Basic Act on Science, Technology and Innovation and the 6^th Science, Technology and Innovation Basic Plan

Abstract

Japan's science, technology, and innovation policies have reached a major turning point in response to the progress of social globalization, digitalization, AI, and life sciences, as well as the trend of rapid social transformation through innovation. The "Basic Act on Science and Technology" which stipulated the basic matters for policies related to the promotion of science and technology in Japan substantially revised the "Basic Act on Science, Technology and Innovation." This change was the first substantial reformation of the law in a quarter of a century. Based on this amendment, the Basic Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation was approved by the Cabinet in March 2021. This paper describes the background and history of the law. It also provides a brief overview of the Sixth Science and Technology Innovation Basic Plan, and summarizes the status of our response to the issues and recommendations for the plan as presented in our journal, the Journal of Science Policy and Research Management, Vol. 34, No. 3, and in the Annual Conference. The plan consists of three pillars: strengthening of innovation, strengthening of research capabilities, and education and human resource development. Although there is no major difference in principle between the issues and recommendations presented by the conference and those described in the Basic Plan, it is thought that further discussions are necessary for concrete measures.