The Third Medium Term of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) began in April 2010. The First Term was initiated in 2001 when AIST was established as an independent administrative institution as a result of the merger of 15 research institutes and the Weights and Measures Training Institute. The basic structure of the present AIST was established during this period. In the Second Term, beginning in 2005, the research units in AIST were integrated and interregional cooperation was developed. Consequently, the activities of AIST as a multidisciplinary research institution addressing economic and industrial policies were fully set in motion.

In the Third Period, AIST will make necessary changes and take on the challenge of playing a more important role based on what has been achieved so far. Global economic and industrial competition is far fiercer than when AIST was established, and global issues threatening the existence of humanity itself are becoming more serious. There are a number of issues that AIST needs to address to realize a "sustainable society" with a bright future. In order to meet the expectations being placed on us, we need to conduct "Full Research", integrated research activities—from basic research to product realization and practical application—making use of all available resources in the six research fields: life science and biotechnology; information technology and electronics; nanotechnology, materials, and manufacturing; environment and energy; geological survey and applied geoscience; and metrology and measurement science.

Examples of areas in which AIST should contribute are "green innovation" and "life innovation." Green innovation refers to further advancing Japan's environmental and energy technologies, which are already world-class in terms of comprehensive capabilities, thereby helping to solve climate change and other global issues. We would like to make significant contributions based on the accumulated results of research on solar power generation, power electronics, fuel cells, and secondary cells, as well as on the practical application of methane hydrate and biomass. Both developed and developing countries must make efforts to realize a low-carbon society. Japan is expected to promote widespread dissemination and utilization of the results of technological development within Japan as well as abroad. We are determined to play a part in this endeavor.

While Japan ranks first in the world in healthy longevity, there is a strong ongoing need for high-quality medical services. In addition, issues such as the aging of the population, the declining birth rate, and nursing care are growing in importance. In order to address these issues, AIST is expected to promote research and development of safe, high-performance, and innovative medical, pharmaceutical, and nursing-care technologies, or "life innovation." To meet these expectations, we need to combine a variety of technologies in areas such as life science, telemedicine systems based on information and communication technology, and medical- and nursing-care robots based on manufacturing technology. In this sense, the role of AIST as a multidisciplinary research institute is of great significance.

Another important role of AIST is to provide foundations for ensuring the safety and security of industry and society through highly advanced national measurement standards, enhancement of performance and safety evaluation functions for new technologies, and strategic international standardization of the results of research and development. In today's society, where technological innovations are constantly evolving, new needs in measurements and evaluations arise daily. The researchers in measurements area and all other research areas must work together to promptly address these needs. A field of infrastructural technology that should not be overlooked is geological research. This field with a long history is gaining increasing importance in securing supplies of resources and energy, as well as in research contributing to disaster prevention. While serving as the national organization dealing with geological information, we are engaged in a growing number of projects such as of combining geological and satellite-image information, which match AIST's strong interdisciplinary research capabilities.

Since the time of the former Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, AIST has conducted research and development to provide the infrastructure for Japan's industrial competitiveness and to lead Japanese industries. Needless to say, this role remains unchanged. We must take on the challenges of developing unrivaled cutting-edge technologies in all areas, including materials and information technology, to support enhancement in the competitiveness of a wide range of Japanese industries.

AIST has promoted collaborative research and development, or open innovation, with universities and the private sector. We will expand our efforts to facilitate the use of our advanced research environment and evaluation facilities by researchers outside AIST. It is no exaggeration to say that the world has now entered the days of innovation competition. Being a resource-poor country, Japan has to work harder than other countries to maintain its level of affluence. AIST must therefore further enhance its support for Japanese industries to help them survive the global competition.

The University of Tsukuba, the National Institute for Materials Science, industries, and AIST have jointly set up a framework called the "Tsukuba Innovation Arena" with the goal of building a worid-class research center for nanotechnology. We plan to develop innovations such as low-power devices by bringing together financial and human resources from industry, academia, and government. We also plan to use this framework to provide graduate students and corporate engineers with opportunities to learn and develop knowledge and practical skills, thereby making a significant contribution to human resource development. Although research activities in nanotechnology have begun to decline slightly, nanotechnology is an area in which Japan has been leading the world in terms of the creation of innovative technology and industrial application capabilities. We expect that the Tsukuba Innovation Arena will help to revitalize Japanese industries.

We have also established the "Robot Safety Research Center" jointly with organizations such as the Japan Automobile Research Institute and the Japan Robot Association. In October 2009, we set up the Consortium on the Fabrication and Characterization of Solar Cell Modules with Long Life and High Reliability with the participation of 31 companies in the private sector. Similar activities are also being considered for various research and development including that of secondary cells. A feature of our recent cooperation projects is their objective of not only developing new competitive products, but also proposing as standards the technologies and evaluation techniques that were the bases for the development of products to the world. We are making efforts to possess the functions of certification and accreditation of standards in Japan. Japan has lagged behind Europe and the United States in establishing and certifying standards. With today's increasingly fierce competition in innovation, efforts to lead the world in international standardization are required. This is another new role for AIST.

We have nine research bases throughout the country from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Each regional center has the role of supporting the competitiveness of the local economy while conducting world-class research and development. We will strengthen their role as regional hubs of open innovation for public research laboratories, universities, and small to medium-sized enterprises by enhancing cooperation within AIST, with AIST Tsukuba Center serving as the core of the cooperation.

Not surprisingly, our open innovation is extending to other countries. To date, we have established mutually beneficial partnerships with 26 public research institutions in various countries including the United States and European and Asian nations. International research cooperation is also underway to solve global issues in such areas as the environment and energy. More than cooperation in general terms, however, it will be important to develop strategic relationships with clear objectives including standardization, particularly with Asian countries.

Since its establishment, AIST has continually transformed its organizational structure in a dynamic manner in order to make contributions "Full Research in Society for Society" as stated in its Charter. We will continue to consider the optimization of our systems for conducting and supporting research. Moreover, we will work to further enhance the level of communication among researchers, organizations, and regions so as to become a more organically coordinated research institution with high intellectual productivity.

I have no doubt that if we continue such efforts, AIST will be an even more outstanding research institution in the eyes of those both inside and outside the organization.