, "know" technologies that can respond to threats, consider "howto" nurture" necessary technologies, and how to implement and "utilize” those technologies in society,and we will advance efforts to "protect" those technologies. Specifically, we will clarify important
technology fields that Japan should develop and allocate resources intensively to important
technologies, and we will steadily implement appropriate measures against technology leakage fromthe viewpoint of securing and maintaining Japan's technological superiority and preventing theconversion of R&D results to weapons of mass destruction. Through these measures, we will protect
important technologies for Japan, ensure Japan's research security, and realize comprehensive security.
[Target]・ To reduce and eliminate social anxiety about various threats to the lives of the people and theeconomy and society, such as frequent and severe natural disasters and new biological threats,
and to ensure the safety and security of the people.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Number of prefectures capable of disaster response using the Shared Information Platform forDisaster Management (SIP4D): all prefectures (2023)
・ Number of local governments operating disaster prevention chatbots 102: 100 or more (2023)

Decision of the Council for the Promotion of Integrated Innovation Strategies on January, 21,
2020
102
A system for automatically communicating with disaster victims on SNS in the event of a disasteron behalf of humans using AI. Conducted research and development in the SIP (Phase 2) Researchand Development Agenda "Strengthening National Resilience (Disaster Risk Reduction)" (FY2018 FY2022).
101

31

・ Completion of coordination between infrastructure data platforms of government ministries
and agencies, major local governments, and private companies, and data coordination withother major fields by FY2025
・ Establish a system infrastructure for collecting, generating, and providing cybersecurity
information in Japan, and open it to industry and academia in FY2021
・ Strengthening our ability to respond to biological threats: strengthen our system for collecting,analyzing, and providing information on infectious diseases, and begin collecting information
as needed in FY2021. Begin providing information for risk communication based on
researchers' analysis in FY2022.
・ New think tank functions: launch in FY2021 and establish by FY2023
3) Concrete measures
a. Response to frequent and severe natural disasters
 In each process of prevention, observation and prediction, emergency response, and restoration
and reconstruction against natural disasters, including efforts related to earthquakes andtsunamis based on international frameworks, the government will promote research anddevelopment to enhance the level of countermeasures taking climate change into consideration,
as well as advance the strengthening of the observation systems and development of researchfacilities necessary for such research and development, and will particularly focus on
strengthening resilience by utilizing advanced ICT. In addition to developing an information
sharing system centered on SIP4D, which is responsible for the cross-organizational exchangeof disaster prevention information, to prefectures and municipalities, the government will work
to strengthen regional disaster prevention capabilities, and will promote support for decisionmaking in various scenes related to disaster response through the use of global environment
big data utilizing DIAS 103 and the construction of an integrated G-space disaster prevention
and disaster mitigation system that links efforts that make advanced use of geospatial
information among relevant ministries and agencies. In addition, the government will promote
the DX of disaster response by further supporting the optimization of disaster response byindustry, government, academia, and citizens, and enhancing information systems for risk
communication with individual citizens that contribute to self-help, mutual assistance, andpublic assistance. For this purpose, the government will sequentially link SIP4D withprefectural disaster information systems from FY2021. With regard to disaster prevention
chatbots, part of a system for information sharing with municipalities and residents will start
operating from FY2023, and efforts will be made to further enhance the system. [STI, Disaster,
relevant ministries and agencies, relevant local governments]
 In addition to building a research base for information sharing systems, the government will
implement efficient and effective R&D investment and social implementation based on theoverall perspective of disaster prevention research, taking into account the evaluation of thelevel of disaster prevention measures, behavioral psychology analysis of evacuees, analysis ofsocial needs and issues in disaster prevention , benchmarking of disaster prevention
technologies, etc., utilizing knowledge from the humanities and social sciences. [STI, Disaster,
relevant ministries and agencies, relevant local governments]b. Efficient infrastructure management through digitalization
 In order to realize efficient infrastructure management for national land strengthening, theimplementation of leading-edge technologies in public works will be promoted. At the sametime, the digitalization and 3-D conversion of infrastructure data by each administrator will besequentially implemented, and rules and platforms for utilizing such data will be established.
[STI, MLT, relevant ministries and agencies]

103 DIAS: Data Integration and Analysis System

32



c.

In order to construct collaborative data platforms in the infrastructure field, by FY2021, thegovernment will develop an environment for collaboration between data platforms ofministries and agencies, major local governments, and private companies. From then on, thegovernment will promote collaboration between infrastructure administrators, and will
implement data collaboration with disaster prevention, urban areas, and industrial areas inorder to strengthen national land and create other added value.[STI, relevant ministries andagencies]

Ensuring security in cyberspace where attacks are diversifying and advancing
 As cyber attacks diversify and become more sophisticated, there are discontinuous changes inthe situation, and the ability to follow and adapt to such changes is required. Based on thisperspective, R&D and system construction will be carried out for observing, forecasting,analyzing, responding to, and sharing information on attacks. Specifically, by FY2021, thegovernment will build a system infrastructure for collecting, generating, and providing cybersecurity information in Japan, and open the system to industry and academia. In addition, thegovernment will promote the development of advanced cryptographic technologies for thequantum computer era, and technical verification for detecting vulnerabilities and illegal
functions in response to supply chain risks. [Cabinet Secretariat, STI, MIC, METI, relevant
ministries and agencies]

d. Responding to new biological threats In response to new biological threats, the government will promote research and development
related to early detection of outbreaks, understanding and forecasting of epidemics, prevention
and control, and risk communication with the public. Specifically, from FY2021, thegovernment will strengthen systems for collecting, analyzing, and providing information on
infectious diseases, and will implement information collection as needed. In addition, fromFY2022, the government will provide information for risk communication based on theanalysis by researchers. [Cabinet Secretariat, STI, MHLW, relevant ministries and agencies]e.

Responding to threats to safety and security in the space and maritime fields
 In response to other threats to safety and security, including those in the space and maritime
fields, the government will conduct R&D on leading-edge basic technologies, and R&D andsocial implementation in response to respective issues, while ensuring an international
cooperation system. [Cabinet Secretariat, STI, Space, Ocean, MOFA, MEXT, METI, Disaster,
relevant ministries and agencies]f.

Efforts to "know," "nurture," "live," and "protect" to ensure safety and security
Implement cross-sectoral efforts to respond to various important issues for realizing safety andsecurity, and to strengthen scientific and technological capabilities that form the basis ofcomprehensive security while taking into account the diversity of science and technology.
 In order to enhance efforts to monitor, observe, predict, and analyze trends in threats to thelives of the citizenry and the social economy, to grasp trends in R&D at home and abroad, andto analyze issues based on knowledge from the humanities and social sciences, a new systemof think tank functions related to safety and security will be established, and policy
recommendations will be made on future science and technology strategies related to safety
and security and on important technologies that should be developed intensively. For thispurpose, a new think tank function will be established in FY2021, and an organization will beestablished around FY2023 to implement policy recommendations. [Cabinet Secretariat, STI,
relevant ministries and agencies] Based on policy recommendations from new think tank functions, establish a mechanism tolink with R&D programs and funding as necessary, and implement management of R&D
programs, including setting clear targets for social implementation. [Cabinet Secretariat, STI,
relevant ministries and agencies] In light of the situation in which concerns such as conflicts of interest, conflicts of duty, and33



leakage of scientific and technological information are becoming more and more apparent as
research activities become more international and open, the government will consider its
response policy while paying attention to the difference between basic research and applied
development, while also taking into account the importance of international joint research, anddevelop necessary guidelines such as guidelines for public invitation of competitive researchfunds 104 and cooperation with foreign companies in 2021. In order to support independent
assurance of the soundness and fairness (research integrity) of research that should be held byresearchers, the government will establish the direction of its response in early 2021 incooperation with research communities in Japan and overseas. These guidelines will be
reviewed as necessary in light of the status of efforts by each research institute, researchfunding agency, etc. [STI, MEXT, METI, relevant ministries and agencies]
In order to ensure and maintain Japan's technological superiority, the government will clarify
important technologies, allocate resources intensively to important technology fields, andimplement appropriate measures against technology outflow. In light of the situation in whichinternational technology outflow problems have emerged, the government will promote
information gathering and consider the construction of frameworks and systems, including
institutional aspects, in order to take appropriate measures against technology outflow in aphased manner according to the actual situation of various technology outflows, while
promoting information exchange globally, strengthening research and innovation capabilities,
and ensuring comprehensive security.
[Cabinet Secretariat, STI, relevant ministries and agencies]

Of funds gained competitively from public invitations by ministries, agencies, etc. by universities,
national research and development agencies, etc., those related to research (including funds
considered “competitive funds”).
10434

(4) Formation of an innovation ecosystem that is the foundation for creating new
industries that share value
1) Recognition of the current situation
In recent years, large IT companies as represented by GAFA and startups have rapidly grown
to the extent that they surpass large companies in a very short period of time around the world. Thishas become a major trend to change not only the industrial structure but also the urban structure andlifestyle. Following these large companies, many "unicorn" companies 105 have emerged around theworld, mainly in the United States and China, and they are taking the lead in each country's markets.
Advanced countries are also strategically forming their startup ecosystems to create innovative
startups.
In addition, existing large enterprises are also required to break away from "self-sufficiency"
and engage in open-type and disruptive 106 innovation in cooperation with startups that take onchallenges by taking advantage of mobility in various fields and universities with innovativetechnological seeds.
On the other hand, in Japan, closed-type and linear-type innovations, mainly by existing
business companies, have become the mainstream, and startups have not been able to play an activerole. Even if startups try to grow, there are problems such as lack of funds before and immediately
after startup (seed and early periods), lack of management human resources, difficulty of collaboration
with business companies, lack of initial demand creation, and lack of creation of startups fromuniversities and national research and development agencies. Therefore, the innovation ecosystem thatcreates startups is not fully developed.
For this reason, in July 2020, Japan selected Startup Ecosystem Hub Cities 107 , and is
promoting the formation of an autonomous startup ecosystem comparable to those in the world. In
addition, we are advancing the formation of Tsukuba Science City and Kansai Science City as open
innovation hubs where various entities such as corporations, universities, and public research institutes
can collaborate and co-create.
[Current situation data] (Reference index)
・ Number of university start-ups: 204 from universities, etc. (established in FY2019), 13 fromresearch and development agencies (established in FY2018) 108
・ Amount and number of VC investments: annual amount of VC investments: 289.1 billion yen/ 1,824 (FY2019) 109
・ Cross-border trademark and patent applications: Japan is the only major country with arelatively larger number of patent applications than trademark applications per unit
population 110

Unlisted venture companies with a corporate value of $ 1 billion or more, 221 in the United Statesand 109 in China (as of March 2020), and eight in Japan (calculated by the Cabinet Office based onJAPAN STARTUP FINANCE REPORT 2018, 2019).
106"Disruptive" here refers to innovations that bring about dramatic changes in the order of existing
markets.
107
Based on the "Beyond Limits. Unlock Our Potential - -A Strategy to Build Startup Ecosystem
Hubs that Compete with the World" (decided by the Cabinet Office, MEXT, and the METI in June2019), this is a system to build hubs in cities with the accumulation and potential of startups areapproved, and relevant ministries and agencies provide priority support for such efforts. In July
2020, eight cities were selected as global hub cities:: Tokyo area, Nagoya / Hamamatsu, Kansai area,
and Fukuoka, and as promotional hub cities, Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Kitakyushu.
108
Survey by MEXT and Cabinet Office
109
Venture Enterprise Center (VEC), "Venture White Paper 2020"
110
MEXT National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, "Science and Technology Indicators
2020" (survey material 295, August 2020)
105

35

・ Mobility between sectors of researchers: 1,150 researchers transferred from companies touniversities and 218 researchers transferred from universities institutions to companies(FY2019) 111
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
We aim to create a society in which a new industrial base has been established in which
corporations, universities, and public research institutes work mutually while securing diversity tocreate value by creating a succession of startups that strive to solve problems using the needs of society
as a driving force.
For this reason, R&D results from universities, national research and development agencies,etc., which take into account the needs of cities, regions, and society, are commercialized throughopen innovation with start-ups and business companies, etc., and form a cycle (positive cycle) in which
new added value is continuously created. By this cycle actively functioning with social needs as adriving force, products and services that are applicable to the world are created. In addition, funds
obtained through business success and knowledge obtained through experience accelerate humanresource development and joint research by business companies, universities, national research anddevelopment agencies, etc., thus forming an ecosystem in which universities, national research anddevelopment agencies, business companies, local governments, etc. are closely connected and startups that create innovation are created and grow large one after another.
The formation of a system that seamlessly links these flows at the core of cities and regions
creates continuous and interconnected innovations that lead to solutions to social issues and socialchanges, as well as global expansion of startups and increased global investment.
In order to realize such an ecosystem, the creation of needs-pull type innovation will bestrongly promoted, and the institutional and policy environment will be improved in order to promote
the innovation activities of start-ups and operating companies. Furthermore, in order to make use of
the knowledge of universities and national research and development agencies to meet the needs ofsociety, the creation of new value co-creation through industry-academia-government collaborationand the formation of start-ups and ecosystem hub cities will be promoted, and human resources
development to support the ecosystem will be promoted.
[Target]・ Universities, research and development agencies, business companies, local governments, etc.
are closely connected to form an ecosystem in which a succession of start-ups that strive tosolve social problems and change are born one after another, and new values are continuously
created.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Target expenditure for startup, etc. based on SBIR 112: 57 billion yen (FY2025) 113
・ Target for contracts with new business operators with less than 10 years of businessestablishment based on the Public Agency Act: 3% (FY2025) 114
・ Number of participants in practical entrepreneurial education program: 1,200 (FY2025) 115
・ Amount of joint research received by universities and national research and development
agencies from private companies: By FY2025, increase by approximately 70% from FY2018
MIC, Science and Technology Research Survey Results 2020 (December 2020)
A cross-sectoral system in ministries and agencies that aim to increase opportunities for spending
such as R&D subsidies toward small- and medium-sized corporations and support thecommercialization of the outcomes thereof (SBIR: Small Business Innovation Research).
113
FY2020 target, about 46.3 billion yen
114
FY2019 performance, 1.06%
115
FY2020 forecast, about 600 persons
111
112

36

(FY2025) 116
・ Percentage of startup ecosystem hub cities with examples of linking and connecting data acrosssectors: 100% (2025)
・ Number of unlisted venture companies (unicorns) or listed venture companies 117 with acorporate value or market capitalization of $ 1 billion or more created: 50 (FY2025) 118
3) Concrete measuresa) Support for startup creation and growth based on social needs
 In order to promote the creation of needs-pull innovation by the government, the government
will promote the new Japanese version of SBIR to be enforced in April 2021 in cooperation
with the relevant ministries and agencies. The government will introduce a research anddevelopment system based on this system from FY2021, set government expenditure targets,and provide strong support for the creation and growth of start-ups by creating initial demandby procuring products developed using this system. [STI, relevant ministries and agencies] In order to realize the creation and effective support of start-ups that solve social issues andbring about game changes in the market, the government will develop an environment topromote the creation of start-ups originating from universities, national research anddevelopment agencies, etc., support the formation of venture capital funds, and provide largescale financial support (Gap Fund supply) by research fund. [MEXT, METI] In order to ensure that appropriate contracts are made from the perspective of promoting open
innovation and ensuring a fair and free competitive environment when startups collaborate
with large enterprises through joint research, etc., guidelines will be formulated that summarize
problem cases in each contract, directions for concrete improvement thereof, and views underthe Antimonopoly Act. [Fair Trade, METI] The government will continue to ascertain whether appropriate cooperative relationships havebeen established between university-based start-ups and related companies. [STI, METI] We will create an environment in which candidates for managerial positions can easily change
jobs at promising start-ups whose growth has been hampered by a shortage of managerial
positions by, for example, arranging requirements for managerial positions in light of startup
management issues. [METI] In cooperation with government-related organizations providing startup support, thegovernment will continue to support startups that engage in commercialization, etc. by utilizing
technological seeds, and researchers and entrepreneurs who aim to start businesses. [METI,
relevant ministries and agencies]b. Promotion of corporate innovation activities
 In order to ensure that companies that take on innovative management 119 are evaluated by thecapital market, etc., the government will design a system to issue stocks based on

It is estimated to be about 88. 2 billion yen in 2018. The government will consider reviewing thenumerical targets as necessary, taking into account the situation in the first half of the Sixth Basic
Plan period (including the recovery from the effects of the novel coronavirus) of the amount of joint
research received.
117
As of the beginning of FY2018, companies that have not been established or have been
established for less than 10 years are eligible.
118
The target from FY2018 to FY2025 was set in the Action Plan for Innovative Business Activities
2020 (July 17, 2020). As of the end of FY2019, there are 16 companies..
119
Management to transform organizations, processes, corporate culture and climate and to facilitate
innovation; provided, however, that it is assumed that a system has been established to allocate
necessary resources (budget, personnel, etc.) for innovation creation activities and to commercialize
them.
116

37





c.

ISO56002:2019 120, the Action Guidelines for Japanese Companies’ Management for Value
Creation Formulated 121, etc. In addition, in funding research and development, the government
will sequentially conduct examinations taking into account the status of efforts by companies
based on the Action Guidelines, the Guideline for Enhancing Industry-Academia-Government
Collaboration Activities, etc. 122
Based on the diversity situation in which external human resources re active in European andNorth American companies, the efforts of countries and companies around the world, and theresults of analyses of past R&D projects conducted in FY2020, the government will establish
new policy methods for promoting R&D in R&D projects in a flexible manner in accordancewith new social issues, rather than in a linear manner. [METI]
We will promote understanding of the management importance (value and risk) of open source
software (OSS) 123 , which is essential for creating open and agile innovation, and conduct
dissemination and awareness raising to raise awareness of the use of OSS. 124 [SIPSH]
By FY2024, the government will consider and draw up a conclusion on methods for compiling
statistics to grasp detailed R&D trends in enterprises, such as R&D periods. [STI, MIC, METI]

Promotion of new value creation through industry-academia-government collaboration
 In order to accelerate the matching of knowledge, which is the source of innovation owned byuniversities and national research and development agencies, with social needs, the promotionof industry-academia-government joint research and the strengthening of young researchers
and industry will be strengthened. [STI, MEXT, METI] The government will promote the creation of new value through industry-academiagovernment collaboration by disseminating to universities and industries the issues andprescriptions in universities and industries that were compiled in the Industry-AcademiaGovernment Collaboration Guidelines in June 2020. In addition, the government will promote
the examination of research and development projects for promoting industry-academiagovernment collaboration that brings about a virtuous cycle of human resources, knowledge,
and funds, taking into account the status of efforts by universities and enterprises based on the
Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Guidelines. [STI, MEXT, METI] The government will promote cooperation among universities, national research anddevelopment agencies, research institutes, companies, etc. by promoting the establishment ofa management system that supports the formation of sustainable industry-academiagovernment cooperation projects and the advancement of projects, and the development ofopen innovation centers that serve as venues for co-creation by various stakeholders. [STI,
MEXT, METI]

d. Building a world-class startup ecosystem
 To support the unique efforts of the startup ecosystem hub cities to form an autonomous startup
ecosystem comparable to that of the world, the government will provide intensive support tothe hub cities by the public and private sectors, such as vitalizing the creation of startups atuniversities, strengthening accelerator functions and the Gap Fund with a view to enter foreign
markets as well, raising awareness of the connection of data between sectors to the foundation,

International standard for innovation management systems (July 2019)
October 4, 2019, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Innovation 100 Committee
122
Guideline for Enhancing Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Activities [Supplement](June 2020)
120
121

OSS: Open Source Software. Software that the creator of the software has published the sourcecode free of charge and is users are permitted to use, modify, or redistribute it under prescribed
conditions.
124
Utilizing the results of the "Survey and Research on Intellectual Property Risks Related to Open
Source Software in the Age of Digitalization and IoT" (April 2020, Japan Patent Office)123

38

and cooperating with smart city projects. [STI, MEXT, METI]e.

