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5AIST TODAY 2013-1and AIST serving as the participants from Japan. AIST has currently concluded memorandums of understanding on research cooperation with 35 institutes around the globe. Among these, the representatives of the following institutes participated: the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia; Centre national de la recherche scientifique and Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives of France; Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi of Indonesia; the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of Singapore; NSTDA and TISTR of Thailand, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the United States. I believe that the summit was a good opportunity to discuss various issues surrounding research institutes, with global competition and collaboration becoming increasingly common. We may also further expand our circle of collaboration. The following is my personal summary of the summit.Research institutes have two missions: to challenge and solve global-scale problems facing humankind, and to promote R&D that benefits their own country. As regards the first mission, the urgency with which such problems must be solved may differ according to the country and region that each institute belongs to, but each institute needs to tackle these issues, not passively but actively, with a medium- to long-term vision. Collaboration among research institutes is certainly important, and especially cooperation between institutes that focus on basic research and institutes skilled in practical application can be expected to produce a great synergistic effect. As regards the second mission, each institute must comply with the policies of its country when engaging in R&D and play a leading role in solving the country’s unique problems. When executing these missions, it is vital that we join hands with the industrial sector, academia, etc. to prepare world-class R&D infrastructures and nurture and attract a sufficient number of high-quality human resources. Moreover, investment in innovation that leads to sustainable growth is extremely important.When viewed from the perspective of the developing nations, the existence of a brain drain may seem to be a problem, but from the perspective of the developed nations, we believe that this will eventually bring about “brain circulation” and provide benefits to all nations concerned. Thus, each and every research institute must strive to offer a research environment and/or an innovation environment that is attractive to first-class researchers.The representatives of the 16 participating institutes agreed that the summit was generally a good opportunity for exchanging views and decided to continue it in the future as a program in conjunction with the STS Forum.As for the main STS Forum, the discussions on the “light and shadows” of science and technology were impressive. The need for a calm, sincere, scientific, and technological examination that does not turn a blind eye to the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, was suggested from various angles. We human beings are enjoying the benefits of scientific and technological development. On the other hand, we are also facing the difficult problems of environmental pollution, climate change, resource depletion, infectious diseases, various ethical problems, and so on. From now on, therefore, science and technology innovation must not only increase the benefits (light), but also be prepared to solve difficult problems (shadows). I strongly felt that these perceptions are especially important for public research institutes such as AIST.ClosingAIST, with the support of Nikkei Inc., founded the Vitalization Council for Industrial Technology of Japan in the autumn of 2011. In addition to participants such as researchers and technology specialists from AIST, corporations, and universities, corporate executives and government officials also joined this group to diligently discuss measures for the vitalization of Japanese industries. Last December, the results of these discussions were compiled and publicized as “Proposals for Revitalizing Japan,” comprising a set of general proposals as well as individual proposals in the following fields: energy and resources, innovative medical care and drug development, state-of-the-art materials and manufacturing technologies, IT and service technologies, human resource development, and global standardization. The details of the proposals were introduced at a symposium held in January. It is our hope that these proposals will contribute to the development of a new competitive edge in the industrial sector of Japan.AddendumI wrote the Japanese version of this manuscript in December last year before the change in government of Japan. After that event, the currency exchange rates also changed, and the Japanese industry seems to be gradually recovering its vitality. I hope that this trend will continue, and together with the government, AIST will strive so that the Japanese industry will be further revitalized.Tamotsu NOMAKUCHIPresidentNational Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

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