International research cooperation is essential to facilitating the research and development of Ecotechnology, which strives to achieve both global environmental creation and sustainable development for the 21st century. Solving global environmental problems requires working from a literally global perspective in making observations and assessing impact, as well as coming up with remedial technologies. With regard to resources and energy as well, technologies for effectively developing and utilizing resources, many of which are global assets, call for research, development, and technical cooperation having an international perspective.

While the necessity and importance of international environmental cooperation have increased, at the same time there is growing diversity in the forms of research cooperation depending on the areas of research, cooperating countries, cooperating organizations, and other factors.

NIRE is implementing the following programs in response to the importance and increasing diversity of international research cooperation.

1.Research Cooperation with Industrialized Countries

Under schemes such as bilateral cooperation, multilateral cooperation, and specified international joint research projects, NIRE conducts research cooperation aimed at the development of, for example, environmental remediation systems using photocatalyst, an ultra-high-sensitivity system for analyzing marine pollutants, and technologies for sequestrating carbon dioxide into the oceans. We are also pursuing research exchanges by exchanging Memorandum on Understandings with a number of research institutions in other countries to promote active research collaborations.

2.Cooperative Programs with Developing Countries

Our efforts for implementing the Institute for Transfer of Industrial Technology (ITIT) Projects include research on acid deposition in East Asia, research on technologies for resource recycling in Eastern Europe, and research on evaluation of dust collection technology and rapid measuring method.

3.Technological Cooperation with JICA

In response to a request from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for technological cooperation, NIRE accommodates requests including those for individual training and the dispatch of experts, in addition to two group training courses "Industrial Pollution control" and "Coal Mining Technology."

4.Environmental Technology Research Network in the Asia-Pacific Region

As a means of discharging Japan's role in the East Asian region in working toward solutions to global environmental problems, NIRE serves as the secretariat for the Environmental Technology Research Network in the Asia-Pacific Region (ETERNET-APR; organized by the Conference for the Advancement of Environmental Technology Research, AIST), which works for the research and development of environmental technologies and for technical exchanges. To this end, NIRE promotes exchanges of researchers and of research and technology.

International Symposium of the Environmental Technology Research Network in the Asia-Pacific Region

5.Researcher Exchanges

Every year several researchers work for about a year at overseas research institutions or universities. While doing so, NIRE researchers gain various information that is vital to the pursuance of their own research through, for example, attendance and presentations at international research conferences; the exchange of research information and studies on research trends by means such as visits to research institutions in other countries; and investigations on research and development in response to requests from institutions in Japan and abroad.
NIRE also takes advantage of various invitation programs by the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology and the Science and Technology Agency in actively inviting researchers from other countries around the world.

Number of Researchers Exchanged with Overseas Research Organizations

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