Development of human resources to take on challenges
 In order to develop human resources who are motivated to take on the challenge, by FY2025,
all universities participating in the consortium of startup ecosystem bases will implement an
online and other entrepreneurship programs. By the same fiscal year, these examples will becollected and deployed nationwide. [MEXT] The government will create opportunities for the development and active participation of
innovative human resources in order to increase the depth of a diverse range of innovative
human resources, including management human resources involved in the creation of
innovation, and to improve the quality of human resources by increasing their mobility. To thisend, the government will, by FY2023, engage in conducting a fact-finding survey on thedevelopment of an environment for developing innovative human resources and disseminate
best practices, taking into account the accumulation of discussions on human resource
development. [METI] From the perspective of promoting human resource exchanges between universities, national
research and development agencies, and corporations, allowing innovative human resources towork in the right place, and enhancing the efficiency of innovation creation, the Basic
Framework of the Cross-appointment System and Points to Note (Supplementary Version) will
be widely disseminated to industry and academia by FY2023, and efforts will be made to match
industry and academia human resources by utilizing the "Public and Private Support Projectfor Discovering Young Researchers." [METI]f.

Continuation of R&D and succession of technologies related to important technologies thatneed to be retained in Japan
 In the event that it becomes difficult for operating companies to continue research anddevelopment R&D or technologies due to environmental changes such as the novel
coronavirus pandemic, with regard to important technologies that are highly necessary to beretained in Japan, efforts will be made to establish a framework, such as national research anddevelopment agencies to take over such technologies, including research resources, with aview to bridging the future. [METI]

39

(5) Urban and regional development (development of smart cities) as the foundation
for succeeding to the next generation
1) Recognition of the current situation
In the world, various smart city concepts have been proposed to solve problems such as energy,
environment, transportation, health and medical care, education, and natural disasters, which havebecome serious problems that threaten the survival of cities and regions due to population
concentration, consumption of resources and energy, and greenhouse gas emissions. Efforts are being
made to verify and implement them in various places. Particularly in emerging countries, large-scale
smart city construction plans have been announced in recent years along with the decentralization andrelocation of capital functions. 125
On the other hand, as society becomes increasingly digital, the construction of oligopolies
and monopolies by IT platformer companies through data warehousing and the intensification ofcompetition for supremacy over science, technology, and innovation among countries are seen as
major issues that not only distort fair market transactions but also directly affect national security. In
addition, while the concentration of personal and behavioral information is accelerating, it is required
to create a balance reflecting the will of the people from the viewpoints of security assurance, trust,and public health, while giving consideration to the freedom and privacy of individuals. Against thisbackground, in recent years, multiple cities in the world aiming at becoming smart cities have formed
an alliance such as the Global Smart City Alliance, and have started activities to foster a common
awareness that contributes to the effective and efficient operation of smart cities.
Smart cities in Japan are sustainable cities and regions that solve urban and regional problems
and continue to create new value through the advancement of management (planning, development,
management, operation, etc.) while making use of new technologies such as ICT. They are the firststep toward realizing Society 5.0. Therefore, in order to solve social problems such as the aging andpopulation decline that many cities and regions face, the widening gap between urban and rural
economies and residents' services, the increase in the maintenance cost of infrastructure andtransportation systems, and the decrease in business opportunities, value creation and regional
revitalization through the introduction of advanced technologies are expected. Efforts fordemonstration and implementation of public-private partnerships have started and are expanding.
However, many of them are only at the demonstration stage within the framework of individual fields
and cities, and not many regions have continued operation and implementation beyond fields andregions. This leads to a lack of public awareness about smart cities and Society 5.0.
In order for the implementation of smart cities to advance and spread nationwide, it will benecessary to accelerate the reform of society as a whole accompanied by institutional reforms alsoutilizing the national strategic special zones system, etc. by establishing a management organization
to promote community development in response to the new era, establishing a model for collection ofoperating funds, utilizing data effectively through new technologies for promoting digitalization andcooperation across fields and regions, and expanding management including city planning andmanagement by introducing and utilizing urban OSs (data cooperation infrastructure). In addition,
further acceleration of digitalization and resilience of socioeconomic functions is required in responseto the novel coronavirus.
For this purpose, activities involving a wide range of stakeholders and beneficiaries, such as
local residents and companies, are essential. Medium- and long-term efforts are required in accordancewith the issues and actual conditions of each region. Urban data and urban operating systems that
support smart cities should not be monopolized by a limited number of people, but should be widely
opened to local residents and new businesses on the premise of ensuring security and appropriate
handling of personal information.

New capital of Kalimantan (Indonesia), New Clark City (Philippines), new industrial city NEOM
(Saudi Arabia), suburbs of Cairo (Egypt), etc.
12540

[Current situation data] (Reference index)
・ Number of types of services built on urban OSs (data linkage infrastructure): (Efforts will bemade to measure from FY2021)
・ Number of users providing services using urban OSs (data linkage infrastructure): (Efforts will
be made to measure from FY2021)
・ Regions where technologies are implemented based on government smart city projects: 23
・ Number of smart city cooperation cases
・ Number of dissemination and promotion activities related to community contribution andsolving social problems at universities
・ Number of smart city leaders2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
By creating diverse and sustainable cities and regions all over Japan that can solve problems
in cities and regions and continue to create new value while demonstrating the potential of the region,
we aim to create a society with a sustainable life base that can maximize human vitality for all
stakeholders, including residents, workers, and tourists, by providing new places for life and work inremote reality in new daily lives, eliminating regional disparities, and realizing safety and security by
responding to various threats such as natural disasters and infectious diseases.
For this reason, by strongly developing and implementing smart cities, which will be the coreof wide-area and multilateral collaboration, starting from the construction of data collaboration
infrastructure in super cities, we will create an environment in which it is easy to establish businesses
by introducing and securing common systems that enable cross-sectoral data collaboration between
sectors and enterprises and development and collaboration with other cities and regions. Not only ingovernment initiatives but also in regional and private initiatives, utilization of smart city referencearchitectures and utilization of knowledge through smart city public-private collaboration platforms
will be carried out, infrastructure management methods using new technologies and next-generation
mobility services will be introduced, and overall optimization of urban activities using open data invarious fields will be realized.
In this way, community development with the participation of citizens will advance, andactivities rooted in the community will be activated through collaboration with the human resources
who lead the efforts. This will create many industries, and successful experiences will trigger the nextchallenges one after another, and efforts to return local knowledge to society through industryacademia-government collaboration will be activated. Additionally, we will advance the substantiationof images of diverse cities and regions that harness and foster the characteristics and activities of eachcity or region while undertaking to solve social, economic, and environmental issues, such as humanoriented compact urban development and community development that aims for smart local
governance. Through this, various sustainable cities and regions will be formed in various places thatenhance social value, economic value, environmental value, etc., such as improvement of residents'
satisfaction, activation of industry, optimization of greening and resource utilization, and realizationof symbiosis with nature. In addition, smart cities that are realized in various forms depending on thesocial and natural resources of cities and regions, such as cities that provide cutting-edge services andregions that coexist with nature, such as satoyama and satoumi (socio-ecological production
landscapes and seascapes), will cooperate with each other to form a supporting network and becomea dynamic mechanism that creates a positive cycle, which will lead to the realization of Society5.0.
In addition, Japan will contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society and regional
circulation and symbiosis zone to be handed over to the next generation, as well as the achievementof the SDGs, by promoting the sharing of smart cities and values among countries around the world,
through the recognition of Japan's efforts and concepts of smart cities as a problem-solving developed
country as a global norm.
At the 2025 Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, Society 5.0 will be presented to the world,
embodying the concept of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," which presents an ideal society
after overcoming the novel coronavirus.
41

[Target]・ The smart cities embodying Society 5.0 are developed across the country and they involve theparticipation of various stakeholders including citizens to resolve regional issues. Diverse andsustainable cities and regions that enhance social, economic, and environmental values will beformed across Japan, and Japanese concepts will be disseminated to the world.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Number of smart cities implemented (number of local governments and regional organizations
that implement technology and link and connect data between fields): approximately 100(2025)
・ Number of local governments, private enterprises, and regional organizations engaged in smart
cities (members and observers of the smart city public-private partnership platform): 1,000
organizations or more (2025)
・ Support for projects to acquire and utilize advanced digital technologies and systems overseas(smart cities, information infrastructure spanning multiple fields, advanced ICT, AI, etc.): 26
projects (2025) 126
3) Concrete measures
a. Development of infrastructure to facilitate data utilization and development of urban OSs
capable of data collaboration
 In the smart city-related projects in which government funds are involved, in the development
and service development of urban OSs (data collaboration infrastructure) by local governments,
etc., the introduction and service development of urban OSs (data collaboration infrastructure)capable of data collaboration referring to the smart city reference architecture shall bepromoted. In addition, the connection with urban OSs (data collaboration infrastructure), etc.
established in other regions shall be promoted, and disclosure of APIs for data collaboration
shall be requested. [OPDVLE, STI, MIC, METI, MLIT]

Through the implementation of smart city-related projects by ministries and agencies, thedevelopment of interoperable services that can be deployed across regions will be carried out
by 2025, and the relationship between infrastructure and services will be organized so that
services developed in leading regions can be deployed in other regions. [OPDVLE, STI, MIC,
METI, MLIT]
The government will revise the Smart City Security Guidelines created in 2020 as needed,
promote domestic deployment, and support security in the construction of smart cities. [MIC,
METI]

b. Development of smart city creation cases nationwide with super cities as the core ofcollaboration
 Based on the revision of the National Strategic Special Zones Act of 2020 and the revision of
the Basic Policy on National Strategic Special Zones, zones will be designated in 2021. The
designated super cities will be positioned as "total future cities" that solve regional problems
with state-of-the-art technologies, and advanced services will be implemented. [OPDVLE] By FY2025, cases of super cities and smart cities will be collected, cases and progress status
of initiatives will be grasped and shared through smart city public-private partnership platforms,
etc., and collaboration of smart city-related projects across the country will be advanced, andUnder the ASEAN Smart City Network (ASCN), Japan aims to provide assistance to 26 cities in
10 ASEAN countries, that are aiming to promote projects through collaboration with privatecompanies and foreign countries.
126

42







c.

regional and private initiatives will be promoted. Particularly in ordinance-designated cities
and core cities, etc., implementation will be promoted referring to precedent cases, andmultilateral collaboration among cities and wide-area collaboration with surrounding areas will
be promoted. [OPDVLE, STI, MIC, METI, MLIT]
Based on the Smart City Guidebook, which is a guide for promoting smart cities in local
governments and regions, prepared by the end of FY2020, the government will promotereference architectures, APIs, and services, share examples of smart cities, and disseminate
and develop the significance, promotion methods, and definitions of smart cities. [OPDVLE,
STI, MIC, METI, MLIT]
In order to implement and disseminate smart cities in a planned manner, the promotion system
within the government shall be strengthened, and projects by each ministry and agency shallbe carried out in an integrated manner based on a common policy. In addition, efforts shall bemade for further cooperation with the government-wide efforts to realize a digital government
and to develop a data cooperation infrastructure. This will lead to public-private cooperation
efforts such as promoting the creation of local start-ups using open data of the national andlocal governments and solving local problems, on the assumption that administrative organs,which are the largest platforms of the whole country, will build open systems that can be linked
to the private sector through open and standardized APIs, by utilizing base registries built on
data strategies. [STI, relevant ministries and agencies]
With regard to the formation of diverse and sustainable cities and regions that enhance social,economic, and environmental values through the use of smart cities, including theimprovement of residents' satisfaction, the revitalization of industry, the optimization ofgreening and resource utilization, and the realization of symbiosis with nature, the addition ofassessment indicators will be considered by 2021. At the same time, they will be reviewed asnecessary and their survey analysis methods evaluated. Utilizing knowledge in various fields
such as research and development of a total optimum model using mathematical applications
and the examination of analytical evaluation methods, the future vision of smart cities thatshould be aimed for in the future will be materialized toward the realization of Society5.0, suchas cities that provide cutting-edge services and areas that coexist with nature such as satoyama.
[Social System, OPDVLE, STI, MIC, MTI, MLIT]

International development
 At the G20 Global Smart City Alliance, we will promote cooperation with cities around theworld through dissemination and public relations activities under the concept of "free and open
smart cities." [STI, METI] By 2021, the government and the private sector will establish a system to transmit informationin cooperation with the international framework. In addition to transmitting the concept ofJapan's smart cities, the government and the private sector will develop Japan's experience inurban infrastructure development and data management know-how overseas, mainly in Asia.
[Cabinet Secretariat, STI, MIC, MOFA, METI, MLIT]
 In FY2021 and beyond, the government will continue to promote the use of international
standardization related to smart cities in cooperation with experts on standards in Japan andoverseas, targeting reference architectures and security guidelines. [Cabinet Secretariat,
OPDVLE, STI, SIPSH, MIC, MOFA, METI, MLIT] With regard to the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan to be held in 2025, by implementing
projects that also contribute to smart cities based on the Basic Policy on the Promotion of
Preparation and Implementation Measures for World Expo 2025 (Expo 2025 Osaka,
Kansai)and will actively promote Society 5.0, which embodies "Designing Future Society for
Our Lives." [Expo, STI, relevant ministries and agencies]d. Developing next-generation human resources for sustainable activities
 The basic knowledge and specialized knowledge necessary for the realization of smart cities
will be collected. By the end of FY2021, the requirements for human resources engaged inplanning, construction, and operation will be sorted out, and a human resources development
43



system will be established in accordance with their roles and levels. Based on this, information
on human resources will be provided to reduce anxiety and distrust in technology. At the sametime, a place for joint creation of industry-academia-government collaboration centered onuniversities will be formed. [STI, MEXT]
By the end of FY2021, the government will gather information on leading personnel(architects) who can coordinate the overall design of smart cities, and support theirdevelopment, deployment, and activities in local communities. [STI]44

(6) Promotion of research and development and social implementation to solve
various social problems and utilization of the convergence of knowledge
1) Recognition of the current situation
Japan faces a wide range of social issues, including the declining birthrate and aging
population, urban and local issues, and resource issues such as food, as well as issues such as
responding to global issues and building a resilient, safe, and secure society, which have been taken
up in the previous section. Society and the public have high expectations for science, technology, andinnovation policies.
In other countries, large-scale social changes are taking place not only in the emergency
response to the coronavirus pandemic, but also in the creation of future industries such as so-calledgreen recovery, and in research and development and large-scale investment from the viewpoint of
security. On the other hand, Japan's research and innovation capabilities, especially the driving force
for the implementation of advanced technologies into society, are not sufficient, and its international
competitiveness in the business field is significantly declining.
In order for Japan to respond to these complex and wide-ranging social issues, it is necessary
to fulfill its international responsibilities while building strategic building strategic relationships withother countries. Japan has contributed to international discussions on digital society and global
environmental issues, etc. thus far. On the other hand, Japan has not been able to actively incorporate
the knowledge and social needs of the world, construct a strategic international network centered onJapan, and disseminate and spread Society 5.0 to the world.
Now is the time Japan to accurately analyze its strengths and weaknesses, geopoliticalconditions, and overall security requirements, and steadily implement advanced technologies insociety by promoting strategic R&D in important areas and by strategically utilizing intellectual
property and standards, in order to resolve various social issues. It is necessary to realize discontinuous
innovation that has never been seen as an extension of the past, and to achieve both economic growth
and resolution of social issues by making full use of Japan's collective strength.
[Current situation data] (Reference index)
・ R&D expenditure in strategic fields (AI, biotechnology, quantum technolog, materials, etc.):(Efforts will be made to measure from FY2021 results)
・ Top 100 global companies by market capitalization: 47 in the U.S., 24 in China, 3 in Japan・ IMD World Competitiveness Ranking: 34th out of 63 countries (2020)
・ Status of implementation of innovation in government projects, etc.
・ Ratio of the number of R&D themes using the convergence of knowledge (Efforts will be madeto measure from FY2021 results)
・ Indicators related to social issues such as food self-sufficiency rate, export value, food waste
amount, self-driving vehicle penetration rate, and number of traffic accidents
・ Papers, intellectual property, and standardization by subject and field・ Public metadata (by organization, program, etc.) of publicly funded research data, etc.
contained in research data infrastructure systems
・ Public awareness survey on science and technology2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
While utilizing the convergence of knowledge through the fusion of humanities, social
sciences and natural sciences, we will work together with countries, regions, internationalorganizations, etc. (EU, G7, OECD, etc.) that share values with Japan to implement research anddevelopment and the results thereof in society in order to resolve social issues that are progressing ona global scale, domestic issues such as the declining birthrate, aging population, social insurance
system that responds to changes in the economy and society, etc.. Through this, we will aim for asociety in which future industry creation, economic growth, and resolution of social issues arecompatible with each other by achieving structural changes in the economy and society.
45In order to solve wide-ranging and complex social issues, it is necessary to improve various
social systems and promote ELSI responses from the initial stage of R&D by implementing various
and outstanding research results that exploit the frontiers of knowledge in society and linking them toinnovation. To this end, the government will formulate strategies for the national government,
ministries and agencies, implementing agencies, etc. in a systematic and consistent manner based onevidence, promote mission-oriented R&D programs and institutional reforms, and develop a systemthat can flexibly review strategies as necessary.
In addition, the government and the private sector will thoroughly promote the strategic andinternational use of standards as an important means to accelerate the social implementation ofadvanced technologies to solve social issues, promoting the overseas expansion of Japanese companies
under international competition, and to acquire international markets. For this purpose, the government
and the private sector will develop public and private sector systems. In addition, the government andthe private sector will make use of public and private sector projects concerning the social
implementation of science and technology and innovation and the accompanying R&D, etc., while
promoting public and private sector awareness reform, so that a wide range of strategic andinternational uses of standards will be built in and developed in government policies and corporate
management strategies.
In addition, the government will develop science and technology diplomacy, including thestrategic construction of an international network between Japan and countries and regions that sharecommon issues and values, while taking into account international responsibilities and overall security.
Through this, the government will disseminate Society 5.0 to the world, while incorporating anddeveloping the world's knowledge and diversity, and maintain and strengthen the common
understanding and international competitiveness of Japan. The government will continue to produce
researchers from Japan who can play a central role in international research activities, etc. its presence
as an advanced nation in science and technology in research communities at home and abroad, attract
excellent human resources with diverse backgrounds at home and abroad, and support the autonomous
securing of the soundness and fairness (research integrity) of research in harmony with foreigncountries.
[Target]・ The government will promote R&D aimed at solving social problems in Japan, such as thedeclining birthrate and aging population, urban and local problems, and resource problems
such as food. At the same time, the government will contribute to the world as an advanced
country that solves these problems, and will improve the well-being of each individual.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Promotion of the resolution of social issues: incorporate a mechanism to encourage theparticipation of researchers and research institutions with knowledge in the humanities andsocial sciences in all issues in the next phase of SIP and an implementation structure toeffectively utilize the “convergence of knowledge”, and advance the social implementation ofoutcomes.
・ Strategic construction of a science and technology international cooperation network that can
maximize national interests: promote strategic science and technology diplomacy and steadily
increase the number of international cooperation agreements and citations in the Top 1%
papers in essential advanced fields.
・ Japan's presence in the formation of international agreements, frameworks and rules: increase
Japan's involvement in the development of guidelines for international organizations whilesteadily advancing the situation of efforts related to the international strategic use of
intellectual property and standards (number of cases of efforts and support related to theformation and utilization of international standards) aimed at solving social issues andcapturing international markets.

