1. Background

On May 3, 1999, President Clinton and Prime Minister Obuchi called for "an expanded dialogue between the United States and Japan on the role of science and technology (S&T) in our societies as we enter the new millennium."  They determined that the two governments would lead deliberations to “consider how advances in science and technology can most effectively contribute to our societies and the global community, and to identify areas in which enhanced bilateral cooperation would be desirable." (See the White House news release in Appendix 1.)  The dialogue was to include representatives from various sectors such as industry, academia, non-governmental organizations and government, who are involved in US-Japan S&T cooperation, with a report of findings due in the spring of 2000.  

1.1. Implementation of the Expanded Dialogue

As a first step, core groups of four persons each were appointed by the US and Japan sides.  The US side was led by Dr. Norman P. Neureiter, retired Vice President of Texas Instruments Asia and currently an industrial consultant, and the Japanese side was led by Professor Hiroo Imura, a physician, former President of Kyoto University and currently Executive Member of the Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology. Based on two informal meetings and an extended trans-Pacific televideoconference, the core groups selected the specific topics to be taken up in the Dialogue. Subsequently four additional members from each country joined the discussions to complete the 16-member Dialogue Group.  Two formal meetings were convened, first in Washington on February 6-7, 2000 and then in Tokyo on March 10-12.  Group members also conferred with outside advisors in preparing their final submissions. 

1.2. US-Japan S&T Cooperation—A Rich History

The United States and Japan have had an extensive history of scientific and technical cooperation since the end of World War II.  Government agencies in the two countries have sponsored cooperative programs in energy, natural resources, the environment, medicine, earthquakes, space, oceanography, and earth sciences, among others, involving exchanges of information and scientists as well as joint research projects (see the Summary of US-Japan S&T cooperation in Appendix 2).  In addition, a broad range of private-sector joint ventures, alliances, and licensing and supply arrangements exist between US and Japanese corporations in highly technical fields such as chemicals, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and computers.  Japan is also home to more US-owned research and development (R&D) facilities than any other country outside the United States, and Japanese companies have more US-based R&D operations than firms of any other nation. 

Beyond the new knowledge that has come from this cooperation, the links between individual scientists and engineers working together across the Pacific toward common goals represent powerful new strands in the fabric that binds our two nations together.  From the perspective of history, that fact alone gives these cooperative relationships a special significance, perhaps of no less import than the science itself.  Our Group strongly endorses the continuation and strengthening of these cooperative ties, and we hope that our recommendations will serve as a guide and a catalyst in that process.   

1.3. Objectives of the Dialogue

Considering the world of the 21st century, it is clear that societies will face many problems in supporting the expected levels of global population at acceptable standards of living.  Although science and technology are often seen as the cause of some of these problems, they are also expected to play a major role in overcoming them.  Our Group believes that individual scientists and engineers should recognize their societal responsibility to contribute to the solution of these problems.  

Furthermore, with the United States and Japan together accounting for more than 60% of global R&D expenditures, our Group believes that our two countries share a responsibility to cooperate in applying S&T resources to solve such problems—some of which derive directly from the widespread application of technology on a global scale.  We feel it is appropriate for the United States and Japan to play a leadership role in these efforts.  As two of the world's most developed and prosperous nations, we also share an interest in fostering international development by working with the developing nations to meet human needs and address problems that impact global well-being.  Accordingly, while we saw our primary our responsibility in the Dialogue to address problems common to the United States and Japan, the universal nature of many of these issues offers opportunity for other nations or international organizations to participate in our joint programs.  

We also recognize, however, that there are many societal problems related to human behavior—ranging from lethal conflict to major health issues—that are better defined in the language of sociology, behavioral sciences, psychology, or even criminology. These issues have been largely neglected in our discussions, not for lack of importance, but because our scientific and technical tools are only beginning to address the complexity of such challenges.  We do, however, strongly support further development of the social sciences and believe that they must play increasing roles in promoting human welfare.  

After considerable discussion, the following criteria were used to select the topics to be treated in our Report: 

• Critical problems of the 21st century

• Directly affecting people's lives and safety

• Of real concern to both the United States and Japan

• Relevant S&T expertise or capacity present in both countries

• Involvement of high quality scientific research

• Potential for multilateral cooperation

As we reflected on the nature of our report and what lasting benefits could derive from our efforts, we set an ambitious goal for our Group.  We have attempted to outline in broad terms a proposed joint research agenda for US-Japan S&T cooperation for the next 5-10 years, aimed toward the solution of some of the critical problems faced by contemporary society. 

