Abstract
Enhancement of international competitiveness of industry and expansion of employment are now receiving high priorities in the policy of every country facing the historical turning point. The advent of the age of great economic competition has triggered transformation of Japan's industrial structure, which must result, in the next century, in a nation based on creative science and technology. This requires a society open to the global community and creative, self-reliant individuals, which in turn needs a third overhaul of the country's educational system, following ones in the early Meiji era and immediately after WW II. It was against these backgrounds that the Fundamentals of Science and Technology Law was established as a non-partisan legislation. The present paper discusses the implication of the law as well as issues in its implementation.