463) Concrete measures
a. Formulation and promotion of national strategy based on image of future society andevidence utilizing the convergence of knowledge
 In relation to the convergence of knowledge which contributes to comprehensive
understanding and problem solving of humans and society through the fusion of knowledge
in the humanities and social sciences and knowledge in the natural sciences, the basic concept
and strategic promotion measures will be compiled by the end of FY2021. In addition,
indicators related to the humanities and social sciences and the convergence of knowledge
will be examined by the end of FY2022, and monitoring will be carried out from FY2023.
[STI, MEXT] The government will steadily promote R&D based on the national strategy 127 in fields thatshould be promoted across ministries and agencies, such as AI, biotechnology, quantum
technology, materials, space, ocean, environmental energy 128, health and medical care, food,agriculture, forestry and fisheries, etc. In addition, the government will review existing
strategies and formulate new strategies based on evidence, while looking at the image of the
future society that Japan should realize, and will concretely include clear targets, division ofroles among industry, academia, and government, and ideal ways of international cooperation.
In particular, the government will promote themes that are cross-sectoral and directly linked
to the resolution of social issues as issues for the next SIP. [Health, STI, Space, Ocean,relevant ministries and agencies] With regard to the formulation of evidence-based strategies, quantitative analysis of papers,
research funds, etc. and expert knowledge (expert judges) will be used to extract and analyze
important science and technology areas, while utilizing the results of analyses by e-CSTI 129
and policy research institutes, etc. These will be used for the formulation of Integrated
Strategies 130 , the review of sectoral strategies, etc. and the formulation of new national
strategies, etc. In the FY2021 Integrated Strategy, analysis will be used on a trial basis, andfuture utilization methods will be determined based on the results. [STI, relevant ministries
and agencies] When embodying the vision of a future society and formulating and promoting policies, it isnecessary to utilize the convergence of knowledge based on the fusion of the humanities,
social sciences, and natural sciences. Instead of deciding on a single direction, it is necessary
to have options for double-line scenarios and new technologies and advance while
continuously conducting verification. Researchers and research institutions with knowledge
in the humanities and social sciences will participate from the examination and formulation
stages of science, technology, and innovation policies, including the system design of publicresearch projects, to the verification. In addition, each research and development agency will
position in the targets that the convergence of knowledge will be actively utilized in therevision of the medium- and long-term objectives, taking into account the respective missions
and characteristics. [STI, relevant ministries and agencies] With regard to semiconductors, which are a strategic basic technology that supports the digitalsociety, in order to respond to economic security, promote the digital revolution, and reduce
power consumption, the government will formulate strategies and promote various domestic
and international measures to strengthen the foundation of Japan's semiconductor industry.

See Chapter 3 Section 2
See Chapter 2 Section 1. (2)129
A system to accumulate STI-related data (data on input (trends of funding and human resources),
activities (activities of universities, research and development agencies, etc.), output (papers, patents,etc.), and outcomes (economic and social trends) and enable easy analysis by policy-makers andbusiness operators.
130
Strategy that indicates the measures on which the government should focus in particular eachfiscal year based on the Basic Plan and considering the changes in the situation each year.
127
128

47





[METI]
With regard to the robots that will take on the role of connecting cyberspace and physicalspace in the Society 5.0 era, based on the Plan for Promoting Social Change Taking Advantage
of Robots 131 , industry, government, and academia will cooperate to promote efforts forbuilding a robot-friendly environment that makes implementation easy, building a humanresources development framework, building a R&D system that responds to mid- to long-term
issues, and open innovation that accelerates social implementation. [MIC, MEXT, MAFF,
MHLW, METI, MLIT]
In order to develop an environment where industry, academia, and the public and private
sectors can jointly use high-precision and high-value geospatial information, and to realize a
G-space society in which these are highly utilized, the next Basic Plan for the Advancementof Utilizing Geospatial Information will be formulated by the end of FY2021. [G-Space]① Promotion of mission-oriented R&D to resolve social issues
 With regard to social issues such as infectious disease countermeasures, low birth rate andaging population, global environmental problems, disaster prevention, regional revitalization,
reduction of food waste, resources, and energy that Japan and the rest of the world are facing,
the government will take into account the needs of Japan and overseas, and based on theanalysis of various data that are continuously observed and collected, the government will
establish a specific mission to resolve the issues with the participation of various sectors
including citizens, and will promote R&D in various frameworks including the next SIP. [STI,
relevant ministries and agencies]With regard to the Moonshot Research and Development Program established in 2018, thegovernment will take advantage of the knowledge acquired through Funding Program forWorld-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST) and the Impulsing
PAradigm Change through disruptive Technologies (Impact), which the government has been
engaged in until now. The program aims to attract people by setting ambitious goals andconcepts for social issues that are difficult to achieve but are expected to have a major impact.
Under the direction of top researchers who lead the cutting-edge research, the government
gather the knowledge of researchers from around the world and steadily engage in R&D toachieve these goals. The government will also actively promote challenging R&D to draw out
basic research capabilities to the maximum extent, and will seek to discover and develop
innovative research results while allowing for failure. Furthermore, the government will also
renew the management methods to a form that enables flexible review of the program andcontents by looking at the whole relevant R&D while always keeping in mind the evolving
world R&D trends. The government will also thoroughly implement an open and closed
strategy with a view to commercialization in the future. This new research method will realize
disruptive innovation. If necessary, the government will also enhance efforts by setting new
goals. [Health, STI, MEXT, MHLW, MAFF, METI]In order to solve social problems in Japan and the world and create new value through science,technology, and innovation, from FY2021, the government will strengthen funding for R&D
targeting issues that require responses using the convergence of knowledge through the fusionof humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, such as citizen participation in ELSI
responses from the initial stage of R&D. [MEXT]
A new corporation shall be established under the responsibility of the national government
with regard to the International Educational and Research Center, which will play a central
role in research and development and human resource development indispensable for thecreative reconstruction of Fukushima. The existing facilities shall be reorganized, the131Report by the Council for Promoting Social Change Taking Advantage of Robots (July 2019)48

organizational form shall be on the national research and development agencies, and the basic
concept of the new center shall be formulated in FY2021. [Reconstruction, relevant ministries
and agencies]② Social implementation of advanced science and technology to solve social problems
 With regard to issues that are important for Japan's economic and industrial competitivenessand are related to multiple ministries and agencies, a large-scale industry-academiagovernment collaboration system will continue to be established, and comprehensive R&D
will be promoted, including institutional reforms, to realize social implementation while
utilizing the convergence of knowledge. For this purpose, the ideal state of national projects
such as the next SIP and how to deploy SIP-type management in projects by other ministries
and agencies will be examined in 2021, and will be reflected in future projects. Some issues
such as self-driving in the second phase of SIP have already been studied in the field of
humanities and social sciences, and such efforts will be developed in FY2021 onwards. In
addition, in order to improve the feasibility of solving social issues, the next SIP will require
the incorporation of a mechanism to promote the participation of researchers and research
institutes with expertise in humanities and social sciences and an implementation system toeffectively utilize the convergence of knowledge in all issues, and its activities will be
evaluated. [STI] Candidates for the next SIP will be examined toward the end of 2021 in order to strengthen thecontrol function of CSTI. Specifically, CSTI will identify social issues to be addressed in themedium term based on the Sixth Basic Plan, the Integration Strategy, and various sectoral
strategies formulated by the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council. Among thesesocial issues, research and examination will be conducted on technology development themes
to be addressed across ministries and agencies utilizing the convergence of knowledge. [STI] For the respective issues of the second phase of SIP, the government will advance R&D
including on building a system for social implementation towards the social implementationof the outcomes as well as conduct follow-up investigation and follow-up evaluation after theend of the project and confirm the realization status of the social implementation of theoutcomes. [STI]

With regard to Public/Private R&D Investment Strategic Expansion ProgramM (PRISM 132),CSTI will continue to promote the expansion of public and private R&D investment and theimplementation of PRISM in society by guiding the measures of each ministry and agency andaccelerating projects based on the integration strategy and various strategies for each field
formulated by the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council. [STI]
In each project implemented by the national government, the government will continue toactively introduce advanced technologies, encourage the use of advanced technologies in thereal world, implement projects more efficiently and effectively, and promote social change.
[STI, all ministries and agencies]③ Promoting the resolution of social issues and the acquisition of international markets
through the international and strategic use of intellectual property and standards
 In order to grasp the trends in the use of intellectual property and standards in foreign countries
and to promote the strategic and international use of standards in Japan, the government as awhole will develop a control tower function and system, and strengthen and acceleratemeasures for the use of standards, including international standardization. From FY2021, thegovernment will promote the strategic and international use of standards, including theappropriate use of forum standards, de facto standards, and de jure standards, through researchand development projects, in important fields such as solving social issues and acquiring
international markets. [SIPSH, STI, MIC, METI, relevant ministries and agencies]
132 PRISM: Public/Private R&D Investment Strategic Expansion PrograM

49





With regard to the strategic and international application of standards, from FY2020, thegovernment will establish a public-private partnership system, promote public-privateawareness reform, broad-based enhancement of activities in the industrial sector, andenhancement of human resources, and develop an environment that promotes changes incorporate behavior related to the application of standards through cooperation with government
research and development projects, regulations, and systems. In addition, the government will
establish a platform system that supports practical activities by private companies incooperation with governmental organizations. [SIPSH, STI, MIC, METI, related ministries
and agencies]
The government will promote the development and platform of intellectual infrastructure, etc.,
which will be the source of Japan's high-quality manufacturing and services by FY2025, andbroadly support socio-economic activities aimed at solving the people's lives and social issues.
[METI]④ Strategic promotion of science and technology diplomacy
 The government will promote the strategic development of science and technology diplomacy
through the promotion of strategic bilateral and multilateral win-win cooperation andcollaboration in important cutting-edge fields, the fundamental strengthening of support forinternational industry-academia joint research with a view to implementing the results insociety, and the international development of the STI for SDGs activities. [STI, MOFA,
MEXT] In light of the situation in which concerns such as conflicts of interest, conflicts of duty, andleakage of scientific and technological information are becoming more and more apparent as
research activities become more international and open, the government will consider its
response policy while paying attention to the difference between basic research and applied
development, while also taking into account the importance of international joint research, anddevelop necessary guidelines such as guidelines for public invitation of competitive researchfunds and cooperation with foreign companies in 2021. In order to support independent
assurance of the soundness and fairness (research integrity) of research that should be held byresearchers, the government will establish the direction of its response in early 2021 incooperation with research communities in Japan and overseas. These guidelines will be
reviewed as necessary in light of the status of efforts by each research institute, researchfunding agency, etc. (Restated) [STI, MEXT, METI, relevant ministries and agencies] In order to play a leading role while Japan is actively involved in the formation of international
agreements on science, technology, and innovation as well as the formation of frameworks andrules, the government will secure and expand the positions of Japanese staff and thechairmanship of international conferences of relevant international organizations, strategicallydevelop candidates, and actively dispatch staff and experts from relevant ministries andagencies. [STI, MOFA, MEXT, METI, relevant ministries and agencies]

Under the Japanese strategy for science and technology diplomacy, the government will
strengthen the foundation that supports the strategic development of science and technology
diplomacy by strengthening cooperation systems across ministries and agencies, strengthening
information collection and dissemination systems centered on science and technology officesof diplomatic missions abroad and overseas offices of national research and development
agencies, etc., and actively disseminating information on efforts toward the realization ofSociety 5.0 in international fora such as the G7. [STI, MOFA, MEXT, METI, related ministries
and agencies]
Through strategic promotion of international joint research through collaboration withoverseas research fund allocation organizations, etc., formation of attractive research centers,international exchange of students and researchers, realization of world-class treatment andresearch environment, internationalization of universities, research institutes, research fundallocation organizations, etc., the government will build an international research network withJapan positioned at the core, and attract excellent human resources from around the world.
50

[Health, STI, MIC, MEXT, MHLW, MAFF, METI]
Consider the method of tabulation of indicators such as the number of international cooperationagreements and international joint papers among the Top 1% papers in essential advanced
fields by FY2021. [STI, relevant ministries and agencies]512. Developing frontiers of knowledge and strengthening research capabilities assources of value creation
Research based on the intrinsic motivation of researchers has pioneered the field of humanknowledge, and its accumulation has supported human prosperity. The existence of diverse research
activities and the accumulation of deep knowledge not only in natural sciences but also in humanities
and social sciences have not only intellectual and cultural values in themselves, but also lead to thecreation of creative new technologies and innovations that contribute to the resolution of social issues.
In the research environment that fosters such knowledge, the development of human resources, thedevelopment of research infrastructure, as well as a culture that can take on the challenge of diverse
research are essential. However, this cannot be realized overnight, and it is necessary to develop it as
a fundamental function of the nation.
To this end, the first step is to improve the environment for students in doctoral programs 133,
to enable young researchers to envision career paths that will enable them to play an active role not
only in academia but also in a wide range of fields such as industry, thereby creating an environment
in which excellent young people aspire to participate in doctoral programs. In addition, the first stepis to promote basic research and academic research that produce diverse and outstanding knowledge,
and to strengthen the promotion of innovative research that creates original results through knowledge
exchanges with various entities while researchers concentrate on research. By doing so, the first stepis to strengthen research capabilities and improve the research environment in Japan, creating avirtuous cycle in which the attractiveness of researchers further increases.
In addition, in order to create high-value-added and high-impact research in the digitalizationof society as a whole, Japan will construct research systems based on new trends in research, such as
the implementation of data-driven research including open science.
Furthermore, in order to realize such an environment, it is necessary to reform universities,
which play a central role in basic research and academic research in Japan. In order to strengthen thefunctions and strategic management of universities, and to develop individual strengths, we will
promote the growth of research universities 134 that are equal to those in the world. In particular, we
will significantly accelerate these efforts by utilizing a university fund of around 10 trillion yen.
[Major goal]・ Continue to create knowledge with diversity and excellence, and restore the world's highest
level of research capabilities[Reference index]
 Number and percentage of participants in internationally notable research areas (Science map)
 Number of papers cited in patent Top 10% cited papers, percentage of total papers

In this plan, “doctoral programs” include four-year doctoral programs and five-year doctoral
programs (third to fifth years only).
134
Universities in which researchers with the capacity to compete at the global top level gather, andJapanese and foreign researchers and students conduct cutting-edge research under them to create
new interdisciplinary fields and make funds and human resources flow through co-creation withcompanies, while possessing an environment in which they can aim for the creation of innovation.
133

52

(1) Rebuilding the environment to produce diverse and outstanding research
1) Recognition of the current situation
In a society where there is high uncertainty due to unexpected events such as the spread of thenovel coronavirus and the occurrence of catastrophic disasters resulting from climate change, issues
that cannot be addressed through the extension of existing methods and mechanisms have emerged
and are increasing in urgency. Under these circumstances, expectations for the role of researchers increating deep knowledge as a weapon to confront unknown difficulties have increased more than ever.
Basic research aimed at exploring the truth, clarifying basic principles, and discovering new ones, andthe excellence and diversity of academic research based on the intrinsic motivation of individual
researchers are the sources of value creation. As one of the fundamental functions of the nation, it isessential to develop a research environment for maintaining and strengthening these, and a framework
for creating and utilizing the convergence of knowledge including humanities and social sciences.
However, Japan's research capabilities have declined in relative terms and in the long termcompared to other countries in terms of the number of scientific papers. In addition, the ranking of thenumber of cited Top 10%-corrected scientific papers, which is related to the quality of scientific papers,
has declined significantly. The ranking has also declined in all fields of research. In addition, theimprovement of the environment in which young researchers and other researchers are placed has
become a major issue. For example, the rate of advancement to the doctoral course has decreased, theemployment of young researchers has been unstable, and the research time of researchers has
decreased. The situation in which excellent students give up advancing to the doctoral course due toeconomic concerns, concerns about their career paths, educational and research environments that areat odds with their expectations is a symbol of the vague sense of stagnation currently prevailing inuniversities and research sites from the competitiveness of Japan has been weakened in the medium
to long term. In addition, from the viewpoint of improving research diversity, the active participationof female researchers is expected, but the ratio of female researchers to all researchers is low. Also,from the number of internationally co-authored scientific papers, it can be seen that Japan's position
has declined relative to other countries' research networks and is lagging behind the flow of theinternational brain circulation. This situation should be taken seriously, although it is not appropriate
to judge research capabilities based solely on quantitative indicators such as scientific papers.
In order to overcome the current situation, concrete measures to improve started to improve thetreatment of researchers based on the comprehensive package to strengthen research capacity andsupport young researchers formulated in January 2020. In view of the increasing expectations of thistrend at research sites, it is urgent to steadily implement necessary measures, including the measureslisted in this package.
[Current status data] (Reference index)
・ Top 10% of citations ratio of corrected papers to total papers: 8.3% (2016-2018) 135
・ Total number of papers and international share: 81,095 papers, 5.3% (2016-2018 (3-year
moving average)) 136
・ Number and percentage of participants in research areas of international interest (Sciencemap): 274 areas, 30% (2013-2018) 137
・ Number of doctorates conferred per population: 119 per million (2017) 138

Calculated by integer numbers. Ratio of cited Top 10% corrected scientific papers to all scientificpapers from 2016 to 2018. Calculated based on the MEXT National Institute of Science andTechnology Policy, Science and Technology Indicators 2020 (survey material 295, August 2020).
136
Calculated by integer numbers. Calculated based on the MEXT National Institute of Science andTechnology Policy, Science and Technology Indicators 2020 (survey material 295, August 2020).
137
MEXT National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, Science Map 2018 (NISTEPREPORT-187, November 2020)
138
MEXT National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, Science and Technology Indicators
135