Our intent is to focus on actions that can help solve real problems.  While we also recognize budget limitations in both countries, we concluded that it is our job to recommend what we believe should be done—knowing from experience that good ideas will, over time, engender financial support. 

1.4. Science for the Future

Our Group is fully aware of the extensive S&T cooperation that already exists between the United States and Japan.  It is not our intention to discount or supplant those efforts.  Rather, in looking at the challenges of the 21st century, we will stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, and try to reach further into areas where knowledge gaps still exist, to endorse and promote ongoing efforts of special promise, and to lay out possible new cooperative paths for the future. 

1.4.1. Cooperative Mechanisms

In this connection we would like to make three specific recommendations regarding cooperative mechanisms.  Beyond cooperating on individual projects, we would like to recommend that efforts be made on a selective basis to establish formal, long-term ties between major US and Japanese institutions, that could then focus over a period of years on cooperative programs in specific areas of research.  Such formal ties could facilitate the exchanges of researchers, permit long-term joint planning and complementary use of facilities and scarce resources.  In the private sector, many such arrangements already exist as formal corporate alliances, joint ventures or even mergers and our Committee welcomes these linkages.  However, there would seem to be unrealized potential to build such ties among universities and government laboratories as well. 

The second recommendation is that both countries' R&D funding institutions make special efforts to promote interdisciplinary projects.  Since these projects often involve multiple institutional jurisdictions and different departments of the same or different institutions, administrative barriers can hinder the research work.  Much of cutting-edge science today is being carried out in the spaces between the conventional disciplines, bringing the latest instruments and techniques from many fields to bear on the new problems.  Extra efforts are needed to assure that these multidisciplinary programs can proceed without difficulty. 

The third recommendation refers to the private sector.  Recent changes in Japanese Government policies with respect to foreign direct investment in Japan, as well as deregulation that has begun and is continuing in individual sectors, have opened new opportunities for US business that did not exist a decade ago.  Proactive efforts by Japanese Government organizations such as MITI and JETRO to develop alliances with high tech firms in the United States and to encourage equity ownership in Japanese companies are reflections of this greater openness toward foreign participation in the Japanese economy.  Furthermore, recent Japanese legislation has been aimed at facilitating cooperation between Japanese industry and Japanese university research activities.  This development may also make it possible for US companies to enter into new kinds of cooperative research relationships with Japan. What happens in this area will depend on the responses of US companies to these new opportunities.  Our Dialogue Group believes it is appropriate for the US Government wherever possible to encourage and assist the development of such private, commercial relationships. 

1.5. Structure and Content of the Report

The topics selected by our Dialogue Group are of two types.  First are issues such as health and medicine, environment, energy, freshwater management, natural disaster mitigation, societal aspects of information technology, and new frontiers in science and technology—which can be addressed by research and for which we make specific proposals.  Secondly, topics such as the role of science in policy decision-making, science education and the public understanding of science and technology, and the ethical and social responsibility of scientists and engineers are issues we considered important to the future vitality of science and scientific inquiry in both countries, but not addressable by conventional research programs. 

In these latter areas we have sought agreement among our Dialogue members on certain basic generalities about the relationship between science and society as a whole.  It is our hope that these conclusions might be useful to our governments in the formulation of public policies relating to scientific research and the introduction and use of new technologies.  In some cases, it may be useful for the United States and Japan to play a leadership role in convening bilateral or multilateral conferences for broader consideration of these issues, where final judgments may be conditioned as much by culture as by rational thought. 

In conclusion, we hope that the following discussion of these subjects will be helpful to our governments in addressing some pressing societal problems, in extending the benefits of that work to the developing world, and in further strengthening the US-Japan relationship.

2. Health and Medicine

2.1. Recent Trends

Building on the results of past scientific research, 21st century medicine is poised to understand more fully the basic biological mechanisms of disease and to use this knowledge to develop new methods of effective treatment and prevention. 

Reduction of the burden of disease and premature or excess mortality are subjects of high importance for the developing world and the transition economies.  Continued impoverishment, crowding, and, in some cases, absolute increase in populations, have combined to sustain or even increase the prevalence of certain infectious diseases. Hepatitis C, influenza, tuberculosis and malaria, all life threatening, are difficult or impossible to prevent by immunization, and in most cases, difficult to treat with drugs.  Ever-increasing mobility of citizens across national boundaries guarantees further spread of these conditions.  Additionally complicating this picture is AIDS, a plague of modern society which, in turn, reduces the resistance to other serious infections, especially tuberculosis. 

