国際保健学分野
国際保健学分野

Center for International Collaborative Research The Third Seminar2009(September Fri 4)


→Japanese

Date: Friday, September 4, 2009 

Venue: Institute of Tropical Medicine (Large Meeting Room)

Theme: Outlook and Problems of Japan’s Science and Technology Diplomacy

Speaker: Michio Hashimoto
               Director-General for Policy Planning, Cabinet Office; Counselor for                Bureau of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy

  In line with the slogan “Returning science and technology benefits to society,” the Council for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP) has proposed, in the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan, the new concept of returning research results to society―“Science and Technology (S&T) diplomacy,” in addition to the conventional idea of contributing to society by applying research results to the creation of technological innovations. S&T diplomacy is an approach that uses science and technology for diplomatic purposes; in other words, it uses Japan’s accumulated scientific and technological achievements, i.e., Japan’s “soft power,” to strengthen its diplomatic activities and promote its national interest. In accordance with the third Basic Plan, the Japanese government has vigorously promoted S&T diplomacy efforts. The Center for International Collaborative Research invited Mr. Michio Hashimoto for its third seminar. Mr. Hashimoto, Director-General for Policy Planning of the Cabinet Office, is at the forefront of S&T diplomacy. At the seminar, he gave a lecture titled “Outlook and Problems of Japan’s Science and Technology Diplomacy,” in which, on the basis of CSTP discussions, he spoke about “How science and technology can be used as a tool of diplomacy” and “How science and technology can be strengthened by diplomacy.”


  The Third Science and Technology Basic Plan takes two basic stances: 1) Science and technology are to be supported by the public and to benefit society, and 2) Emphasis is to be placed on fostering human resources and competitive research environments?shift of emphasis from “hard” to “soft” such as human resources; greater significance of individuals in institutions. The third Basic Plan upholds three concepts: 1) Create human wisdom, 2) Maximize national potential, and 3) Protect national health and security, and sets six practical policy goals: 1) Quantum jump in knowledge, discovery and creation, 2) Economic growth and environmental protection, 3) National good health over lifetime, 4) Breakthroughs in advanced S&T, 5) Innovator Japan, and 6) The world’s safest country. Based on the proposal by executive members at the CSTP session held in April 2007, the following four basic policies for promoting S&T diplomacy (which aims to achieve mutual development of S&T and diplomacy by linking S&T with diplomatic activities) were announced in May 2008. 1. Establishing systems in which Japan and its counterparts can enjoy mutual benefits 2. Generating synergy between S&T and diplomacy for resolving the global issues facing mankind 3. Working on developing “human resources” that sustain S&T diplomacy 4. Increasing Japan’s international presence. To put these basic policies into practice, it has been proposed to strengthen S&T cooperation with developing countries to resolve global issues, to strengthen S&T cooperation by using Japan’s advanced R&D capabilities, and to strengthen the basis for promoting S&T diplomacy. Internationalization of Japan’s R&D system is thought to be essential to promoting S&T diplomacy. In the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan, “internationalization (international activities)” is defined as “promoting activities of foreign researchers (preparing the conditions to enable talented human resources, regardless of nationality, to gather and be active in the research community of Japan)” and “strategic promotion of international activities (promoting S&T activities strategically; using the approaches of competition, harmonization, cooperation and support, according to the condition of the counterparts).” To strategically promote international activities, it is important to make systematic efforts at international activities (development and implementation of bilateral S&T agreements and multilateral S&T projects, and promotion of S&T diplomacy efforts), to strengthen cooperation with Asian countries, and to promote improvement of the environment for reinforcing international activities and the acceptance of talented overseas researchers.


  In recent years, Japan has been promoting S&T cooperation with African countries. In October 2008, the first Japan-Africa Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting was held. The main outcomes of the discussions at the meeting were summarized in the Chair’s Summary. In the Meeting, the Japanese and African sides shared the view that it is essential to strengthen cooperation in the field of science and technology, and reached a consensus in agreeing to promote the following two activities: 1) Establish a policy dialogue mechanism to deepen mutual understanding, and 2) Expand Science and Technology cooperation between Japan and African countries. In February 2009, an African Science and Technology Research Mission was dispatched to investigate the current state of science and technology policies in African countries. The following five lessons were learned from the mission: 1. S&T cooperation is effective (for agricultural productivity improvement, development of treatment for infectious diseases, and economic growth) 2. Diverse partners, diverse responses (diversity in level of science and technology among African countries, and existence of regional cooperation) 3. Effectiveness of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) and need of a mechanism for interlinking ODA with S&T cooperation 4. Existence of those who have studied in Japan (their existence is valuable; necessity for human networks and support) 5. Support for local researchers (measures must be taken to reduce obstacles to public safety and hygiene by promoting cooperation among relevant institutions) These lessons are extremely important in promoting Japan’s S&T diplomacy in the future.


  The key to successful S&T diplomacy resides in how effectively Japan can use its international contributions that have been made through the use of technological strength (specifically, helping to resolve global issues, such as environmental protection, energy security, poverty reduction, infectious diseases control, agricultural productivity improvement, and education level improvement) for diplomatic purposes. Diplomacy should be regarded as the effort to promote the national interest (in a broad sense), instead of the activity of diplomats and the United Nations (in a narrow sense). In order for Japan to achieve its national interest, it is necessary to strategically think about “what to do with whom, using S&T as a soft power for diplomacy.” It is urgently necessary for Japan to develop a system for promoting S&T diplomacy. It is also necessary to increase public awareness of S&T diplomacy as one means of stemming the tide of schoolchildren moving away from science subjects, and of overcoming the public’s distrust of science and technology.


                                    
 


Copyright : 2008 Department of International Health, Institute of tropical medicine, Nagasaki university.

E-MAIL : y-taro@nagasaki-u.ac.jp