Prime Minister Naoto Kan held the 98th meeting of the Council for Science and Technology Policy at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, decisions were made on the Fourth Science and Technology Basic Plan, a policy for the allocation of budgets and other resources related to science and technology for FY2012, and other matters, and proposals were made to the Prime Minister and relevant ministers. The Prime Minister also received reports on an action plan on priority measures in science and technology for FY2012, and exchanged opinions with Council members.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said, "A decision was made on the proposal to revise the guidelines for the formulation of the Fourth Science and Technology Basic Plan. Within this, there was a statement that the advancement of science and technology is indispensable for the survival of humankind, and I think this has an extremely important implication.
At the same time, I believe a considerable focus was given to the earthquake on March 11 in making this proposal. First, priority was given to the reconstruction and revival from the earthquake. Second, a proposal was made to redouble the previous efforts for two innovations - green innovation and life innovation. Third, with regard to green innovation, it was suggested that we must truly commit ourselves to expanding the use of renewable energy sources and building a decentralized energy system. Fourth, with regard to advanced science and technologies, support should be provided from a long-term perspective for basic research and human resources development. These were four points made in the proposal.
Based on the debates around the priority measures such the one to revise the New Growth Strategy, I ask you to steadily proceed with the work to realize the Basic Policy while defining the focus of budget allocation."