Toward Government Strategies for Enhancing Material Innovation Power (Report Compiled by the Strategy Preparation Meeting)

June 2, 2020

The Preparation Meeting for Formulation of Strategies for Enhancing Material Innovation Power, a body jointly inaugurated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), decided on a report on its discussion results and METI hereby announces it.

In response to the increasing importance of substances, materials, devices, etc., collectively called “materials,” in terms of industries and innovations, the current situations where advantages of Japanese materials are facing a crisis and other factors, MEXT and METI started discussions toward enhancement of material innovation power in Japan in 2020.

As part of this effort, MEXT and METI inaugurated a Preparation Meeting for Formulation of Strategies for Enhancing Material Innovation Power (chair: Ohno Hideo, President, Tohoku University) in April 2020, and since then, the preparation meeting accelerated discussions on the issue above. Following its discussions held based on the occurrence and expansion of the novel coronavirus disease and other issues, on June 2, 2020, the preparation meeting decided on a report titled “Toward Government Strategies for Enhancing Material Innovation Power (Report Compiled by the Strategy Preparation Meeting)”, the outline of which is appended below.

With eyes on the Integrated Innovation Strategy 2020 and the Sixth Science and Technology Basic Plan, the report presents basic stances toward formulation of government-wide strategies for enhancing material innovation power, directions of future efforts and other issues.