III

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 262

To state the sense of the Senate that the Government of the United States

should place priority on formulating a comprehensive and strategic policy

of engaging and cooperating with Japan in advancing science and technology for the benefit of both Nations as well as the rest of the world.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 30, 1998

Mr. ROTH (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN) submitted the following

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

To state the sense of the Senate that the Government of

the United States should place priority on formulating

a comprehensive and strategic policy of engaging and

cooperating with Japan in advancing science and technology for the benefit of both Nations as well as the

rest of the world.

Whereas advances in science and technology will continue to

underlie the prosperity and security of the United States

and the international community into the next century;

Whereas the United States and Japan are global leaders in

science and technology;
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Whereas the rapid pace of innovation creates growing linkages between science and technology and bilateral relations in security and trade;

Whereas the Government of Japan, through its 1996 Basic

Plan for Science and Technology, made science and technology a higher priority area of investment for the Government of Japan;

Whereas the Supplemental Budget of the Government of

Japan for 1998 will result in more than a 21 percent increase in the Government of Japan’s support for science

and technology this year;

Whereas advances in Japanese science and technology are increasingly at the global frontier;

Whereas cooperation between the United States and Japan in

science and technology holds the promise of better assuring human health and nutrition, enhancing the quality of

the environment, lessening the impact of natural and

man-made disasters, providing for more productive agriculture, stimulating discoveries in the basic processes of

life and matter, expanding supplies of energy, furthering

advances in space exploration, improving manufacturing

processes, and strengthening communications through

electronic language translation;

Whereas productive collaboration with Japan has increased

due to negotiated frameworks such as the bilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Science and Technology and efforts by the Government of Japan to invite larger numbers of U.S. scientists to participate in university, government and industrial research in Japan;

Whereas the flow of science and technology from the United

States to Japan is nonetheless still larger than the re-
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verse due partly to barriers Japan has erected to the outward flow of scientific and technological information and

data, as well as barriers to the inward flow of foreign investment and foreign participation in industrial organizations such as consortia and associations;

Whereas the application of rigorous scientific methods to the

development of standards and regulations can help mitigate certain market access and trade problems; and

Whereas Japan’s treatment of scientific and technological advances continues to handicap U.S. innovators in Japan

due to inadequate intellectual property protection: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

2 (1) the Government of the United States should

3 place priority on formulating a comprehensive and

4 strategic policy of engaging and cooperating with

5 Japan in advancing science and technology for the

6 benefit of both Nations as well as the rest of the

7 world;

8 (2) among other goals, that policy should aim

9 to promote strategic cooperation on areas that fur10 ther U.S. policy interests in science and technology;

11 more balanced flows of scientific and technological

12 information and personnel between the United

13 States and Japan; more rigorous application of sci14 entific methods in the development of standards and

15 regulations to promote efficient technological
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1 progress and mitigate trade problems; and more eq2 uitable intellectual property protection; and

3 (3) the Government of the United States should

4 integrate this strategic policy into current and fu5 ture science and technology agreements with the

6 Government of Japan.

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