2000 Volume 1 Issue 1 Pages 57-60
In 1957 the first Japan Science Award (JSSA) was set up to foster young scientists. Since then JSSA has become the “Olympics” of science contests for Japanese students aged 13-18 in Junior High/High schools. Student’s research activities form part of the school curriculum, and each student belongs to their school science club. An analysis of the research subjects revealed that (1) young female students tent to work more independantly than males in team-oriented projects; (2) females students tend to prefer biology and chemistry to physics, and within the biology fields, female students tend to choose plants and trees as the focus of their activities. It is considered that early in the new millennium, young Japanese women will have a greater interest in science fields and will have a greater role in science research.