53

・ Number of young researchers (university regular teachers under 40) and their ratio to the total:
41,297, 22.2% (FY2019) 139
・ Ratio of female researchers to all researchers including private companies: 16.9% (FY2019) 140
・ Ratio of female researchers to university regular teachers: 25.9% (FY2020) 141
・ Percentage of women in doctoral course students (by field): science 20%; engineering 19%;
agriculture 36%; medicine, dentistry, and pharmaceutical sciences 31%; humanities 53%;
social sciences 37% (FY2020) 142
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
In order to create diverse and outstanding research results that explore the frontiers of knowledge,
we aim to create an environment in which researchers can fully demonstrate their abilities and continue
to take on challenges to solve problems, based on their awareness of diverse problems inherent in eachindividual.
In order to achieve this, the government will first enhance the career path for excellent young
people to advance to doctoral programs as the leaders of knowledge in a situation in which they canenvision their future activities. Specifically, the government will rebuild a career system in which
excellent young researchers can take pride in themselves as global leaders of knowledge in responseto the needs of the times, find value worth staking their lives while securing sufficient time to devote
themselves to research, and take on the challenge of becoming independent researchers. In the future,
the government will develop an environment in which all desirable excellent doctoral researchers cangain regular positions in various fields such as academia, industry, and administration, and canenvision their activities as leaders.
In order to achieve this, both academia and industry are required to make efforts. In other words,
it is necessary for the industry to recognize that if there is an environment in which doctoral personnel
with advanced problem-solving abilities, who set their own problems and solve them, can demonstrate
their abilities, they will be able to play an active role in creating innovation in the industry and others.
At the same time, academia needs to promote graduate school education reform, take responsibility
for producing doctoral personnel suitable for supporting Society 5.0 in society, and be welcomed withconfidence by society. At that time, the custom that doctoral students are regarded as inexpensive
research workers will be reformed, and they will be appropriately treated as researchers and fosteredas human resources who will lead the next generation of society. In addition, Japan will realize anenvironment in which the social reputation of the teachers in charge will be evaluated by the social
performance of post-doctoral researchers. Under such an environment, excellent students and young
people will choose the way of doctors to improve the depth and excellence of both academia andindustry personnel.
In addition, in order to enhance the excellence of research, it is necessary to promote deep basic
research and academic research as well as to actively exchange various forms of knowledge. The aim
is to create an environment in which individual researchers can engage in research without being
confined to their own specialized fields, engage in intellectual exchange with various entities, and be
stimulated to produce highly outstanding and original research results.
To this end, we will aim to have many researchers accumulate training and experience under
different research cultures and environments overseas, have them build up their careers as researchers,
and build an international research network with overseas researchers. At the same time, an attractive
research base will be formed to attract highly motivated and talented researchers from around theworld. Top-level researchers will be recruited online as well. By promoting international joint researchusing these networks, an environment will be created in which new ideas can be created one after2020 (survey material 295, August 2020).
139
Calculated from the 2019 school teachers statistical survey (interim report)
140
MIC, 2020 science and technology research survey results (December 2020)
141
Calculated from the 2020 basic school survey, MEXT
142Calculated from the 2020 basic school survey, MEXT
54

another by stimulating each other.
Furthermore, in order to secure diversity in research and create gendered innovation 143 , thegovernment will further promote the active participation of female researchers, including those inleadership positions, and increase the number of potential knowledge bearers in Japan by breaking
down the situation in which the percentage of women entering doctoral programs in natural sciences
is low.
In addition, the government will strongly promote basic research and academic research, which
are at the core of efforts to create knowledge, and in doing so, the government will promotecompetitive research cost reform to maximize the creation and utilization of knowledge, including
providing seamless support for researchers.
The government will also comprehensively and systematically promote the humanities and social
sciences, which aim to explore and present new values and the ideal way of society. It will also promote
cooperation and collaboration with knowledge in natural sciences, and promote the creation of theconvergence of knowledge that goes beyond the boundaries of the field. The entire academia in Japan
will overcome the barriers of fields, face social issues, and continue to create more excellent
knowledge globally through friendly competition.
[Target]・ In an environment where talented young people can expect to be active in various fields
such as academia, industry, and administration, they take pride in themselves and go on to
doctoral courses and take on the challenge, saying that they are worth staking their lives
without having economic concerns.
・ The creation and accumulation of diverse and outstanding research results from basic
research and academic research will advance, and seamless support will be realized forresearchers who can achieve this.
・ In an environment in which diversity is ensured, time is secured for individual researchers
to devote themselves to research, and active intellectual exchange with various subjects is
promoted without being confined to their own specialized fields. Through opportunities foroverseas training and overseas experience, stimulated research progresses in an emergently
evolving manner, and research results with higher excellence are created.
・ With the advancement of deep research in the humanities and social sciences, a variety ofknowledge will be created. At the same time, it will become established to create and utilize
the convergence of knowledge fused with the knowledge of natural sciences, with the aimof solving the increasingly complex problems faced by domestic, overseas, and local
communities.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ Students in doctoral programs who receive about the amount equivalent to living expenses:
in order to improve the treatment of excellent students in doctoral programs, the number ofstudents in doctoral programs receiving the amount equivalent to living expenses will be
increased to three times the current number by FY2025 144 (equivalent to about 70% of

143

Innovation created by incorporating gender perspectives into science and technology.

144 According to MEXT’s FY2019 promotion for university reforms project Survey Research

Related to the Situation of Economic Support for Doctoral Students (March 2020), the FY2018
results was 10.1% of students in doctoral programs. The realization of the above numerical target is
equivalent to about 30% of all doctoral students receiving the amount equivalent to living expenses.
In this plan, the amount equivalent to living expenses received by doctoral students is considered tobe 1.8 million yen per year or more. However, we will greatly expand the number of beneficiaries
receiving about 2.4 million yen per year, the level received from the Research Fellowship for Young
55

・
・

・

・
・

students moving up from master’s programs). Additionally, all excellent students in
doctoral programs who wish to receive the amount equivalent to living expenses will
receive it in the future.
Number of science and engineering doctorates hired by the industrial sector: the number of
persons hired per year increases by approximately 1,000 by FY2025 (1,151 145 out of 4,570
science and engineering Doctorates in 2018).
Number of university teachers under 40: From the viewpoint of strengthening researchcapabilities in Japan, the number of university teachers under 40 will be increased by 10%
during the basic plan period 146, and the percentage of university teachers under 40 will be
increased to 30% or more in the future.
Tenure-and tenure-track teachers as a percentage of university full-time teachers aged 3539 at research universities (national universities in ③ whose core functions are educational
research and social implementation that are outstanding in the world as a whole, in linewith foreign universities that produce outstanding results) 147: increase by 10% or morefrom the percentage in 2019 during the Basic Plan period 148
Percentage of new female researchers employed by universities: 20% in science, 15% inengineering, 30% in agriculture, 30% in medicine, dentistry, and pharmaceutical sciences
combined, 45% for humanities, and 30% for social sciences by FY2025
The percentage of women among university professors (presidents, vice presidents, andStudents (DC) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, through the use of investment
profits for university funds, efforts to strengthen support to doctoral students, as well as expenditures
for research assistants (RA) from competitive research funds, etc. to raise Japan’s doctoral programs
to a global level. From the perspective of attracting excellent students from overseas, we will review
the amount equivalent to living expenses and consider a system to make a world-level treatment
possible.
145
Calculated based on the FY2019 project commissioned by MEXT, "Survey and Study on
Understanding and Analysis of Educational Reform in Graduate Schools" (March 2020, Libertas
Consulting Co., Ltd.)
According to MEXT's 2019 School Teacher Statistics Survey (Interim Report), the number ofuniversity full-time teachers under 40 in FY2019 was 41,297, and the percentage of university fulltime teachers under 40 was 22.2%.
147
It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the situation and the proportion of researchers at
each university and each field are different, and it is important for each university to aim atachieving the goal based on the situation. In particular, in the health field, medical graduate schools
in the medical and dental fields are attended by medical graduate students, etc., and the age ofcompletion tends to be higher. In addition, medical teachers such as doctors and dentists belonging
to attached hospitals, etc. are included, and the mobility of such teachers is high, for example, they
are transferred within hospitals to university departments and hospitals and dispatched to hospitals
and clinics that cooperate with them in medical care services and hospital management, etc.
Therefore, it is necessary to consider the fact that in many cases they are operated with a "fixed
term."
146

In addition, it is important to consider that some researchers have a period of suspension due to childbirth,childcare, etc., and to aim to achieve the goal.

According to a survey by MEXT, the ratio of tenure and tenure-track teachers among university
full-time teachers aged 35-39 at national universities in ③ in FY2019 was 44.8%, equivalent to49.3% overall.
148

56

professors) 149will be 20% at an early stage and 23% by FY2025 (17.7% as of FY2020). 150
・ Ratio of on-campus clerical work to the duties of university teachers: halved by FY2025(18% by FY2017) 151
3) Concrete measuresa. Improving treatment of doctoral students and expanding career paths
 With regard to improving the treatment of doctoral students and expanding their career paths, thegovernment will continue to analyze and follow up on students who require various forms of
support, and will make concerted efforts by mobilizing all of various policy resources with thecooperation of the industrial sector. The government will also continue to provide support throughthe enhancement of the Research Fellowship Program (DC), the Japan Student Services
Organization Scholarship (those who have achieved outstanding academic performance are
exempt from returning the money) and tuition reduction for graduate students at universities,
utilization of the investment profits from university funds, and efforts to strengthen support for
doctoral students ahead of this. In addition, in order to promote the payment of salaries to doctoral
students at an appropriate level as a research assistant (RA) from competitive research funds andjoint research funds, the government will formulate rules for the payment of RA expenses relating
to employment and remuneration for RAs at each business and university, and implement themsequentially from FY2021. [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies] In FY2021, the government will start a program to establish university fellowships, which will
provide integrated support to excellent doctoral students, who are strategically secured byuniversities, from their lives as students to the acquisition of posts after graduation, and will
promote economic support through organizations to which they belong. [MEXT]
 In addition to ensuring transparency and fairness in the examination of doctorate degrees,measures to ensure that the results of posts and social activities of doctoral students after
completion are also used as the evaluation of universities and teachers in charge will be examinedat the university support forum PEAKS 152 and other forums. We will encourage a fundamental
change in awareness that it is the duty of the advisor to train doctoral students as next-generation
researchers, and that this will be reflected in their own evaluation.[STI, MEXT]
 In FY2021, the government will implement long-term paid internships at graduate schools incooperation with industry and universities to develop practical skills backed up by researchcapabilities in doctoral programs. The government will also promote participation in industryuniversity cooperation activities, and increase opportunities for students in doctoral programs to
explore the possibility of diverse participation in the industry. In addition, the government will
expand career paths for doctoral students in the industry by establishing a system for discovering(matching) excellent young researchers by companies and universities and promoting theemployment of doctoral graduates in companies. [MEXT, METI] With regard to the employment, duties, and treatment of doctoral graduates among national public
officers and industries both in Japan and overseas, the government will investigate the actual
conditions and needs of such graduates and develop good examples of such graduates fromFY2021, and at the same time, advance the consideration of improving the treatment of doctoral
With regard to setting targets by field and position, it is necessary for each university and graduate
school to strategically set, disclose, and verify targets in accordance with the characteristics of the
field and institution.
150
Calculated from MEXT, FY2020 School Basic Survey
149

MEXT, "Survey on Full Time Conversion Data at Universities, etc.”
A forum established in FY2019 by university officials, industry, and the government to discuss
management issues and solutions at universities, horizontally develop good practices that lead toinnovation, consider deregulation, and develop university management.
151
152

57

graduates among national public officers based on their professional knowledge and researchexperience and come to a conclusion at an early stage. [CBPA, NPA,STI, MEXT, METI, allministries and agencies]b. Development of an environment in which young researchers can play active roles inuniversities
 The government will advance the provision of posts to young researchers using external funds
and the utilization of a tenure track system and clarifying standards. Additionally, to promote
efforts to secure posts for young researchers throughout the organization, encourage thedevelopment and active participation of young researchers, and build a sustainable researchsystem through measures such as promoting the utilization of an annual salary system and crossappointment system for senior researchers, and promoting the conversion to fixed-term
employment using external funds. To this end, in FY2021, the government will prepare a
supplementary edition of the Guidelines for Reform of Personnel Management and Remuneration
Management, which includes excellent examples of such efforts. In addition, the government will
promote efforts to reallocate the number of students (transfer of the number of students,
reorganization of the educational research organization) so that universities will actively
implement reforms to allow more students to advance to doctoral programs in academic fields
that they believe should be intensively enhanced based on their own strategies. [MEXT] From FY2021, the government will pay personnel expenses for researchers at universities andnational research and development agencies from competitive research expenses and corporate
joint research expenses, and will promote the creation of stable posts for young researchers
through organizational management from the financial resources thus secured. In addition, thegovernment will promote a scheme to raise the salary level by acquiring external funds (mixed
salary) from FY2021 in order to achieve world-class treatment for excellent researchers. [STI,
MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies] In order to build a team-type research system in which management personnel from URA 153, etc.,
and highly skilled professional personnel such as engineers (including technical personnel who
support research in all fields at universities, etc.), etc., work together to ensure the quality of theirprofessional duties and improve their treatment will be implemented by the end of FY2021 sothat they will become attractive positions. This will enable the enhancement of mobility andcareer paths of professional personnel, including doctoral personnel, as well as the development
and securing of them. [MEXT] Follow-up surveys on the employment status and treatment of doctoral graduates will be
conducted periodically during the Basic Plan period. Each university will also continue tomonitor the employment and activity status of doctoral graduates even after completion, andpublish details of employment status on the Internet, etc. [STI, MEXT]
c. Promotion of active participation of female researchers The government will improve the environment and support systems for both male and female
researchers to balance childcare and nursing care with research, including the establishment of
on-campus childcare facilities, the promotion of work style reforms, the additional employmentof post-doctoral researchers when there are researchers on maternity leave, and the establishmentof items related to diversity in the performance evaluation of managers. As part of these efforts,
the government will clearly state in FY2021 that the period of maternity leave and childcare leave
will be taken into consideration in the age restrictions, etc. of guidelines for public recruitmentof support projects for young researchers. 154 Additionally, the government will promoteconsideration for researchers taking maternity leave and childcare leave such as by taking similar

URA: University Research Administrator.
For example, in the Fusion Oriented Research project, the application requirements will be within
15 years after obtaining a doctoral degree in principle, and within 20 years after obtaining a doctoral
degree for those who could not devote themselves to research due to childbirth and childcare.
153
154

58







measures for age restriction for the recruitment of young teachers at universities, etc. [CCRA,
MEXT, MHLW, METI, relevant ministries and agencies]
Universities and public research institutes will utilize the Act on Promotion of Women's
Participation and Advancement in the Workplace to set and publish strategic numerical targets
for the percentage of women employed and the percentage of women promoted to leadership
positions, etc. by each business operator in accordance with the characteristics of the organizationand the percentage of women enrolled in doctoral programs in each field (science 20%;
engineering 19%; agricultural 36%; medical, dental, and pharmaceutical 31%; humanities 53%;
social science 37% (FY2020) 155). [Gender Equality, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies]
Efforts by national universities to build teacher organizations with diverse human resources, suchas female researchers, and efforts to encourage female students to advance to science andengineering departments will be evaluated as management achievements of university presidents
and reflected in the allocation of operating expense subsidies. In addition, efforts by private
universities, etc. to support female researchers and researchers of the child-raising generation will
be supported by the current expense subsidy for private universities, etc. in order to support
efforts by private universities, etc. to support female researchers, such as building flexible
working systems. [MEXT]
In order to communicate the appeal of science and engineering to junior high and high school
students, parents, and teachers, and in order to increase the proportion of women in master’s
programs and doctoral programs, mainly in science and engineering, the government will
promote the presentation of career paths and role models for female researchers. In order topromote the advancement of women in science and engineering, the government will further
enhance the career paths and role models of female researchers from FY2021. [Gender Equality,
MEXT]

d. Promotion of basic and academic research In order to create and expand a variety of knowledge through academic research, the government
will secure and enhance financial resources that can be used at the discretion of the organization,
including basic costs. At the same time, the government will secure and enhance grants-in-aid forscientific research (scientific research funds) that support creative and challenging researchsubjects in accordance with the careers of researchers, aiming at a new adoption rate of 30%,
while continuously promoting system improvements such as support for young researchers,
further promotion of emerging and fusion research and internationalization, and review of
examination categories. [MEXT] With regard to the Strategic Basic Research Programs 156, from FY2021, the government will
promote priority support for young researchers and seamless support for excellent researchers.
At the same time, the government will promote basic research for the post-coronavirus era bybringing together and merging researchers from a wide range of fields, including the humanities
and social sciences. The government will also enhance and improve the program in order to takeon emerging and fusion fields, promote overseas challenges, and strengthen international joint
research. [MEXT] By providing researchers around the time they become independent, mainly young researchers,with an environment in which they can boldly concentrate on their own ambitious ideas over thelong term, the government will steadily promote Fusion Oriented Research for Disruptive Scienceand Technology projects 157 with the aim of creating results that can lead to disruptive innovation,

Calculated from the 2020 basic school survey, MEXT
A project to strategically promote basic research as a source of innovation by establishing atemporary research system (network-type research institute) that transcends organizational andsectoral boundaries under strategic objectives set by the national government.
157
This project provides long-term support for free, challenging, and interdisciplinary research that is
not bound by existing frameworks while ensuring a research environment in which researchers canconcentrate on research.
155
156

59










e.

breaking away from short-term performance-based approaches, and will also enhance projects
with a view to steady implementation. [MEXT]
In the evaluation of large-scale projects and competitive research expenditures, the government
will more actively evaluate the generation of results and spin-outs that were not initially expected,
and that research has continued to be challenged, and will also introduce a system in which young
researchers participate in the examination to the extent that it does not impose an excessive
burden, from the viewpoint of taking diverse viewpoints into consideration. [MEXT]
The government will promote the development and utilization of large-scale projects andadvanced large-scale facilities and equipment leading the world's academic frontier. [MEXT]With regard to joint use and joint research centers that effectively and efficiently promote joint
use and joint research by making the most of the research potential of universities, national
universities will promote activities that contribute to the fusion of different fields, creation of new
fields, and resolution of social issues through flexible organization in response to academic
development and research diversification during the fourth medium-term target period starting in
FY2022, based on the system revision to promote networking. 158 [MEXT]With regard to inter-university research institute corporations 159 , which provide researchers
nationwide with large-scale facilities and equipment, data, and valuable materials that are
difficult to operate at individual universities, etc., and which support education and research atuniversities in Japan, the government will strengthen their functions by reflecting them in theestablishment of the mid-term objectives and the organizational review toward the fourth midterm objectives period starting in FY2022, based on the results of the verification of education[MEXT]
and research activities at each inter-university research institute. 160
In order to analyze and evaluate Japan's research capabilities from multiple perspectives,
researchmap 161, etc. will be utilized to efficiently gain and analyze diverse information related toresearchers. Furthermore, taking into account overseas trends, new indicators such as innovation
creation, development of new fields, and contribution to diversity will be developed in 2022 inaddition to the existing number of papers and citation index, and their sophistication andcontinuous monitoring will be carried out. [STI, MEXT, METI]
Promotion of international joint research and international brain circulation
 Conduct international joint research with developed countries with high levels of science andtechnology such as the United States and countries in the European Union, and promote scienceand technology cooperation with emerging and developing countries such as India and Kenyaaround the SDGs. Contribute to the development of science and technology, human resource
development, and the resolution of global issues, including medium- and long-term
perspectives. [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies]

On December 23, 2020, the MEXT Notification No. 133 (July 31, 2008) partially revised the"Regulations on Joint Use, Joint Research Sites, and Accreditation of International Joint Use, Joint
Research Sites, etc."
159
Four corporations: National Institutes for the Humanities, National Institutes of Natural Sciences,High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, and Research Organization of Information and
Systems
160
The Council for Science and Technology conducts external verification of the results of selfverification by each institution to determine whether the educational and research activities of eachinter-university research institute respond to trends in academic research and contribute to thedevelopment of academic research at universities.
158

A comprehensive database of Japanese researchers operated by the Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science. Researchers register information on their own background, research results,
etc. to disseminate information on researchers and encourage communication, as well as contributeto the unified management of research information and reduction of administrative burden. The
National Institute of Informatics conducts research and development on the system.
161

60





f.

