tokyo

Japan's research infrastructure must change to meet scientists' demands for a more open, flexible and competitive environment, according to a report by the Science and Technology Agency (STA).

A ‘white paper’ produced by the agency last week indicates that it is keen to improve research by adopting management styles from overseas institutions, such as Germany's Max Planck Institute and the US National Institutes of Health.

The report says that up to 70 per cent of researchers at universities and institutes are unhappy with their research environment. They complain about inflexibility in the funding system and the limited control they have over the planning of projects.

The report points out that, although the government is promoting collaboration between industry and universities, most companies prefer to do research in Europe and the United States. Most of these said the main reason was the presence of superior research organizations in these countries.

The white paper emphasizes a need to improve research management by increasing flexibility and competitiveness. It cites the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) as the prime example of a Japanese research organization that operates at an international standard.

Other science-related ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), are trying to find a model for an ‘ideal’ research institute.

Their efforts are taking place amid preparations for the reorganization of nationally run research centres, part of a series of reforms aimed at streamlining Japan's government ministries and agencies.

The plan calls for the ‘rationalization’ of national research institutes by merging laboratories with overlapping research and turning some into independent ‘agencies’. In principle, it will promote collaboration between ministries and agencies. But scientists from the organizations concerned have expressed mixed feelings about it.

For example, the merger of STA and Monbusho, scheduled for 2001, implies a possible integration of their space agencies. But researchers from the Monbusho agency are concerned that merging with the STA's applications-orientated National Space Development Agency will jeopardize their focus on basic research.