• 
• 

On December 25, 2017, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 34th meeting of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, there was a discussion for the planning of an integrated innovation strategy, and there was a briefing on the evaluation results of the research and development (R&D) projects of national importance.

Based on the discussion and briefing, the Prime Minister said,

“Today, Professor Nishimori of Tokyo Institute of Technology introduced issues facing the vitalization of innovation in Japan, and President Matsuo of Nagoya University shared with us some proactive initiatives for university reform in local areas.

In order for Japan to pioneer innovations in the world, we need a consistent, streamlined strategy encompassing everything from basic research to the implementation in society, which is based on a global perspective.

To realize a revolution in productivity looking ahead to 2020 as well, we need to swiftly implement concrete policies, not abstract theory.

To that end, I ask members to work with the relevant ministers in formulating an integrated and concrete innovation strategy by the summer of next year, under the leadership of Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga and Minister Matsuyama.

In particular, we must press forward with reforms of universities, which are expected to play a significant role as centers for introducing innovations.

I would like Minister Matsuyama and Minister Hayashi to work closely in implementing meaningful reform measures including offering priority support from next fiscal year for universities that have received private sector funding and universities that carry out remuneration reform with a focus on junior personnel as well as governance reform, without waiting for the finalization of the strategy.”