With a view to expanding opportunities for overseas research institutes and overseas
experience for Japanese students and young researchers, inviting excellent researchers fromforeign countries, and promoting the employment of foreign researchers, by FY2021, thegovernment will formulate a strategy for the international development of science andtechnology, including support measures and environmental improvement (internationalizationof methods for international public recruitment and employment of post-doctorates, measures
for salaries and treatment at the international level, living support including family members,
improvement of international administrative systems, formation of international research
centers, etc.), and will work on measures in order to promote the employment of foreign
researchers. The government will also consider numerical targets by FY2022 based on anunderstanding of the actual status of international brain circulation and an analysis of issues.
[STI, MEXT]
Through strategic promotion of international joint research through collaboration withoverseas research fund allocation organizations, etc., formation of attractive research centers,international exchange of students and researchers, realization of world-class treatment andresearch environment, internationalization of universities, research institutes, research fundallocation organizations, etc., the government will build an international research network withJapan positioned at the core, and attract excellent human resources from around the world.
(Restated) [Health, STI, MIC, MEXT, MHLW, MAFF, METI]

Securing research time
 In order to build a team-type research system in which management personnel from URA, etc.,
and highly skilled professional personnel such as engineers (including technical personnel who
support research in all fields at universities, etc.), etc., are united, efforts will be made by theend of FY2021 to improve the security of professional quality and treatment so that these will
become attractive positions. Through this, the mobility and career paths of professional
personnel, including doctoral personnel, will be enhanced, and at the same time, they will befostered and secured. (Restated) [MEXT] From FY2021, the government will promote the adoption of smart laboratories at universities,
the diffusion of services provided by private businesses that will contribute to securing researchtime, the lateral development of good practices for improving the efficiency of university
management operations, the simplification of administrative processes at national universities,
and digitalization. [MEXT] With regard to competitive research expenses, the government will unify, simplify, digitalize
and speed up the rules pertaining to various administrative procedures, based on the opinionsof the field, and implement them from FY2021. [STI, MEXT, related ministries and agencies]g. Promotion of the humanities and social sciences and creation of the convergenceof knowledge
 The government will strengthen and enhance joint use and joint research systems beyond theboundaries of universities that support academic research in the fields of the humanities andsocial sciences, and will accumulate multilayered and multifaceted knowledge by promoting
research in the humanities and social sciences based on intrinsic motives through scientificresearch funding, etc. [MEXT] With regard to the various issues that will be faced by the future society, by the end of FY2021,
the government will establish and promote a research support system in which researchers in thehumanities and social sciences take the lead in tackling research issues, and will also consider
measures to promote the active participation of young researchers. [MEXT] With regard to the data platform for promoting the sharing and utilization of research data in thehumanities and social sciences in Japan, by FY2022, the government will develop theinfrastructure such as a system that can search for research data in the humanities and social
sciences in Japan in a unified manner. In addition, the government will determine the direction
from FY2023 based on the progress made in these areas, and will further strengthen the data
platform in the humanities and social sciences based on this policy. Furthermore, the government
61









will determine the direction by FY2022 in order to strengthen support functions such as the
management and utilization of research data through digital conversion of libraries. [MEXT]
In order to promote the creation and utilization of the convergence of knowledge, from FY2021,
the government will actively consider setting targets focusing on the utilization of theconvergence of knowledge including the fields of humanities and social sciences, and will
promote research in publicly offered strategic research projects. In order to actively promote thecreation of the convergence of knowledge, the government will also include the creation of theconvergence of knowledge through the fusion of high-level fields at the world's most advanced
international research centers in its initiative. [STI, MEXT]
Based on the policy issues of the relevant ministries and agencies, from FY2021, the government
will further strengthen efforts by researchers in the field of the humanities and social sciences tocooperate with administrative officials to conduct policy research and analysis. In addition, witha view to the future society, the government will support efforts by researchers in the fields ofthe humanities and social sciences and various stakeholders in society to jointly create issues thatshould be addressed through the convergence of knowledge. Through such efforts, thegovernment will strengthen human networks for solving social problems. [MEXT]
By the end of FY2021, the government will draw up basic concepts and strategic measures topromote the convergence of knowledge, which contributes to a comprehensive understanding of
human beings and society and to solving problems through the fusion of knowledge in thehumanities and social sciences and knowledge in the natural sciences. In addition, by the end of
FY2022, the government will examine indicators related to the humanities and social sciences
and the convergence of knowledge, and will monitor them from FY2023. [STI, MEXT]
Based on the above-mentioned measures concerning the convergence of knowledge, whiledeveloping career paths in line with the needs of society, the government will consider measures
to promote human resource development in the humanities and social sciences through graduate
school education reform, and will determine the direction of such measures by FY2022. [STI,
MEXT]

h. Integrated reform of the competitive research funding system
 From FY2021, the government will accelerate efforts to strengthen cooperation among
institutions for allocating research funds, such as increasing communication through sharing
project evaluation results, establishing opportunities for people-to-people exchanges andinformation sharing, and establishing mechanisms for recommending researchers and research
results. [STI, MEXT, METI, relevant ministries and agencies] With regard to competitive research expenses, the government will unify, simplify, digitalize
and speed up the rules pertaining to various administrative procedures based on the opinions of
the field, and implement them from FY2021. (Restated) [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries andagencies] With regard to the treatment of indirect expenses in competitive research expenses, unificationof rules including the ratio to direct expenses, etc., and simplification of use reports anddocumentary evidence shall be examined, and implement them from FY2022. [STI, MEXT,
relevant ministries and agencies] From FY2021, the government will accelerate efforts to provide seamless support for research
aimed at strengthening basic research capabilities, based on specific implementation plans.
With regard to scientific research grants and strategic research promotion projects, thegovernment will enhance support for young researchers, strengthen efforts to ensure thattalented mid-and high-ranking researchers can secure research funding in a stable and sufficientmanner (such as reviewing allocations and examinations), and promote new and integrated
research. With regard to projects that link the results of basic research to industry, thegovernment will strengthen systems for evaluating academic values and flexible support
systems in accordance with research phases, including support for matching with industry.
[MEXT]
 In addition to visualization and analysis of R&D results using e-CSTI, the government willattempt to set priority areas during FY2021, such as establishing a new policy cycle of62

identifying and conducting research on the following priority areas for the resolution of social
issues. Additionally, in order to make consideration based on changes in global trends inresearch and development as well, the policy cycle will be established as a mechanism in which
regular follow-up is possible. [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies]63

(2) Construction of new research systems (promotion of open science and data-driven
research, etc.)
1) Recognition of the current situation
While it has become easier to collect and analyze various data such as big data, the impact ofcomputer-based simulations and AI-based research has become even greater. In addition, the novel
coronavirus has accelerated the flow of research activities DX (research DX) around the world, suchas the remoteness of research exchanges, the remote connection to research facilities and equipment,
and the expansion of data-driven research.
As a result, the use of open access to research papers and the use of preprints as a place for quick
disclosure of research results are accelerating. Research results are being opened to the public with theaim of sharing knowledge around the world, such as open science, including the disclosure and sharingof research results. On the other hand, there are cases in which research papers using unreliable
research data are withdrawn, and there are also movements in which world-class publishing companies
and IT companies embrace research results and data obtained through research processes as businessobjects. In light of this situation, governments, international organizations, industries, academia, etc.
are required to implement research process management based on an open and closed strategy, while
respecting freedom and diversity in research activities interests of each subject.
In Japan, research infrastructures such as networks, institutional repositories, data platforms, andcomputing resources, as well as institutional environments such as various guidelines have beendeveloped.
In particular, with regard to the management and utilization of research data obtained throughpublic funds, most universities have developed institutional repositories, but on the other hand, there
are problems such as the fact that the collection of research data has not progressed and that fact thatdata policies have not been developed. Some pioneering programs have been working to aggregate,
search, and browse metadata for research data in order to promote wide-ranging use of research data,but efforts to manage and utilize research data are only halfway through. There are also legal andinstitutional issues related to research data, such as the attribution of research data and the handling of
personal information.
Japan's digital research infrastructure is contributing to high-quality research and education
through the development of infrastructure such as Fugaku, which ranked first in the world in the four
supercomputer rankings in 2020, and the Scientific Information Network (SINET). On the other hand,
many of the shared facilities and equipment at universities and public research institutes were using
old systems, making it difficult to connect them to external networks during the coronavirus pandemic.
The problem of remote use of such systems has become apparent. In addition, although research DX
involves the transformation and development of research activities, the maintenance and use of
research facilities and equipment still remains an entrenched and independent culture, andimprovement is required.
[Current status data] (Reference index)
・ Number of national research and development agencies with research data policies: 11(September 2020)
・ Number of ministries, agencies, and organizations that have adopted the Data Management
Plan (DMP) under the Competitive Research Funding System: 8 ministries, agencies, andorganizations (September 2020)
・ Number of institutional repositories established in Japan: 811 (FY2019)
・ Researchers with experience in disclosing research data: 51.9% (FY2018)
・ Percentage of researchers with experience in releasing preprints: 20.4% (FY2020)
・ HPCI capacity: 25 petaflops per year (FY2019)・ Share of joint research facilities and equipment: of 10 research equipment with a considerable
market size purchased by universities, etc., (purchased in FY2012-2016) , 90% of thosepurchased with competitive funds were used by individual researchers and laboratories.
64

(FY2017)
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
The aim is to create high value-added research results and to demonstrate Japan's presence throughdigitalization of society as a whole and the DX of research itself, which captures the global trend of
open science. In particular, research on novel coronavirus is expected to further expand the use of open
access and scientific papers preprints. In this context, it is necessary to appropriately share and utilize
data generated in the overall research process in a strategic manner, and to realize a research foundation
for generating high-impact research results.
To this end, with regard to data sharing and utilization of data, the government will first develop
an environment for promoting the management and utilization of research data based on an open andclosed strategy while respecting freedom of research and diversity under a platform that enables highquality research data to be obtained at research sites and enables cross-sectional retrieval of suchresearch data. In particular, a mechanism that ensures data reliability will be essential. Based on this,the government will also promote the implementation of cutting-edge data-driven research and AIdriven research, as well as the research of information science and technology that supports these newresearch methods.
At the same time, the government will establish and maintain the world's most advanced research
infrastructure for networks, data infrastructure, and computing resources, and will promote its wideranging use and application regardless of industry or academia. It will also promote the spread of smartlabs, which enable shared facilities and equipment of large research facilities, universities, and national
research and development agencies to be used remotely for research, as well as the automation ofexperiments. This will enable research to be carried out beyond the constraints of time and distance,
and is expected to significantly reduce the burden on researchers. It will also enable the use of researchfacilities and equipment, etc. that are open to all researchers, including the development of datautilization systems, for such research infrastructure, and create an environment in which researchers
can devote themselves more freely to cutting-edge research.
The appropriate management and utilization of high-quality research data, the active utilizationof data science including AI, and the development of an advanced infrastructure environment will not
only improve the efficiency of the research process, but will also dramatically expand the scope of
research exploration, discover and present new hypotheses, and change the process that goes into theintellectual activities of researchers themselves. This will replace some of the activities that previously
depended on individual intuition and experience. This will lead to the creation of high-impact research
results using data, and will allow researchers to apply their valuable time to higher value-added
intellectual activities such as the formulation of research visions and hypotheses. At the same time, itwill contribute to the development of open science from a global perspective.
In addition, changes in research activities and employment practices in Japan as a whole may
change the way researchers work. In Japan, an environment will be created in which various entities
can participate in research activities and play active roles, such as citizen participation in research as
citizen science and the freelance of researchers, which are already seen in various parts of the world.
Researchers and non-researchers will promote sharing and integration of knowledge while fostering
trust, and create new forms of value.
[Target]・ The management and utilization of research data based on the open and closed strategy,
the development of the world's most advanced network and computing resources, and thesharing and smartization of facilities and equipment will enable researchers to effectively
access necessary knowledge and research resources. High value-added research such as
data-driven research will be accelerated, and research activities will be conducted with theparticipation of various entities such as citizens.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
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・ By 2025, 100% of all universities, inter-university research institute corporations, and national
research and development agencies with institutional repositories will establish data policies.
By FY2023, 100% of all publicly offered research funds 162 will introduce data management
plans (DMPs) and related metadata provision mechanisms.
Concrete measures
a. Development of an environment for promoting appropriate management and utilization ofreliable research data The government will continue to disseminate and publicize the Research Data Cloud (NII
Research Data Cloud), which started full-blown operation in FY2020 as a core platform for the
management and utilization of research data in Japan, and to make necessary improvements. In
addition, in order to make wide-ranging use of research data obtained through public funds byindustry, academia, and government, the government will promote the provision of systematic
metadata 163 by FY2023, and will establish a system that can search for such metadata on the
research data infrastructure system from FY2008. In addition, in order to make use of metadata
for EBPM 164 , the government will ensure interoperability with the modification of e-Rad.
Measures for securing a sustainable management system for research data infrastructure
systems will be examined by FY2022. [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies] In order to manage and utilize research data obtained with public funds in institutions, researchand development institutions such as universities, inter-university research institutecorporations, and national research and development agencies will formulate data policies andpromote the inclusion of research data in the institution repository. In addition, in order tomake research data searchable on the research data infrastructure system, metadata will be
added to research data. [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies] A data management plan (DMP) and a mechanism for providing metadata linked to the DMP
will be introduced by FY2023 in order to manage and utilize research data for all new
subscriptions of publicly offered research funds. Similarly, in the next SIP, DMP will be
formulated and metadata will be provided. [STI, MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies]
 By the end of FY2023, the government will establish a system to mutually utilize data between
the Research and Data Infrastructure System and the data collaboration infrastructure in eachfield to be established by the research and development themes (SIP, etc.) implemented by the
Cabinet Office. [STI, MEXT]
 In order to promote the management and utilization of research data by researchers, thedirection of initiatives such as data curators, library staff, URA, senior human resources who
have retired from the front line of research, human resources who have engaged in researchrelated work at companies, etc., participation of post-docs when contributing to their own
research activities, and digital conversion of libraries will be determined by FY2022. [STI,
MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies] The government will respect free and open research activities and promote collaboration on
the management and utilization of research data with countries, regions, internationalorganizations, etc. (EU, G7, OECD, etc.) that share values with Japan. The government will
Regarding the Public research funds specified as the subject of the system in the Cross-Ministerial
Research and Development Management System Common R&D Management System for the
Cabinet Office and Ministries (e-Rad)" (Public research funds specified as the subject of the systemin (https://www.e-rad.go.jp/dl_file/particulars_e-rad.pdf).
163
Systematic metadata refers to date that presents an overview of research data through a unified
format and includes information such as the name and explanation of research data, theadministrator, storage place, and whether the data is shared or released. Integrated Innovation
Strategy 2020 (decided by the Cabinet on July 17, 2020) establishes the data policy at the national
level.
164
EBPM: Evidence-based Policy Making
162

66



aim to build a global platform during the period of this plan by promoting international
collaboration between Japan's research data infrastructure systems and comparable initiatives
and by enhancing international interoperability on the management and utilization of researchdata. [STI, MEXT]
From the perspective of further promoting efforts related to the management and utilization ofresearch data, by 2022, the status of these efforts will be introduced into the evaluation systemof researchers, programs, institutions, etc. [STI, relevant ministries and agencies]b. Development of infrastructure to support research DX and acceleration of highvalue-added research In FY2022, the government will strengthen the ultra-high speed and large capacity networkthat connects the entire country (SINET) as an academic information infrastructure foruniversities and research institutes in Japan. By operating SINET in an integrated manner with
the Research and Data Infrastructure System, the government will continue to promoteresearch and development of technologies that support the academic information infrastructure.
By FY2021, the government will also consider measures to develop an environment that canbe used not only as an academic information infrastructure but also in cooperation with theprivate sector as a social infrastructure for universities and research institutes. [STI, MEXT] With regard to supercomputing resources from 2021, the government will advance full-scaleuse of the supercomputer Fugaku and will strengthen the supercomputing resources ofdomestic universities and national research and development agencies as a stable computing
base to meet the diverse needs of researchers nationwide. In addition, with regard to nextgeneration computing resources, the government will examine them through industry,
academia, and government cooperation, taking into account the technologies in which Japanpossesses strength, and determine the direction of such next-generation computing resources
by FY2021. Based on the results of such examination, the government will implement
necessary measures. [MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies] With regard to research facilities and equipment, the national government will formulate
guidelines for the common use of research facilities and equipment by FY2021. Researchfacilities and equipment that are versatile and of a certain size or larger will, in principle, beshared. In addition, from FY2022, universities and public research institutes will formulate andpublicize policies for the internal and external sharing of research facilities and equipment. In
addition, when applying for research funds, research institutes will closely examine whether
inefficient research facilities and equipment have been installed from the viewpoint of optimal
management of the entire organization. Through these efforts, a framework for the introduction,
renewal, and utilization of organizational research facilities (core facilities) will be established.
With regard to major research facilities and equipment already installed in Japan, cooperation
between facilities and equipment will be promoted. By the end of FY2021, a framework for
one-stop response to needs and inquiries from various parts of the country will be started andcompleted by FY2025. In addition, the government will promote the steady development andutilization of next-generation synchrotron radiation facilities, which are currently being
constructed through a public-private framework, and will systematically develop sharedfacilities and equipment including large-scale research facilities, universities, and national
research and development agencies, including remote and smart facilities. [STI, MEXT,
relevant ministries and agencies] In order to advance data-driven research, by FY2023, the government will develop a platform
for the creation and sharing of high-quality data in the field of materials, and conduct trial
operations. Similarly, in the field of life sciences, the government will promote the strategic
and systematic development of information infrastructure, including genome data, which is thebasis of data-driven research, and biological genetic resources. In addition, the government
will also develop an environment for the promotion of data-driven research in the fields ofenvironment, energy, oceans, and disaster prevention. Additionally, the government will
advance the development of an environment in which information related to research outcomessuch as literature including preprints can be widely used, as well as accelerate research on67



mathematics and information science and technology, including the basic fields (OS,programming, security, databases, etc.) that support such research. [MEXT, METI]
New analytical methods and indicators for changes in research activities through DX will be
developed on the basis of the experimental measures implemented in FY2020, and their
upgrading and monitoring will be implemented from FY2021. [MEXT]

c. Cultivating new research communities and environments pioneered by research DX
 The government will promote research activities such as the creation and fusion of knowledge
by co-creating with various entities such as local governments, NPOs and NGOs, small andmedium-sized enterprises and start-ups, freelance researchers, and citizen participation. In
addition, the government will implement the development of an environment that encourages
the participation of various entities as a new science, technology, and innovation policy
formulation process as a bottom-up approach by industry, academia, and government, such as
the launch of citizen science research projects that expect the participation of many citizens bycollecting many samples and conducting scientific experiments that cannot be realized byresearchers alone (on a scale of 10,000 people, with the assumption that it will start by FY2022).
[STI, MEXT]

