Abstract
I. Issues related to the Vulnerability of Innovation Bases
In the innovation area, it is not easy to design the content of research and technology development activities in advance and to link the prescribed results to social implementation. However, a bird's-eye view of various industry-academia-government collaboration projects that started with national projects in the past 10 years, as well as the development of similar measures in other countries, does not necessarily indicate that the outputs and events in R&D process have progressed successfully. There was some kind of vulnerability in the innovation base. In the preliminary stage, it is an urgent issue to at least recheck the key points related to the conceptual design of social outcomes, guidelines for setting up advanced issue hurdles, ensuring the robustness of the envisioned supply chain, and ensuring the mutual mobility of human resources.
II. Cutting-edge Areas of Innovation Bases and Artificial Intelligence
Although the organizations that support the innovation bases need to be independent, the current situation is fragile in that many organizations can only singlehandedly carry out activities for innovation and tend to rely solely on the power of individuals. The viewpoint to seize opportunities for innovation is also an issue, and organizations that can appropriately salvage changes in society are needed. Furthermore, we must not underestimate the importance of making the organization's activities known to a large number of people. Taking artificial intelligence (AI) as an example, the patent application status of AI-related inventions by the Japan Patent Office in October 2024 shows that the growth of patent applications for AI core inventions has slowed in all countries, but the number of applications in China is exceptionally high. Therefore, it can be assumed that the gap in the number of applications between Japan and China will continue to widen in the future. Not limited to AI-related technologies, but the need for properly functioning "Innovation Bases" cannot be ruled out to realize innovation.
III. Financing of Innovation Bases
The financing of Innovation Bases is complex systems. But also fraught with difficulties due to a lack of specialized financial personnel and a lack of understanding of the value of the business by financial institutions. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular face high barriers to loan screening. And also they have difficulty in obtaining bridge financing after the adoption of subsidies. While venture capital and crowdfunding are attracting attention, their effectiveness is limited. There are also many problems with the way institutional financing such as the Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) is provided. In recent years, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has introduced a new system of legislating business loans, such as the "Enterprise Mortgage Right," and is finally moving in the direction of evaluating corporate value. We look forward to further progress.
