This paper attempts to provide an overview of the situation of “women in research” in the Japanese context, based on a data analysis. Then, after a brief historical analysis of promotion policy for “women in research” through successive Science & Technology Basic Plans, current policy tools are examined. A comment from a micro-level perspective, including author’s experiences as a “woman in research,” will conclude.

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze trends in university policy reforms for gender equity in Japan, with a focus on Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology (SCF). SCF is a budget for the implementation of science and technology promotion that enhances system reforms to develop human resources and create innovation. It supports universities and research institutions, as initiative models, to implement efforts to promote the activities of female researchers. TheMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) encourages universities and research institutions to set out relevant frameworks and action plans for gender equity, as well as to specify targets for hiring and appointing female researchers to higher positions through competitive project funding. In this paper, the author investigates how policy environment influences university reforms for female researchers and, as a case study, examines Kyushu University’s programs, such as the establishment of the support office for female researchers, the programs to dispatch research assistants to support busy female researchers, and the enrichment programs for the next generation.

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In cooperation with industries, our faculty is launching an education program designed to prompt more female students to go on to higher education and foster them as science and technology personnel who will be able to work for their company’s R&D division over the long term after graduation. That is what the WISE Chuo is all about. Through undergraduate and graduate educations, we will provide our female students with more opportunities for contacting their female role models who are currently playing an active role in business communities, to allow the students to feel R&D positions close to them and motivate them to choose such profession as their lifetime career. Even during their school days, we will also give them a place for acquiring knowledge and/or way of thinking necessary to work in the business world.

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It has been 23 years since the enforcement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law. During this time, several other measures have been implemented, and the overall working environment surrounding Japanese women seems to have improved significantly. However, the reality still exists that the advancement of women in Japan is far behind the levels of other countries. The cause for this disparity was investigated. One cause is the persistence of stereotyped gender roles within Japan (“The husband should work outside while the wife stays home with the children.”) Another cause is the traditional Japanese business culture which expects the employees to work long hours. These two elements are considered to be the major impediments to the advancement of women engineers in Japan.

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In the context of the globalization of the economy, advancement in information technologies, and rapid aging of one’s society and falling birthrates, gender equality has become one of the critical issues in Japan. This document describes the problems on Japanese women’s career development, and introduces the activities of “IEEE Japan Council Women in Engineering Affinity Group,” which represent different role models and support networking among women scientists and engineers.

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This paper summarizes the activity for drawing up new long-term academic roadmaps which were undertaken by the Transdisciplinary Federation of Science and Technology (TRAFST) during the fiscal 2008 year, following with the previous year. The new roadmaps for the transdisciplinary science and technology focused on three basic themes associated with the activity of TRAFST, the knowledge integration (sometimes referred to as consilience); modeling and simulation of social systems, and supporting technology of human and social life, which were discussed and completed by the designated working groups.

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This paper summarizes an academic roadmap on integration of knowledge and disciplines. The functions and structures of a platform should be implemented for the transdisciplinary integration. Several themes which need the integration of multiple disciplines are discussed and explored in the working group. For these themes, the structure of the platform is given and the future development of new academic research areas and disciplines created on the platform are displayed as the roadmaps.

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This article provides an overview of the academic roadmap for modeling and simulation of social systems that was made by a working group of researchers from different domains. The roadmap was drawn along three axes that represent the future trend of technological development: scale/complexity, precision/reliability, and utility/applicability. The topics discussed cover a variety of domains and they are classified into two groups: one of them deals with general approaches of modeling and simulation of social systems, and the other deals with simulation techniques for more specific domains. What we should be concerned about in applying modeling and simulation to social systems were discussed also from a sociological viewpoint.

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This paper summarizes an academic roadmap of human life-support technology. The academic roadmap was completed by a working group. The academic roadmap was composed of the following three issues. (1) Modeling, sensing and designing of individuals. (2) Interface between a human and artificial things. (3) Forming of society. The academic roadmap tries to predict the science and technology of human life-support in 2025 and 2050.

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The Society for Biotechnology, Japan was first established as the Osaka Brewing Society in 1923. As a result of the many historical and memorable events of the society, the present name had been established as Society for Biotechnology, Japan in 1992. In 2002, the 80th anniversary of this society was celebrated in its birthplace, Osaka. The society originally established as a local community in Osaka, but now, we have six branches and total 4, 000 members. As indicated by its original name, this society initially consisted of scientists and engineers involved in the production of alcoholic beverages and fermented foods. Concomitant with the development of the fermentation industry, the scope of this society was enlarged to cover biotechnologies relating to microbial production, enzymes, bioactive materials, plants, animal cells and the environment. Currently, the society intends to cover newly developed fields such as postgenomics, nanobiotechnology and medical/ pharmaceutical biotechnology.

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