Gijutu Rikkoku Council  ( Council for Technology Based Country ) 

【Objectives】 

As Japan has little advantages in geography and particularly in natural resources, its strong point can attribute only to human resources.    Technologies should be encouraged and be put at a center of nation’s policy to develop and survive among the world.    Its technological power, however, has been declining recently.    These tendency can be seen, for examples, in deficit of trade or technology transfer, various statistics in science and academy and competitiveness in industries.     As a result Japanese GDP and GDP per capita have been stagnating and become behind other countries.    When looking into income of the people, lower layers have been increasing these 30 years.
These actual situations are recognized by the Japanese government or leaders in various fields and certain measures have been taken, but decreasing tendency is continuing with very little effects from those measures.     Now it is needed that we look at the entire process of innovation, not only R&D but production, commercialization, regulation, tax systems, management mechanism in academies and social practices.    It is also needed to review conventional administrative methods in science & technologies taking the most recent results of MOTs into account.      It is also desirable to make proposals of amendments of policies, to submit these proposals to the people concerned and to work for realization of these proposals. 
These ways of thinking may be deemed as reconstruction of technological infrastructures for the next generations.    It is the responsibility of the current generation.    We, then, propose to establish “Gijutu Rikkoku Council (Council for Technology Based Country)” (corporation under Japanese laws), in order to review policy measures and to improve and modernize such measures, to make proposals of amendment and to make actions for realization of these proposed policies. 

 【Overview】

•President : Dr. Kazuo KYUMA (President of National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), The Former Member of CSTI, Council for Science, Technology and Innovation）
•Board  :  Vice-President, Board members (apx. 30 ) including Managing Directors and Auditors     
•Member Fees ;  50 k JYen/year/unit, plural units are acceptable.     Voting units at the General Assembly are assigned according to the number of fee units.     Additional fees may be collected according to the events or social parties.
■Activities
 The Working Groups will be organized ex. under the following themes.     Establishing Working Groups and/or  Sub Groups are decided by the Board ;
-Industry Competitiveness
Analyze Japanese industry competitiveness where Japanese shares are declining especially at the stage of investment competition, though they are at advanced position in R&D and early stages, particularly high-tech fields.
-R&D Tax Credit
R&D in private sectors share large portion in the country and shall be more encouraged.    Taxation sometimes hinder such incentive and tax credit system is considered effective for promoting R&D  by private sector.
-Deregulation and taxation reform for promoting innovation
Actually conventional regulations have become obstacles to initiate new technologies.     In MOT they say they need overcome “Death Valley” during innovation processes.    Sometimes “Death Valley” is composed with combination of legal or other regulations, tax systems and social practices.
-Industry Academy Collaboration

 In Japan R&D by industry-academy collaboration do not spread nationwide.    Improvement methods may be expected after studying actually existing problems. 

-National Funding System
There are a lot of funding schemes in Japan.     But some people say those results from them are poor when comparing US funding schemes or other countries.    It is also said many projects disappear after the end of public funding.     These problems need to be resolved. 

-Researchers Environment 
It is heard that researchers particularly in the academy in Japan are too strictly controlled by the administrations.    Some researchers are situated under very short term contracts.     Almost all professors and researchers are working without secretaries and therefore they need to do anything by themselves.     These reality need to be reviewed to enhance the results from R&D in Japan.  

-Other themes
The Board select the themes.      For examples, matters of defense industry, where not small companies have been decided of withdrawal from defense fields recently, problems and countermeasures to be reviewed for the Japanese security independence. 

■Organizing and Managing MOT Courses
MOT courses will be organized under this Council, where many senior students will be expected to join and be trained MOT and to be engaged in various important issues from objectives of the Council.      Those results from MOT programs will also are expected as seeds for policy recommendations.