Abstract
The term "kenkyu-shien" ("research administration"), which came into use in Japan from the 1970's to 1980's, denotes a wide variety of phenomena and concepts; therefore, analysis and historical studies require specific subjects. Given MEXT's current definition of a university research administrator (URA), we need to cover the history of industry-academia collaboration, intellectual property management, and so on. To examine at what moments in history research administration required attention, this paper looks back at the social history of research administration in Japan over the past 30 years. Research administrators face a conflict between their own desires to contribute to science, as individuals who once loved science, and the university's demand on them to contribute to the university. Awareness of this gap is an important part of a research administrator's survival strategy.