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(3) Promoting university reform and expanding functions for strategic management
1) Recognition of the current situation
Universities are the nodes of diverse knowledge, and also the largest and most advanced
foundation for knowledge. They have tangible and intangible intellectual assets such as researchpersonnel, research facilities and equipment, various databases and their analytical functions,functions as hubs of industry-academia collaboration, and international networks of knowledge. As
academic centers, they are required to play a leading role in the Society 5.0 era by making maximum
use of this potential in various forms. In particular, national universities play an extremely importantrole in various aspects, such as the promotion of research in cutting-edge and fusion fields, the creationof sources of innovation, the establishment of the convergence of knowledge combining naturalsciences with humanities and social sciences, and the creation of knowledge, human resource
development, and employment creation required for local communities.
While universities have been returning the results of various educational research to society, they
have often been evaluated by society and selected by students and researchers based on limited criteriasuch as university name and deviation value. As a result of being bound by such specific values, theindividuality of each university and the mission to be achieved are not always clear, and the depth of
the university demographic is not fully utilized in creating value in our country.
Looking abroad, major Asian universities are increasing their presence in terms of research andbudgets, and Japan is losing its presence not only among the top universities in Europe and the UnitedStates, but also among Asian universities. In fact, Japan has the second most colleges and universities
ranking in Times Higher Education magazine’s global university ranking after the United States, butwhile Japan has a broad base of universities, the number of Japanese universities in the top 50 Asianuniversities rankings has halved from 11 in 2013 to five in 2020.
In particular, national universities in Japan have been incorporated since 2004, and environmenthas been developed so that the top of the organization can carry out management. However, due tomanagement by the national government, the small managerial discretion of universities, and the sideby-side customs within universities, the realization of attractive national universities with vitality andindividuality in a competitive environment," which had been envisioned at the time of incorporation,is only half way off.
On the other hand, in the Comprehensive Economic Measures to Secure People's Lives andLivelihoods towards Relief and Hope decided by the Cabinet in December 2020, the establishment of
a 10 trillion yen university fund was incorporated, and it is expected to be a major trigger for university
reform in Japan as a bold policy with a high impact.
In addition, national research and development agencies have a wide range of responsibilities
under a long-term vision, including basic and fundamental research that is difficult for the private
sector, demonstration tests, development of elemental technologies that contribute to the formulationof technical standards, and allocation of funds for R&D to other organizations based on national orinternational demands. These responsibilities need to be met with certainty, and the financial baseneeds to be strengthened, including improvement of systems and diversification of financial resources.
[Current status data] (Reference index)
・ Annual average rate of increase in donation income of national university corporations from
FY2007 to FY2018: 1.3%
・ Amount of joint research received from private enterprises by universities and national
research and development agencies: 88.2 billion yen (FY2018)
・ Growth rates of ordinary expenditure in FY2005-2019 at major universities (excluding hospital
expenses): Tokyo University (1.7%), Kyoto University (2.0%), Osaka University (1.7%),
Tohoku University (1.1%); Reference: Stanford University (6.4%)
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
In order to overcome a society with high uncertainty by utilizing a rich knowledge base, we will
aim to form a diverse group of universities by expanding the strengths of each university and clarifying
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the missions appropriate for each university, rather than trying to achieve the same ideal form for all
universities. This will enable people to choose universities based on the contents of education andresearch provided by universities and the added value such as the environment. Universities will
support individual self-actualization based on diverse values and enrich people's lives. At the sametime, by allowing human resources to flow freely in accordance with the changing times and the needsof organizations and individuals, we will create new social changes starting from universities one after
another. At the same time, we will promote the further growth of research universities that are at thesame level in the world among diversified universities, and aim to strengthen excellent researchcapabilities.
In order to realize an environment in which national universities can make full use of their
originality and potential, in particular, the government will boldly shift from governance centered on
the relationship with the country in which the grant for operating expenses are allocated to governancethat fulfills accountability and responsibility not only to the country but also to many stakeholders
including students, graduates, researchers, industry, and local communities. As a partner of the country,
the government will expand the discretion of universities to realize an environment in which
universities can always engage in dialogue with society. By doing so, the government will not only
aim at advanced education and research as a basis for national and local knowledge, but also bear newvalue creation services that make the most of their intellectual assets.
At that time, research universities that rank among the world's top universities and those that serveas hubs for regional revitalization 165 inevitably differ in their stakeholders, financial structures,
relationships with the government, and optimal management systems, due to the differences in their
missions. In particular, in the former, bold university reforms are being carried out to realize a strong
governance system, and a solid financial base will be formed by significantly expanding private funds
to realize a world-class research environment and salary levels, support from newly establisheduniversity funds, and enhancement of university voluntary funds.
On the other hand, universities, which should play the role of hubs for regional revitalization, will
promote initiatives such as expanding the acceptance of members of society who support regional
industries, creating innovation by utilizing the latest knowledge and technology and matching humanresources with different fields, supporting the improvement of productivity in regional industries,
securing posts where young researchers can gain experience, and improving the environment. Throughthese initiatives, the universities will attract investment from local communities and companies, andform an ecosystem that will lead to the development of local communities and universities. In addition,
the universities will promote activities such as cooperation among multiple national, public, andprivate universities and research institutes.
National research and development agencies shall fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with
their respective missions and characteristics. At the same time, through active collaboration andcooperation with external organizations, various financial resources, including private funds anddonations, shall be secured, and the financial base shall be strengthened while steadily maximizing
research and development results.
[Target]・ Diverse and unique university groups support individual self-actualization, enrich people's
lives and lifestyles, and knowledge bases including excellent research capabilities drive newsocial changes.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ By FY2025, the amount of joint research received by universities and national research anddevelopment agencies from private companies increase by approximately 70% compared to
FY2018 (restated)
Leading universities in solving local problems such as population decline, job creation, anddevelopment of digital human resources
165

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・ ・ Increase rate of donation income of national university corporations: increase by 5% on
average per year from FY2021 to FY2025
3) Concrete measures
a. Transformation of national university corporations into a true management entity
 The government will review the ideal medium-term target in order to shift from a premanagement system based on regulations to a post-implementation check system to a true
management system as a strategic organization that continues to grow as a driving force forsocial change for the fourth medium-term target period. In addition, the government will
abolish the annual evaluation of corporations by the national government every fiscal year andreview the system to evaluate business performance over a period of six years in principle. At
the same time, the government will confirm reports on compliance with “the National
University Corporation Governance Code 166 published by each national university corporation,
ensure transparency in the state of university management and decision-making mechanisms,
and fulfill accountability to relevant parties. [MEXT]
b. Deregulation to support strategic management
 From the fourth medium-term target period, the government will eliminate the involvement of
the president in the university president selection committee and clarify the check-and-balance
function of the university president selection committee. At the same time, the government
will implement changes in the student quota of national university corporations, simplificationof organizational restructuring procedures, and flexible quota management and tuition fees tosecure excellent foreign students. [MEXT] By FY2025, the government will expand preferential treatment in the tax system for donations
to universities and encourage universities to expand their own financial resources. [STI,MEXT] The accounting standards for national university corporations will be revised so that they canbe easily understood from the viewpoints of various stakeholders. At the same time, amechanism will be established to strategically accumulate various financial resources acquiredby national university corporations, and the objective reserves will be revised so that they canbe carried over to the next medium-term target period. [MEXT] The government will enable stable financial management by further expanding and extending
the scope of bond-issuing projects by national universities and the redemption period,
diversifying the financial sources for redemption and by promoting discussions on making theuse of indirect expenses of public research funds more flexible (such as using them for
medium-to long-term funding and facility renewal) for the fourth medium-term target period.
[STI, MEXT] At the university support forum PEAKS by university officials, industry, and the government,
management issues at universities and solutions thereof will be discussed in detail, horizontal
development of good practices leading to the creation of innovation, consideration of
deregulation, and development of university management will be promoted. The government
will also promptly consider proposals for deregulation from the field and implement necessary
policies. [STI, MEXT, METI]c.

Establishment of a 10 trillion yen university fund
 In order to overcome the current situation of declining international competitiveness andA code that serves as a basic principle for national university corporations to further enhance theirfunctions while controlling their own management, in order to enhance their managementtransparency, strengthen their educational, research, and social contribution functions, and continue
to fulfill their roles in response to changes in society.
166

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weakening financial base of Japanese universities, and to further fulfill the role of universities,
which should be the core of the innovation ecosystem, such as producing human resources thatmeet social needs, creating research results at the global level, and creating university-based
start-ups that lead social change, bold investments will be made to construct a research
infrastructure at the global level using unprecedented methods. Specifically, the government
will construct the innovation ecosystem of Japan by providing long-term and stable support
for the development of shared facilities and data collaboration infrastructure for universities
that conduct research and development at a level comparable to that of the world, and thedevelopment of young human resources, by realizing a fund of approximately 10 trillion yen
at an early date and utilizing its investment profits. 167 In participating in this fund, thegovernment will seek commitment to university reforms, such as autonomous management
and responsible governance, and contribution to the fund. It will also review related existing
projects. In addition, the government will introduce mechanisms such as increasing theacquisition of external funds and reserving a portion of the funds to the fund from the viewpointof the participating universities aiming at managing the fund with their own funds in the future.
[STI, MEXT]
d. Diversification of public funds and governance that support the foundations of universities With regard to the allocation of national university corporation operating expense subsidies in
FY2021, the scale of the allocation based on the performance indicators for research andeducation will be increased to make the allocation more varied. In addition, new allocation
rules for national university corporation operating expense subsidies will be introduced andevaluated every fiscal year to make the allocation more varied for the fourth medium-termtarget period. For example, the common performance indicators will be carefully revised to be
more objective and quantitative by utilizing e-CSTI, etc., while taking into account themissions of each university such as world-class research universities and universities that will
be hubs for regional revitalization. [MEXT] With regard to national universities, new legal frameworks for realizing world-class research
universities will be examined by the end of FY2021, and a conclusion will be reached. These
include a system to check the selection method and execution of university presidents to realize
strategic management, a salary and evaluation system to invite world-class researchers througha non-national government employee-type salary system, autonomous management anddecision-making of student quotas and tuition fees, a new financial and accounting system topromote strategic management, and a unique government management and evaluation system.
[STI, MEXT]
 In order to introduce a salary system that is not based on public service standards or senioritybased systems, such as the assignment of professionals who are required to support the strategic
management of national university corporations according to their advanced specialized skills
and abilities, the government will consider how to verify the salary levels of national university
corporation employees. In addition, national university corporations will actively promoteequal personnel exchanges not only with other universities companies, as well as otheruniversities, and digitalization of university management in order to promote the careerdevelopment and enhancement of expertise of employees who support such management. [STI,MEXT] With regard to the facilities of national university corporations, etc. (meaning national
university corporations, inter-university research institute corporations, and national institutes

The funds for major universities in the world include Harvard University (about 4.,5 trillion yen),
Yale University (about 3.3 trillion yen), Stanford University (about 3.1 trillion yen) and otheruniversities in the United States (about 65 trillion yen), Cambridge University (about 1.0 trillionyen), Oxford University (about 820 billion yen) and others.
167* 2019 figures for each university and 2017 figures for the total for U.S. universities (latest values for each)

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




e.

of technology; the same shall apply hereinafter), the government will aim to realize theInnovation Commons 168, a base where all players can co-create in all fields and in all scenes
by organically cooperating with the entire campus. The government will formulate a facility
development plan for the entire national university corporations, etc., incorporating such
viewpoints, and provide continuous support. In addition, planned and focused facility
development will be promoted through strategic facility development and facility management
carried out by national university corporations, etc. [MEXT]With regard to private universities, the government will make a more balanced allocation ofprivate school subsidies, etc. so that they can engage in high-quality education and researchutilizing the spirit of establishment and the characteristics of private schools. [MEXT]
In order to increase the value of universities as investment targets and to effectively allocate
resources within universities, the government will promote the introduction of an university
institutional research (IR) system, which visualizes research seeds, human resources, and otherresources possessed by universities, through activities such as the university support forum
PEAKS, and will promote the matching with corporate needs and the construction of a strategic
university management base. [STI, MEXT]
In order to strengthen research capabilities at universities, from FY2021, MEXT will review
and strengthen its organization and systems, and will strategically and comprehensively
promote measures for research personnel, funds, environment, etc. at national, public, andprivate universities throughout the period of the Sixth Basic Plan. [MEXT]

Strengthening the functional and financial foundations of national research anddevelopment agencies
 The government shall endeavor to improve investment items, taking into account the opinionsof each corporation, so that national research and development agencies can fulfill their
responsibilities and operate and manage operations effectively and efficiently in order tomaximize research and development results. It shall also promote necessary measures to enable
national research and development agencies to strengthen their financial base, such as
promoting joint research with private companies. In addition, specific national research anddevelopment agencies shall create the world's highest level of research and development results
and serve as the core organizations that strongly drive innovation systems. [STI, relevant
ministries and agencies]

Innovation Commons is a campus where students, researchers, industry, local governments, andvarious other players can freely gather, interact, and create new value through face-to-face andonline exchanges in various fields and situations such as education, research, industry-academia
collaboration and regional collaboration.
168

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3. Education and human resource development to realize diverse happiness (wellbeing) and challenges for each individual
In order to proceed with the redesign of society and to create new values one after another ina society that we have not seen yet, the human resources that lead such redesign and creation are key.
It is necessary to develop an environment for education and human resource development in which
each person can realize a variety of happiness, and to realize learning that will produce humanresources who have the ability and motivation to face challenges through trial and error in a real society
where there is not necessarily a single correct answer. Human resource development under previous
Science and Technology Basic Plans has been mainly targeted at human resources who are responsible
for research in Japan, but with the social image of Society 5.0 in mind, it is necessary to aim at the
production of human resources who can create new values in the world in a broad sense, all over Japan,
regardless of generation, and the realization of an education and human resource development systemthat will realize it.
In order to achieve this, it is necessary to realize the learning of the Society 5.0 era from theelementary and secondary education stage. In order to strengthen the inquiring ability based on
curiosity, the enhancement of problem-finding and problem-solving learning such as STEAM
education will be carried out. In particular, we will develop an environment that supports learning bysociety as a whole, including universities and companies. In the higher education stage, the learningthat responds to the diverse needs of individuals will be realized by the development of individualistic
university groups. In addition, the challenge to a new career path by motivated individuals will bepromoted in an environment where people can learn again throughout their lives. This will realize thegrowth of our country and the diverse happiness of individuals in the 100-year life era. In addition to
the enhancement of recurrent education 169, the mobility of human resources will be enhanced, and theenvironment that makes it easy for individuals to have second jobs, side jobs, or change jobs will be
developed to realize the value creation of the Society 5.0 era.
[Major goal]・ To transform Japan as a whole into Society 5.0, we will develop human resources whowill pursue happiness and face challenges.
1) Recognition of the current situation
In the past, in Japan, uniform education and human resource development based on deviation
values have been formed against the background of social homogeneity and pressure to synchronize,
not only because of school education, but also because of the demand from the economic society. In
the past economic growth in Japan, the existence of an education and human resource development
system that met a certain level nationwide had great significance, and it functioned in a society basedon the mass recruitment of new graduates by companies and the seniority system.
On the other hand, there has been no progress in diverse educational activities that included thepromotion of creative challenges, nor in the active introduction of learning environments based on
individual intrinsic motives and curiosity. In fact, compared with other countries, the percentage of
pupils and students who do not like learning even if their grades are good is large. Awareness of theseissues is already increasing not only in the educational field but also in society as a whole. As seen in
the new educational guidelines and the GIGA 170 School Program, positive changes toward educationin the new era are being created.
169 Recurrent education can be categorized according to education, it is possible to categorize it intoclasses for the purpose of earning a living, for further participation in society, or for intellectual
satisfaction (culture and culture). This basic plan focuses on recurrent education for the purpose offurther participation in society, from the viewpoint of Society 5.0, considering new careers and those
who want to take on the challenge of higher levels, while double-track career paths are required in
the 100-year life span.
170 GIGA: Global and Innovation Gateway for All
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In addition, there are few people who have the will to continue to study after they have joined society
as a working member, and even if they are dissatisfied with their work, they cannot overcome thecurrent situation. This is due to the fact that the results of their studies have not been properly evaluatedin society. In particular, Japanese companies tend to be negative about support for relearning andexperience of second jobs and side jobs for their employees, and it has been pointed out that there areconcerns on the part of companies that giving them opportunities to relearn may lead to the transfer oftalented employees.
There is also a problem on the university side. In the past, the position of recurrent educationin university management has not always been clarified, and it has tended to be viewed simply as
secondary education for adults. However, the environment surrounding recurrent education haschanged significantly, such as the diversification of work styles, double-track career paths, and theemergence of the "new normal" triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Some universities have begun
to diversify education and human resource development, including the use of MOOC. 171
With the changes in the industrial structure and other factors, the abilities required ofindividuals are changing significantly, and the relationship between organizations and individuals is
also changing, as seen in the shift of employment to the job type. Furthermore, due to the coronavirus
pandemic, the tide of such changes is rapidly accelerating. At the same time, the form of happiness
desired by the people is also diversifying, including not only economic prosperity but also therealization of qualitative prosperity under a sustainable earth.
On the other hand, the life cycle of knowledge has become shorter and shorter with rapidchanges in the economic and social structures, and the age of 100 years of life has come. There is a
growing possibility that people will be able to pursue various forms of happiness in accordance with
their interests and interests over an unprecedented length of life.
[Current status data] (Reference index)
・ The percentage of students who find arithmetic, mathematics, and science fun: arithmetic(elementary school): 77%, mathematics (junior high school): 56%, science (elementary
school): 92%, science (junior high school): 70% (all in 2019) 172
・ Percentage of young people who want to be involved in solving social problems: 42.2%(FY2018) 173
・ Percentage of teachers who work more than 80 hours of overtime: elementary school 13.2%,
junior high school 27.5%, and high school 19.9% (all as of June 2019) 174
・ Status of ICT environment development at schools: 60.0% for large-scale display in regularclassrooms, 64.8% for integrated school operation support systems, and 7.9% for digitaltextbooks for learners (all as of March 2020) 175
・ Percentage of implementation of educational and training leave system: 9.4% (in FY2018) 176
・ Number of career consultants: 53,809 (end of October, 2020) 177
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
We aim to develop human resources who can pursue various kinds of happiness and face up tochallenges by developing the abilities and qualities important in the Society 5.0 era that will be
An abbreviation for "Massive open online course," which is a large - -scale open online course
using the Internet. It is a system in which a student can obtain a certificate of completion if he / she
has completed the course and meets the completion conditions.
172
MEXT, “Points in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2019)”
173
Cabinet Office, International Survey of Youth Attitude (FY2018)
174
MEXT, “2019 Survey on the Status of Efforts for Work Style Reforms at School by the Board of
Education”
175
MEXT, “2019 Survey on the Situation of Education in Schools”
176
MHLW, "Basic Survey on Human Resources 2018”
177
MHLW, “Number of Persons Registered by Prefecture at the End of October 2020”
17175

acquired through exploratory activities, such as discovering issues by oneself and seeking solutions.
For this reason, from the primary and secondary education stage, children and students are encouraged
to voluntarily "Why?" and "How?" to realize learning based on curiosity. This is the process ofscientific research that has supported the prosperity of mankind. Such efforts are the learning itself
that fosters the inquiring ability that confronts problems through trial and error.
In this process, the government will promote cooperation between school education andsociety by utilizing local human resources. For example, it will promote the participation of frontline
researchers and entrepreneurs in the educational field, and increase students' curiosity by expanding
opportunities to experience first-class and real things. Cooperation between science, technology, andinnovation policies and educational policies can further enhance the effects. It will also strategicallypromote policy cooperation. In addition, the government will provide each student with individually
optimal and collaborative educational opportunities and reduce the excessive burden on teachers in
the educational field by utilizing DX and digital tools in the educational field. In doing so, idealism
and ideals should not be simply imposed on the educational field, but they should be supported bysociety as a whole, including industries and families, by reviewing work contents and cooperatingwith local communities.
At the higher education stage, along with the development of university clusters as diverseand unique knowledge bases, the advancement of education at technical colleges will provide learningin accordance with the diverse needs of individuals and enrich people's lives. In particular, from theperspective of creating innovation, in the unpredictable era to come, the skills to grasp things and solve
problems with multiple eyes, which goes beyond the so-called humanities and science, will become
important, and the curricula and educational methods that actively teaches that will become more
active.
In addition, by expanding opportunities for working people to relearn, and by encouraging
individuals to engage in second jobs, side jobs, or change jobs, the government will increase themobility of motivated and capable human resources, promote the circulation of knowledge throughout
society, and lead to the creation of new value. In order to maximize the individual's abilities even after
becoming a working person, the government will realize an environment in which those who wish toreceive diverse and high-quality recurrent education can take advantage of a double-track career path.
[Target]・ By learning based on curiosity with the participation of various social entities, the inquiring
ability is strengthened.
・ Individuals find out what they want to do, and hone their abilities and qualifications.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major
Indicators)
・ The government will aim to increase the percentage of elementary and junior high school
students who find arithmetic, mathematics, and science to be "fun" at the elementary and juniorhigh school levels by FY2025, with a view to achieving a level comparable to that of othercountries. 178
・ By FY2022, the number of employees who participate in recurrent education at universities
and technical colleges will increase to 1 million.

