According to this law and the Science and Technology Basic Plan called for by the law, the government plans to invest a total of 17 trillion yen over five years from FY 1996 through FY 2000. Although this is a very difficult goal to reach, I will make every effort to attain it. Actually, for FY 1998, science and technology promotion received an increase of five percent over the previous year while other major items had zero or below zero figures. The Japanese government emphasizes information technology and the life sciences. Information will be the foundation of society in the 21st century.
Life sciences elucidate and utilize various functions of living things.
The time is rapidly coming when that elucidation will fall within our reach. These are two substantial fields that will support our future society. The government will also expedite renovating research environments for leading-edge academic research. In Japan, the Council for Science and Technology, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, formed a committee on bioethics to study these matters. And in the area of nuclear power, we feel it is essential to consider how managing radioactive waste will affect our environment.