Abstract
The rapidly decreasing population and the stagnant per capita GDP of Japan mean that the current living standard in this country cannot be maintained without improvement of per capita productivity. In other words, innovation is indispensable to support steady development of the life and society of the Japanese people. However, simple extension of the traditional scheme of technological development will not work: today's innovation should be led by the value enjoyed by the people and society, as exemplified by recent novelties such as social networking services or sophisticated financial systems, which are more concerned with the social mechanisms or systems than with advances in science or technology, as was the case in the 20th century. Nevertheless this does not mean any decline in importance of science and technology. Future leaders should therefore have both expertise in their specialties and insight into the real social needs.