According to MEXT, “Points in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS2019),”the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "International Survey
on Mathematics and Science Education (TIMSS2019) Points", the international average percentage
of students who find arithmetic, mathematics, and science to be "fun" is 84% for elementary school
arithmetic, 70% for junior high school mathematics, 86% for elementary school science, and 81%
for junior high school science. In Japan, only elementary school science is above the international
average.
178763) Concrete measures
a. Strengthening the ability to explore by promoting STEAM education
 In order to promote STEAM education, in accordance with the new high school educationalguidelines, which will be fully implemented annually from FY2022, efforts will be made toenhance learning activities to discover problems and solve problems in "science andmathematics exploration" and "time for comprehensive research." In addition, outstanding
R&D will be promoted at Super Science High Schools (SSH) to lead the reform of science andtechnology human resource development systems. With a view to disseminating anddeveloping the results of SSH R&D to date, efforts will be made to enhance and strengthen
efforts that contribute to the development of abilities through STEAM education by
establishing a new system to certify high schools, etc. with a certain level of achievements byaround FY2022, and by disseminating the system. [MEXT] The government will accelerate the development of the STEAM library 179 , which can be
widely used in elementary and secondary education in Japan. At the same time, the government
will present model plans for educational content that can be used in elementary and secondary
education and disseminate it throughout the country. In addition, in order to promote STEAM
education not only in elementary and secondary education institutions but also in society as awhole, in FY2021, the government will promote the horizontal development and coordinationof human resources, knowledge, and content distributed throughout the country in cooperation
with platforms established by COCN 180. In addition, in order to create educational content forelementary and secondary education based on state-of-the-art research content, the government
will consider measures to incorporate research content into teaching materials that stimulate
the intellectual curiosity of children and students and are appropriate as subjects, by FY2021,
and draw conclusions. [STI, MEXT. METI] In order to greatly enhance the abilities of pupils and students with outstanding intentions andabilities and to develop the "stakes" that will emerge, the government will enhance
opportunities for learning outside of schools, such as joint training camps and researchpresentations held by universities, private organizations, etc., and opportunities for students inJapan and overseas to develop their abilities through friendly competition, such as support forinternational science contests. [MEXT] From the perspective of education open to society, with a view to accelerating efforts toward
the realization of Society 5.0, while also taking into account the latest technology trends, thegovernment will establish a forum in CSTI to study the development of students' abilities to
explore through STEAM education and the promotion of understanding of the importance of
STEAM education among society as a whole. From FY2021, the government will conduct
surveys and studies with the participation of members of the Central Council for Education,
and will provide feedback on the results of the study on policies for science, technology,
innovation, and education. [STI, MEXT]
b. Participation and utilization of external human resources in learning In cooperation with local universities and technology-related venture companies, examples ofA library that can be used by anyone at any time, which has online STEAM educational material(educational material that helps foster creative value creation and problem-solving abilities, themedon the cutting-edge technologies, technology development, and the resolution of social and living
issues) developed in cooperation with the education industry, schools, industrial sector, and research
institutions in Japan and overseas.
180
COCN: Council on Competitiveness-Nippon. stablished in 2006 as a voluntary organization.
Since then, volunteers from the industrial sector have been engaged in activities to strengthen Japan's
industrial competitiveness by compiling policy recommendations such as science, technology, andinnovation policies and the division of roles between the public and private sectors.
179

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educational and human resource development ecosystems that contribute to regional
revitalization, such as creating opportunities for high school students to actually experience
research activities, will be compiled by the end of 2021, and efforts will be promoted byspreading them nationwide. [MEXT]
In order to realize diverse school education that is open to society, the government will further
promote the use of the special part-time teacher system and special license certificates by, forexample, promoting the dissemination to local governments in FY2021 of the Guidelines for
the Examination of Educational Personnel pertaining to the granting of special license
certificates, which will be revised by the end of FY2020, so that persons with a doctorate
degree or persons with experience in private enterprises with excellent knowledge andexperience can be invited. [MEXT]In FY2021, the government will investigate good practices that appropriately utilize
evaluations of abilities and qualities acquired through exploratory activities 181 when selecting
university students or taking employment examinations at companies, and will actively
promote lateral development. From FY2022, the government will also tabulate and publicize
the number (or percentage) of universities and companies that have implemented suchmeasures.[STI, MEXT, METI]

c. Promotion of DX in the education field In line with the realization of one terminal per person based on the GIGA School Program, theallocation of ICT human resources in the educational field will be promoted. [MEXT] By the end of FY2021, the government will publish the Educational Data Standard (2ndedition) so that individual children and students can reflect on their own learning by using
educational data generated through daily learning, teachers can provide individually optimum
learning guidance and student guidance, and new knowledge such as teaching methods andlearning methods can be created and reflected in the planning and formulation of policies by
national and local governments. [MEXT] By FY2022, the government will complete the introduction of an integrated school
administration support system that can reduce the workload of teachers. [MEXT]
d. Promotion of human resource mobility and reinforcement of learning for careerchange and career advancement
 By FY2023, the government will establish nationwide systems of cooperation andcollaboration with local industries, domestic and overseas universities, and internationalorganizations so that high school students can take active action toward their future by
expanding opportunities to realize learning in cooperation and collaboration with industry,
universities, and international organizations in order to resolve regional and global social issues.
[MEXT]
 In FY2021, the government will start coordinating the functions of the vocational information
service site (Japanese Version of O-NET 182), which started its operation in FY2019, and thesite introducing programs for adults at universities (Manapass 183). In addition, the government

For example, "knowledge and skills", "thinking ability, judgment ability, and expression ability",and "an attitude of having independence and learning in cooperation with various people" (threeelements of academic ability) acquired in the high school stage are mentioned.
182
Aiming to "visualize" the labor market, MHLW established a job information site in March 2020
that provides comprehensive job information, including explanations of about 500 jobs including
video content and "numerical data" such as required knowledge and skills.
183
A portal site for adults that provides information on relearning courses at universities and support
systems for relearning, which means "passport for learning." Established and operated by MaruzenYushodo Company Co., Ltd., commissioned by MEXT in FY2018 for the "Practical Research for
Improving Access to Information on Learning by Adults."
181

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

will strengthen the functions of these two sites by FY2022. The government will also improveand further disseminate the expertise of career consultants. Through these efforts, thegovernment will develop an environment in which individuals can easily take steps toward
career advancement and career change. [MEXT, MHLW]
The relevant ministries and agencies will cooperate to promote the utilization and expand the
spread of the professional engineer system in the industrial arena, etc., as well as make thenecessary revisions to the system in order to secure international applicability, promote theentry of young human resources, and improve the quality and ability of professional engineers.
[MEXT, relevant ministries and agencies]
The government will create opportunities for the development and active participation of
innovative human resources in order to increase the depth of a diverse range of innovative
human resources, including management human resources involved in the creation of
innovation, and to improve the quality of human resources by increasing their mobility. To thisend, the government will, by FY2023, engage in conducting a fact-finding survey on thedevelopment of an environment for developing innovative human resources and disseminate
best practices, taking into account the accumulation of discussions on human resource
development. (Restated) [METI]
In order to improve the mobility of research personnel between universities and corporations,
the Guidelines for Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration shall be disseminated topromote the utilization of cross-appointment systems and concurrent employment at each
institution, the implementation of risk management for conflicts of interest, etc., and therelaxation of organizational rules, etc.[MEXT, METI]e. Fostering an environment and culture that encourages society and companies tocontinue to learn
 By FY2023, the government will develop indicators for evaluating the effects of recurrent
education on society, in addition to the number of employees who have participated in sucheducation. [STI, MEXT, MHLW, METI] From the perspective of creating an environment in which individuals can make the most of
their abilities by relearning even after they have reached a certain age, from FY2021, therelevant ministries and agencies will jointly study concrete measures to promote the utilizationof the educational training leave system and the introduction of recurrent education for
employees in companies, in order to contribute to the continuation of individual learning
supported by work style reform, while taking into account the movement of employment to
the job type, and summarize the results. [STI, MEXT, MHLW, METI] Companies that provide sabbatical leave and economic support to employees
for relearning will be evaluated as leading companies in human resource
development, and measures will be introduced to improve their corporate image.
[METI]
 The government will make efforts to accelerate joint research and joint
education between companies and universities that will contribute to boththe expansion of career paths for doctoral researchers to the industrial
sector and relearning for corporate human resources. [METI]
f. Provision of diverse curricula and programs at universities and national
institutes of technology
 The government will develop a group of universities that support individual self-actualization
based on various values. Specifically, in higher education, students, who are the most important
stakeholders as recipients of higher education and are members of universities, are regarded as

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

those who share long-term interests in the development of universities. In addition to requiring
the publication of information to national universities about the educational outcomes thatstudents were able to enjoy under the Governance Code, each university will conduct surveys,
analyses, and verifications, including long-term perspectives such as student satisfaction andhow students' abilities are evaluated by society after graduation. The results of these surveys,
analyses, and verifications will not only be linked to education courses and the selection of
new students, but also to enhance information disclosure in a comparable manner so thatstudents can make appropriate choices for universities, thereby explaining education to
students and the people who can become students and fulfilling their responsibilities as a result.
[STI, MEXT]
The government will encourage the active utilization of a degree program system that allows
students to establish curricula beyond the boundaries of faculties and graduate system thatallows students to acquire degrees such as double majors. In addition, in order to realize a wide
range of liberal arts education across the humanities and sciences in university education, thegovernment will use such a system to construct multiple new types of educational programs(late specialization program, etc.) that are both broad and deep through all-university common
education and graduate education. [MEXT]
In line with the fourth medium-term target period for national university corporation fromFY2022, the government will actively evaluate universities whose management is based onrecurrent education based on regional issues and university strengths. At the same time, thegovernment will actively promote cooperation between the liaison functions of organizations
such as the Center for Industry-Academia Collaboration and the Center for Regional
Collaboration, which accumulate information on the needs of local industries, and recurrent
education and human resource development programs that respond to the needs of local
industries, and will secure specialized human resources who will play the role of coordinators,
such as program design and public reports. [MEXT, METI]
In order to promote strategic implementation of the functions of recurrent education and humanresource development by universities in cooperation with external organizations, thegovernment will develop an environment that enables all national university corporations toinvest in enterprises that implement training and training. [MEXT]
Utilizing a variety of digital content including MOOC, we will expand recurrent education
programs for members of society, etc. For this purpose, we will design incentives foruniversities, etc., such as certification and systematization of courses that are considered to beparticularly effective for recurrent education for members of society, etc. We will also consider
the establishment of a system to realize university education in the new normal system, whichallows a variety of learners to learn from each other, such as face-to-face and online
hybridization. We will draw a certain conclusion by the end of FY2021, including theflexibility of university establishment standards. [MEXT, METI]
With regard to national institutes of technology, in order to improve education for thedevelopment of practical engineers, the government will promote the participation of persons
who are active in the front lines of companies in education as teachers, and from FY2021, thegovernment will establish a human resource development system to solve social issues
requiring a wide range of knowledge and skills, such as disaster prevention, disaster reductionand epidemic prevention, in addition to nursing care, medical engineering, and materials, byintegrating AI and other fields. [MEXT]

g. Joint creation of knowledge and strengthening of science and technology
communications through participation of various entities such as citizen
participation
 From FY2021, multi-layered science and technology communications will be strengthened,
including efforts for science and technology literacy and risk literacy based on social eventsand social changes caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, efforts to collect opinions fromthe general public at science museums and other museums, efforts to participate in policy
processes by citizens, and efforts to engage in dialogue and collaborative activities that
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overcome differences in age, gender, physical ability, values, etc., utilizing state-of-the-art
technologies essential for the realization of Society 5.0 such as IoT and AI. [STI, MEXT]
In order to promote science and technology literacy, risk literacy, and co-creation research
activities, proactive activities by science and technology communicators are essential as humanresources who play a role in connecting various entities. The government will support such
efforts. [MEXT]
The government will promote research activities such as the creation and fusion of knowledge
by co-creating with various entities such as local governments, NPOs and NGOs, small andmedium-sized enterprises and start-ups, freelance researchers, and citizen participation. In
addition, the government will implement the development of an environment that encourages
the participation of various entities as a new science, technology, and innovation policy
formulation process as a bottom-up approach by industry, academia, and government, such as
the launch of citizen science research projects that expect the participation of many citizens bycollecting many samples and conducting scientific experiments that cannot be realized byresearchers alone (on a scale of 10,000 people, with the assumption that it will start by FY2022).
(Restated) [STI, MEXT]

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Chapter 3 Strengthening the System for Promoting Science, Technology, andInnovation Policies
This chapter summarizes the securing of public and private R&D investment to promotescience, technology, and innovation policies toward the realization of the Society 5.0 shown in Chapter
2, sectoral strategies promoted through public-private partnership, and the strengthening of the control
tower function of CSTI.
1. Revitalization of the financial cycle for the creation of knowledge and value
1) Recognition of the current situation
Science, technology, and innovation are indispensable for solving the global agenda on infectious
diseases, climate change, resources and energy, population, food, and universal health coverage(UHC) 184, and for strengthening international competitiveness. Foreign countries are planning largescale investments in science, technology, and innovation. 185
The five Basic Plans thus far sets clear targets for government R&D investment, steadily securesscience and technology-related budgets, and induces private-sector R&D. However, compared withother countries, the decline in research and innovation power and the delay in digitalization havebecome apparent.
On the other hand, as the environment surrounding the economy and society has changed
significantly due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, it has become increasingly necessary forcompanies not only to pursue profits, including environmental issues, but also to attach importance tothe creation of common value (CSV 186). Investment with a different value axis from that of the past,
such as ESG investment 187 and impact investment 188, have attracted attention.
Under these circumstances, in order to contribute to the expansion of R&D investment in the
future, preparations were made for the period of the Sixth Basic Plan. For example, in the third
supplementary budget for FY2020, 2 trillion yen was allocated for green innovation fund projects toprovide continuous support for the development of innovative technologies toward carbon neutrality,
and 500 billion yen was included for the establishment of a university fund on a scale of 10 trillion
yen to build a world-class research infrastructure.
The next five to 10 years will be a watershed for whether Japan can continue to be one of theworld's leading front runners. Japan must identify the winners and stimulate bold investment,
including promotion of new investment such as ESG investment and impact investment.
[Current status data] (Reference index)
・ Total public and private R&D expenditure: 3.50% (FY2019) against a target of 4% of GDP 189
It refers to the condition in which all people can receive appropriate health and medical services
such as prevention, treatment and rehabilitation at affordable cost, and is positioned as one of thetargets of SDGs.
185
As examples of additional investment for R&D by various foreign governments with an eye to a
post-coronavirus era, the United States is planning an increase of approximately 10 trillion yen in five
years, the UK approximately 3 trillion years in five years, Germany approximately 6 trillion yen (ofwhich the major R&D support will be approximately 2 trillion yen in two years), and France
approximately 3 trillion yen in ten years. All figures are investigated and estimated by the Cabinet
Office based on new reports, etc.
186
CSV: Creating Shared Value.
187
In order to measure a company's value in order to make investments that takes into account not
only financial information but also non - -financial ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) factors.
188
An ESG investment that provides an economic return and a positive, measurable social andenvironmental impact.
189"MIC, Survey on Science and Technology Research 2020," Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications, December 2020
18482

・ Science and technology budget during the Fifth Basic Plan: approximately 26.1 trillion yen(when including the green innovation fund projects and university fund on a scale of 10 trillion
yen: 28.6 trillion yen) 190 (as of March 2021)
・ Total budget execution amount of research expenses by national university corporations,research and development agencies and inter-university research institute corporations:approximately 600 billion yen (FY2018) 191
・ Investment in intangible assets in Japan, including investment in corporate capacity
development: 53.9 trillion yen (2015) 192
・ ESG investment: investment balance in Japan: approximately 336 trillion yen (2019) 193
・ Impact investment: investment balance in Japan: approximately 317.9 billion yen (2019) 194
2) Ideal form and direction for realizing it
In addition to investing in activities aimed at creating knowledge and creating economic and social
values to realize Society 5.0 (according to calculations by the Keidanren, etc. 195 , a cumulative
investment of 844 trillion yen is required over 15 years to 2030), the government will aim tosignificantly expand public and private investment while utilizing a variety of financial resources toexpand business.
To this end, the government will secure sufficient investment in basic research by steadily securing
science and technology-related budgets, promoting industry-academia joint research, and establishingfunds that are equal to those in the world. At the same time, the public and private sectors will
cooperate and cooperate to strengthen responses to important national issues.
In addition to these, the government will mobilize all policy tools such as the research anddevelopment tax system, the SBIR system, innovation in government projects, and promotion of
public procurement of research results, in order to create an environment conducive to private
investment, and to promote innovation management that places sustainability at the core of business.
[Target]・ While other countries are planning large-scale R&D investment in anticipation of the postcoronavirus era, Japan will secure bold-scale government R&D investment in order to win thefierce competition among countries.
・ We will also try to induce private R&D investment.
[Major Numerical Targets for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies] (Major Indicators)
・ Total government R&D investment 196 from FY2021 to FY2025: approximately 30 trillion yen

While maintaining consistency with the economic and fiscal rehabilitation plan, the target was set
at 1% of the GDP, and the target was set aiming at about 26 trillion yen when calculated based on
the assumption that the nominal GDP growth rate during the period would be 3.3% on average..
191
Of the total of 119 institutions identified by e-CSTI, 604.7 billion yen was collected forresearchers aged 26 to 70 from 117 institutions.
192
JIP Database 2018. The ratio of Japan's investment in intangible assets to GDP is low comparedwith other countries. In particular, investment in economic competitiveness has remained low.
193
Sustainable Investment Survey 2019194
' GSG National Advisory Committee' Current Situation of Impact Investment in Japan 2019,
Revised Edition (2020)
195
Joint report "Evolution of ESG Investment, Realization of Society 5.0, and Achievement of theSDGs" (March 26, 2020) by the Keidanren, the University of Tokyo, and the GPIF
196
Considering the diversification of funding sources for investment in science, technology, andinnovation policies, including the establishment of university funds, the government will consider
appropriate methods for identifying R&D investment during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan,
while paying attention to trends in the OECD Frascati Manual.
190

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・ From FY2021 to FY2025, the total amount of R&D investment by the public and private
sectors combined: approximately 120 trillion yen (taking into account the level of the ratio ofJapan's government-funded R&D expenditures, as well as the synergistic effect of thepromotion of private investment through the use of government investment as a trigger)3) Concrete measuresa.

