Abstract
Vividly depicting vital visions steers the direction of science, technology and innovation policy although it becomes increasingly difficult to foresee future society. In Japan, there has been interest less in what comes than in how to ride the tide when it comes. This cultural orientation deteriorated Japanese futurology flourished in the 1960s, as bounded by collectivism and presentism making politics taboo. The other way to anticipate futures demands a novel design thinking of wider knowledge and technology process and its social situation/context, going far beyond skimming tangible product design. Intermediary agencies between knowlege producers and users may realize such thinking by linking these two with their dynamics, flexibility and future orientation. They also include social scientists, who are now requested to project themselves into the future with due responsibility and imagination. Among them, five up-and-coming contributors from various areas in academia and practice are invited for this special issue.
