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On December 20, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 41st meeting of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, discussion was held on university reform, AI and the draft Basic Concept on the Moonshot Type R&D Scheme.
 
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“We have now reached the stage of a full-scale implementation of university reform.
 
Firstly, we will steadily proceed with reform of the personnel salary system, such as strict performance evaluations including a basic salary, with the aim of the full installation of an annual salary system. Furthermore, we will consider policies to increase the mobility of researchers.
 
Additionally, from next fiscal year, we will support universities carrying out management reforms through the allocation of approximately 10% of the national university management subsidies based on reform progress, as determined primarily by objective and comparable common metrics, such as the percentage of young researchers and the state of private funding. In order to promote strategic and systematic management reforms by enhancing this approach, we will review the method for disbursing operational expense grants during the fourth mid-term goal period.
 
Furthermore, we will strongly support university reforms towards institutions that are capable of strategic acquisition and distribution of operational resources by allowing national university corporations to consolidate and operate multiple universities under one entity with a bill to be submitted to the next ordinary session of the Diet, and promoting the separation of administrative and educational functions under a new university governance code.
 
As the competition continues to grow fiercer among countries in the field of AI, there is an urgent need to formulate a national strategy with a view to the future. The development of human resources is the key to such a national strategy. Towards our major goal to cultivate world-class AI talent and create a society where all members obtain AI literacy, whatever their academic background, whether humanities or sciences, I ask relevant ministers to proceed with the planning of concrete strategies in the direction of including bold and specific deregulations throughout our education system covering elementary, secondary, and higher education, as well as recurrent (continuing) education.
 
At the same time, our intention is for Japan to lead the global debates regarding AI, by foreseeing the direction of the future development of AI and establishing the basic principles of the use of AI, including the principle of human-centricity. 
 
Based on these principles I have just outlined, I ask Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, Minister Hirai, and other relevant ministers to exert efforts towards the formulation of Japan’s first national AI strategy by the summer of 2019, with the government acting in unison.”