Expansion of public and private investment
 The government budget for science and technology shall be expanded during the period of the
Sixth Basic Plan, taking full account of the constant improvement of the quality of science,technology, and innovation policies and the fiscal sustainability. [STI, relevant ministries andagencies] In order to promote the development of shared facilities and data collaboration infrastructure
and the development of young human resources at universities that conduct R&D at a levelcomparable to that in the world, the government will construct a world-class research
infrastructure by promptly realizing a fund approximately 10 trillion yen and utilizing its
investment profits. [STI, MEXT] From the perspective of strengthening Japan's basic research capabilities, the trend of researchexpenditures at national, public, and private universities and inter-university research institutes
will be analyzed and monitored. [MEXT]

b. Development of private investment environment
 The R&D tax system will be enhanced in order to encourage the medium- to long-term andinnovative R&D of private enterprises, maintain and expand R&D investment, and thereby
create knowledge, value, and innovation. [METI, relevant ministries and agencies] In order to continuously create knowledge and value, the government will endeavor to build abrand, improve management organizations, improve the quality of human resources througheducation and training, and create an environment conducive to investment in intangible assets
such as software and databases. [METI] The government will promote ESG finance and impact finance as a form of development of
ESG finance to mainstream finance that pursues positive impact on society, the economy, andthe environment. In particular, the government will aim to ensure that all institutional investors
and financial institutions implement impact finance in all asset classes. In FY2021, thegovernment will develop a promotion system for major financial institutions and institutional
investors, and as the next step, the government will encourage a ripple effect on efforts towards
regional financial institutions and small and medium-sized, and individual investors . [FSA,
METI, MOE]
 Society 5.0 Indicators will be developed by the end of FY2022 to grasp the status of investment
toward realization. [STI]84

2. Promotion of sectoral strategies through public-private partnerships
During the period of the Fifth Basic Plan, the government formulated sectoral strategies ineach field: AI technology, biotechnology, quantum technology, and materials as basic fields; andenvironment and energy, safety and security, health and medical care, space, ocean, food, agriculture,
forestry, and fisheries as application fields. Based on these strategies, the following points will betaken into consideration during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan. Social implementation and R&D
will be steadily implemented in cooperation with related projects such as SIP and Moonshot Researchand Development Programs. 197 The strategies for each field will be formulated and revised flexibly
based on quantitative analysis and expert knowledge (expert judges).
The environmental and energy fields are described in Chapter 2, 1. (2), and the safety andsecurity fields are described in Chapter 2, 1. (3). Therefore, refer to the relevant sections.
1) AI technology
The utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely advancing in society, andcountries such as the United States and China have formulated national strategies on AI and arecompeting to lead the world. In these circumstances, it is necessary to promote appropriate
development and social implementation based on the fact that AI brings great benefits to society andhas a great influence on society.
For this reason, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, efforts will be made by the relevant
ministries and agencies in order to realize concrete goals set forth in AI Strategy 2019, such as
educational reform, restructuring of research systems, social implementation, development of datarelated infrastructure, and ethics. In addition, the government will continuously review the progressof strategies and the progress of social implementation of AI, and will promote strategies so that eachand every citizen can feel the specific benefits of AI, by securing and strengthening advanced R&D,
human resources, research environments, and data that are comparable to those in other countries,
such as next-generation machine learning algorithms based on the principles of deep learning,
advanced natural language processing such as simultaneous interpretation, and highly reliable AI thatis important for application to medical care and manufacturing fields.
2) Biotechnology
The promotion of the bioeconomy contributes to responses to the convergence of the novel
coronavirus infection, the construction of strategic supply chains for food and pharmaceutical products,
and the reduction of environmental impact. It also contributes to the rapid recovery of the Japanese
economy, and its importance is further increasing.
Based on this recognition, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, the government will steadily
implement measures incorporated in the Market Domain Roadmap, which sets market size targets asof 2030, in nine market domains, including high-performance bio-materials, sustainable primary
production systems, and biopharmaceuticals and regenerative medicine-related industries, based on
Bio Strategy 2019 (Basic Policies) 198 and Bio Strategy 2020 (Definitive Measures for Market
Domains) 199 , which embody and update Bio Strategy 2020 200 . Specifically, the government will
formulate guidelines for collaboration and utilization of bio-data and promote measures based on theguidelines, promote the formation and investment of global and regional bio-communities, anddevelop bio-manufacturing demonstration and human resource development base functions in global
bio-communities, in accordance with each field.
3) Quantum technology
Quantum technology is an innovative technology that has the potential to bring about major

The SIP (second phase) R&D themes and Moonshot Research and Development Program
objectives are as shown in [Reference] of this section.
198
June 11, 2019 Decision of the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council
199
June 26, 2020 Decision of the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council
200
January 19, 2021 Decision of the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council
197

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changes in the society, economy, industry, and security of Japan and the world. In recent years,
competition between countries and companies has intensified in various countries, including theUnited States, European countries, and China. Each country has been engaged in large-scale
investment and large-scale-scale R&D. Thus, competition between countries and companies that will
exert hegemony in the future has intensified. In Japan, too, strategic efforts are required for R&D ofquantum technology and their implementation in society.
For this reason, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, based on the Quantum Technology andInnovation Strategy 201, the government, industry, academia and the government will strongly promotea wide range of initiatives ranging from basic and basic R&D to implementation in society, including
the promotion of utilization of quantum technology in industry and society, including practicalapplication of quantum technology in the short and medium term by combining existing technologies,
in addition to the fundamental strengthening of R&D on key technologies such as quantum computers,
quantum measurement and sensing, quantum communication and cryptography, etc., formation of
innovation bases, promotion of international cooperation, strategic intellectual property management
and international standardization, and development of excellent human resources.
4) Materials
Materials are a basic technology that supports Japan's science, technology, and innovation. They
have also produced numerous innovations such as lithium-ion batteries and blue light-emitting diodes,
and have supported the world economy and society. On the other hand, in recent years, as international
competition for materials has intensified, Japan has lost its strength in this field, and it is necessary tostrengthen strategic efforts while taking advantage of the remaining strength.
For this reason, during the 6th Basic Plan period, based on the Strategy for Strengthening Material
Innovation Capabilities 202, the government will vigorously promote the initiatives set forth in thestrategy under the common vision of industry, academia, and government, by utilizing the strengths
of Japan, which has the world's highest level R&D infrastructure with a large number of diverse
researchers and companies in Japan, such as the rapid implementation of society through industryacademia co-creation, the creation of new value through the development of a data-driven R&D
infrastructure and the pursuit of the essence of things, and the securing of sustainable development
such as human resource development.
5) Health and medical care
In the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution 203, R&D is advancing in the medical and life sciencefields worldwide, and as innovation in these fields accelerates, it is expected that elucidation of diseasemechanisms, development of new diagnostic and treatment methods, R&D of drug discovery using
AI, big data, etc., and personalized medicine and precision medicine tailored to individual conditions
will advance.
Against this background, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, based on the Healthcare andMedical Strategy 204 and the Plan for Promotion of Medical Research and Development 205 for thesecond period covering FY2020 to FY2024, the government will promote integrated research anddevelopment from the basics to practical application in the medical care field in cooperation with other
January 21, 2020 Decision of the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council
Currently under the consideration of the Integrated Innovation Strategy Promotion Council as ofMarch 2021.
203
The 4th Industrial Revolution refers to the industrial revolution with several core technologicalinnovations such as IoT, big data and AI following the 1st Industrial Revolution, which was themechanization of factories by hydraulic and steam engines since the end of the 18th century, the 2nd
Industrial Revolution, which was the mass production using electricity based on the division of laborin the early 20th century, and the 3rd Industrial Revolution, which was the further automation using
electronics and information technology since the early 1970s.
204
Cabinet decision of March 27, 2020
205
Decision of the Headquarters for Healthcare and Medical Strategy Promotion, March 27, 2020
201
202

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funding agencies, in-house research institutes, and private companies, with support from AMED 206 at
the core, as the promotion of research and development in the medical care field. As a particularlypressing issue, the government will concentrate support for research and development in order to put
into practical use a domestic vaccine, drugs, etc. for the novel coronavirus infection at an early stage.
In addition, for the development of the medical care field R&D environment, the government will
promote the development of systems and mechanisms at specialized human resources such as
biostatisticians and regulatory science experts, and the dissemination and enhancement of regulatory
science in research and development, as the improvement of the medical care research anddevelopment environment. In addition, the government will promote health management for thepromotion of health care industries other than public insurance, the promotion of regional andoccupational partnerships, and the promotion of efforts for individual health, as the creation of new
industries and their international expansion. In addition, the government will promote the international
expansion of Japan's health and medical care-related industries under the Asia Health and Wellbeing
Initiative 207 and the African Health Initiative 208 with the aim of contributing to the achievement of
universal health coverage (UHC), with the aim of promoting autonomous industries in each country
and contributing to the wide range of health and medical care fields.
6) SpaceToday, space systems such as positioning, communication, and observation support Japan's
security and economic and social activities. They are also becoming increasingly important as a basis
for realizing Society 5.0. Under these circumstances, space activities have entered an age of cocreation by the public and private sectors, and efforts are being made to vitalize industries throughspace utilization in a wide range of fields. In addition, with the progress of space exploration, thesphere of human activities is expanding beyond the earth’s orbit to the moon surface and deep space,
and the success of the collection of samples from asteroids by Hayabusa 2 has demonstrated to theworld the high level of Japan's science and technology, raising public expectations for its power. Space
is becoming increasingly important as a driving force for the frontier of science and technology andeconomic growth, and it can be a major driving force in the creation of innovation in Japan.
Based on this recognition, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, based on the Basic Plan on
Space Policy 209 , the government will promote, in cooperation with industry, academia, andgovernment, development for quasi-zenith satellite systems and information-gathering satellites,
satellite development that contributes to disaster countermeasures and national resilience and theresolution of global issues, research and development for lunar exploration under the Artemis program,promotion of space science and exploration, development and upgrading of key rockets, examinationof future space transportation systems, promotion of strategic satellite development and demonstrationin cooperation with each ministry, expansion and upgrading of satellite data use, formation of rules
for future space activities including space debris countermeasures and space transportation
management, and strengthening of the human resource base that supports space activities.
7) Ocean
For Japan, which is surrounded by the sea on all sides and has one of the largest control areas in
the world, it is necessary to protect the ocean 210 in order to preserve its territory and territorial waters
and ensure the safety of its people, to make use of the sea as a basis for the existence and growth of
AMED: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Basic Policy for the Asian Health and Wellbeing Initiative (Decision of the Headquarters for
Healthcare and Medical Strategy Promotion, July 29, 2016. Revised July 25, 2018)
208
Basic Policy for the African Health Initiative (Decision of the Headquarters for Healthcare andMedical Strategy Promotion, June 20, 2019)
209
Cabinet decision of June 30, 2020
210
Japan ranks sixth in the world in terms of the area of its territorial waters (including inland waters)
and exclusive economic zones, and eighth in the world in terms of the sea areas owned by eachcountry's overseas territories.
206
207

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economic society, and to pass on the sea to its descendants as a basis for the existence of precious
human beings. In addition, it is essential to collect and utilize scientific knowledge on the ocean in thefollowing areas: conservation of marine living resources and ecosystems, securing of energy andmineral resources, response to global-scale issues such as global warming and marine plastic waste,measures against threats such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, sustainable use and utilizationof the Arctic region, and strengthening of competitive power in the marine industry. In the United
Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021), it is necessary to contributeto the world with the power of science and technology, which is Japan's strength.
Therefore, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, the government will comprehensively andsystematically promote measures relating to the oceans based on the Basic Plan for Ocean Policy 211.
In particular, ocean observation is the most important foundation for ocean science and technology.
In order to strengthen the capacity of MDA 212 and to enhance the ability to understand the vast marine
environment for realizing carbon neutrality, the government will develop observation technologies
such as research vessels, ROVs 213, AUVs 214, submarine optical fiber cables, unmanned observationboats, etc., with the aim of improving ocean survey and observation technologies including those for
ice areas, deep sea areas, and subseafloor. In addition, the government will aim for thorough utilizationof observation data by building and strengthening a common base for data and calculations in order toadvance the sophistication of data and information processing, sharing, and utilization. At the sametime, the government will also aim to create marine value, which is an asset of mankind as a whole,through the promotion of data-driven research in the ocean field by realizing the Internet ofLaboratory 215 for ocean observations.
In order to promote these activities, we will strongly promote industry-academia-government
collaboration and aim to create innovation in the maritime field.
8) Food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
Today, it is necessary to protect and develop Japan's abundant food and environment by utilizing
the power of science and technology, and to strengthen the international competitiveness of the
agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries in order to expand exports by capturing expanding
overseas demand. In particular, in order to respond to the diverse needs of farmers, it is necessary forfarmers to dramatically improve productivity and contribute to income growth by fully utilizing dataand implementing innovative agriculture incorporating smart agricultural technology.
For this reason, during the period of the Sixth Basic Plan, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries formulates the Strategy for Research and Innovation Concerning Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries every fiscal year based on the Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas 216 andpromotes smart agriculture, forestry and fisheries policies, environmental policies, and biotechnology
policies in cooperation with various fields other than agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Among thesepolicies, the Ministry will contribute to the improvement of Japan's agricultural brand power and the
reduction of food loss by deploying production bases utilizing Japan's smart agriculture technologies
and systems in the Asia-Pacific region and other regions. In the forestry and fisheries sectors, theMinistry will also steadily implement new technologies such as ICT, AI forestry and fisheries sectors.
In addition, based on the Plan to Create Dynamism through Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries and

The Third Basic Plan for Ocean Policy was approved by the Cabinet on May 15, 2018. The Basic
Act for Ocean Policy stipulates that the Basic Plan for Ocean Policy shall be reviewed
approximately every five years.
212
MDA: Maritime Domain Awareness213
ROV: Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)214
AUV: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (ROV)215
A system in which various devices and data can be connected in real time through a network
infrastructure that enables large - -capacity data communications, and research activities can be
conducted seamlessly regardless of location.
216
Cabinet decision of March 31, 2020
211

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Local Communities 217, the Green Food System Strategy, which will be formulated by May 2021, anddemonstrate the vision for 2050 to realize both the productivity improvement and the sustainability offood, agriculture, forestry and fisheries through innovation.

Decision of the Headquarters for the Revitalization of Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and (chair:
Prime Minister) on December 10, 2013(revised on December 15, 2020).
217

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[Reference] SIP (Phase 2) Research and Development Themes and Moonshot R&D
Program Objectives (as of December 2020)
 SIP (Phase 2) Research and Development Themes (from FY2018)
・ Cyber space infrastructure technology utilizing big data and AI
・ Physical space digital data processing infrastructure
・ Cyber-physical security for an IoT society
・ Autonomous driving (expansion of systems and services)・ Material revolution by integrated material development system
・ Realization of Society 5.0 through light and quantum technologies
・ Smart bio-industry and basic agricultural technologies
・ Energy system of an IoE society
・ Strengthening national resilience (disaster risk reduction and mitigation)
・ Advanced diagnostic and treatment systems using AI (artificial intelligence) hospitals
・ Smart logistics services
・ Innovative deep sea resources survey technology
 Moonshot R&D Program Objectives
1. By 2050, we will realize a society in which people are free from restrictions of body, brain, space,
and time.
2. By 2050, we will realize a society capable of predicting and preventing diseases at an extremely
early stage.
3. By 2050, we will realize robots that learn and act by themselves and live in harmony with humans
through the coevolution of AI and robots.
4. By 2050, we will realize sustainable resource circulation for global environment restoration.
5. By 2050, we will create a sustainable food supply industry on a global scale that is free ofoverwork and waste by fully utilizing unused biological functions.
6. By 2050, we will realize error-tolerant general-purpose quantum computers that will dramatically
improve the economy, industry, and security.
7. By 2040, we will realize a sustainable medical and nursing care system that prevents andovercomes major diseases and enables people to enjoy their lives without worrying about theirhealth until they reach 100 years old.

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3. Strengthening the control tower function of the Council for Science, Technology,
and Innovation(1) Strengthening functions that utilize the convergence of knowledge and drafting
policies and transmitting information for the future
In order to solve social issues, it is necessary to present new values and to take a systematic
approach, in addition to the approaches that are an extension of conventional approaches. In order to
respond to issues such as the institutional and ethical aspects and social acceptance that arise when
new technologies are used in society, we will construct a system that can utilize the convergence ofknowledge including the humanities and social sciences. In this process, in 2030, we will draw up asocial image for which to aim further down the road, and systematize policies by taking a back-cast
approach from that social image. In addition, we will firmly grasp and analyze the current situation,
formulate new policies for the future by taking a forward-cast approach, and take a foresight approachby combining these. 218
In policy formulation, multi-layered science and technology communication with society andinformation transmission to the public and diverse sectors are also important. In light of the importanceof Science for Policy in an age in which trans-science 219 is emphasized, it is important for academia,
politics, and administration to share a recognition of issues and assumptions, and to provide
independent and appropriate advice and recommendations based on scientific knowledge. For example,
the establishment of a mechanism to connect these parties will be examined.
(2) Strengthening policy-making functions and ensuring the effectiveness of policies
through the use of evidence systems (e-CSTI)In science, technology, and innovation administration, the EBPM of policy formulation basedon objective evidence shall be thoroughly implemented, and policy formulation based on evidence
shall be carried out in all relevant ministries and agencies by FY2023. In doing so, the performance ofmanagement of government R&D investment that serves as a catalyst for private investment, various
measures including advanced corporate management (EBMgt220) in national universities and researchand development agencies, and national strategy planning shall be improved by utilizing the evidence
system (e-CSTI).
(3) Implementation of policy evaluation linked to the Sixth Basic Plan and formulationof integrated strategy
Based on the direction of medium- and long-term policies indicated in the Sixth Basic Plan,
the Integrated Strategy has been formulated as an annual strategy since FY2013, and measures thatshould be given special emphasis in that fiscal year have been determined based on the changes in thesituation every year.
During the period of the Sixth Basic Plan as well, measures that should be given particularemphasis in each fiscal year will be indicated in the annual strategy by clarifying their relevance to
the Sixth Basic Plan. In this regard, the progress of the Sixth Basic Plan will be continuously monitored
and evaluated by an expert committee for evaluation using indicators. The results will be used in theformulation of the Annual Strategy and the next Basic Plan. In addition, the Sixth Basic Plan will berevised as necessary to promote flexible science, technology, and innovation policies in response tochanges in social conditions, etc. For this purpose, the functions of e-CSTI will be continuously
expanded, the collection of monitoring indicators will be automated, and the basis for cross-sectoral
evaluation will be put into operation by the end of FY2023. In addition, research and studies will be
carried out to upgrade the EBPM, including the development of analytical methods, and the indicators
will be continuously improved and revised.
An activity in which various pieces of information are combined to examine a rapidly changing,complex and uncertain future.
219
A question that can be asked of science but cannot be answered by science alone
220
Management based on evidence
218

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(4) Ensuring the effectiveness of the control tower function
Command and control centers such as CSTI, the Strategic Headquarters for the Promotion of an
Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society, the Intellectual Property Strategy
Headquarters, the Headquarters for Healthcare and Medical Strategy Promotion, the Strategic
Headquarters for National Space Policy, and the Headquarters for Ocean Policy, all of which areclosely related to science, technology, and innovation policies, are required to strengthen theircommand-and-control functions to coordinate policies across-the-board. To this end, the Act for
Establishment of the Cabinet Office was amended to establish the Office for the Promotion of Science,
Technology, and Innovation in April 2021.
With regard to science, technology, and innovation-related policies promoted by related commandand control centers and related ministries and agencies, a system will be established as soon as possible
so that the secretariat can effectively work out coordination functions such as eliminating overlapping
policies and promoting collaboration.
In order to realize Society 5.0, CSTI will further deepen cooperation with the above-mentioned
command and control centers and the Science Council of Japan, and strengthen cooperative relations
with various councils of relevant ministries and agencies in policy studies. In addition, based on the
progress of concrete reform of the Science Council of Japan in order for it to play a better role as therepresentative institution of scientists in Japan, new cooperative relations will be established according
to the roles required of the Science Council of Japan.

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List of Abbreviated Names
The abbreviated names of the ministries and agencies used within the brackets in the respective
sections of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 are as follows.
Abbreviated Name
CBPAIT
G-space
Expo
NPA
Reconstruction
Social Systems
Regulations
STI
HealthDISASTER
Gender Equality
OPDVLE
SIPSH
SPACE

Ministry or Agency

Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs
Information Technology (IT) Comprehensive Strategy OfficeCabinet Secretariat
Office for the Advancement of Utilizing Geospatial
Information
Secretariat of the Headquarters for the World Expo
National Personnel Authority
Reconstruction Agency
Director General for Economic, Fiscal and Social Structure
Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform
Secretariat for the Promotion of Science, Technology, andInnovation*
Headquarters for Healthcare Policy*
Director General for Disaster Management
Gender Equality Bureau
Office for the Promotion of Overcoming Population Decline
and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan
Secretariat of the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters
Cabinet Office
National Space Policy Secretariat

CCRA

Child and Child-Rearing Administration

OCEAN

National Ocean Policy Secretariat

JFTC
NPA
PPC
FSA
MIC
MOFA
MEXT
MHLW
MAFF
METI
MLIT
MOE
OD
*From April 2021

Japan Fair Trade Commission
National Public Safety
National Police Agency
Commission
Personal Information Protection Commission Secretariat
Financial Service Agency
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Ministry of the Environment
Ministry of Defense

93