Among many industrialized nations, pronounced demographic trends of increased longevity and decreased fertility have steadily increased the proportion of elderly citizens, fast bringing new attention to diseases and disabilities of the elderly and a quest for ways to improve not only the length of life but, also, the quality of life.  In the United States, for example, during the 20th century the number of persons under age 65 tripled. At the same time, the number aged 65 or over jumped by a factor of 11.  The "oldest old"—those aged 85 and over—are the most rapidly growing elderly age group. Between 1960 and 1994, their numbers rose 274 percent.  In Japan, the trend of an increasingly elderly population is even more striking: between 1950 and 2000, the ratio of the population aged 15-64 to the population aged 65 and older fell from 12 to 5. 

In light of these recent trends, two areas that merit particular consideration in Japan-US cooperation are infectious diseases and diseases associated with aging.  Both these areas can benefit from a variety of avenues of scientific inquiry including those dealing with the genetic basis for biological phenomena.  One of the most remarkable achievements of the life sciences is sequencing of genomes of human and other living organisms.  Knowledge of the genomes of many pathogenic microbes helps understand how those microbes infect humans, how they cause disease, what determines their virulence, what leads to drug resistance, and which portion of the genome is important for inducing immunity. 

There is great potential in the two countries' continued partnership. The proposals that follow include both ongoing cooperative research activity (already part of an existing US-Japan agreement where additional emphasis or opportunity exists), as well as new, promising areas of inquiry.  Particular weight is given to avenues that may lead to opportunities for prevention of disease or of complications of disease. 

2.2. US-Japan Cooperation—Past and Present

The US-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program began in 1965 following an agreement between President Johnson and Prime Minister Sato.  This highly productive program was initially focused on infectious disease prevalent in Southeast Asia.  The program includes panels concerned with AIDS, hepatitis, viral diseases, tuberculosis and leprosy, cholera and related diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infection, parasitic disease, nutrition and environmental mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.  A long-lived and highly productive US-Japan science agreement, the program supports cooperative research and professional exchanges.  The US-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program, begun in 1973 and cosponsored by the National Cancer Institute of NIH and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, consists of exchanges of investigators and symposia.  In addition, there is an impressive list of ongoing investigator-to-investigator collaborations in a number of medical science areas. 

2.3. Infectious Diseases

The existing US-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program should be further strengthened to promote research activities in both countries and to encourage research and clinical practice in Asian nations in the field of infectious diseases, particularly for tuberculosis and AIDS.  We recommend the following avenues of research for tuberculosis and AIDS for enhanced and continuing cooperation.

2.3.1. Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB), believed just a few years ago to be waning toward extinction, has emerged in epidemic proportions in Latin America, parts of Asia, and in the Russian federation and Baltic states.  According to the World Health Organization, one-third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative organism for tuberculosis.  TB is the leading infectious cause of death among adults, killing up to 2 million persons every year, and 8 million new cases occur every year with the burden of disease concentrated among poor populations.  The TB epidemic is enormously complicated by an overlay of drug-resistant disease that is substantially more difficult and costly to treat. The WHO estimated that, by 1996, some 50 million persons were already infected with drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. 

There is much further work to be done in order to understand the basic biological behavior of the infecting organism, the factors that determine susceptibility or resistance to drug therapy and the relationship between HIV infection and drug resistance. Current research is also underway toward the development of DNA vaccines and new treatment regimens.

2.3.2. AIDS 

The AIDS epidemic has aroused great concern among health professionals over the last decade.  According to the United Nations, over five million people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) every year, and more than 2 million die; about one-fifth of those dying are children. 

Efforts to develop an effective vaccine have not yet been successful. Researchable questions include mechanism of viral infection, mucosal immunity, mechanism of development of clinical disease, new means of treatment, vaccine development, and behavioral studies important for prevention of infection.

2.4. Age-Associated Diseases

In an aging population, chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and neurological degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease become increasingly prominent. These diseases burden not only patients but also exert a high cost on society as a whole. 

We recommend that work on non-communicable, age-associated diseases focus on preserving or enhancing the quality of life and preventing disease and disability.  There are many diseases in this category, including a variety of cancers, dementing diseases, Parkinson's disease, cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. Among them, there are four groups of diseases that we single out for special consideration.

2.4.1. Cancer

Cancer is the number one cause of death in Japan and the number two cause in the United States.  In spite of recent progress in cancer research, the mechanism of carcinogenesis is still not completely understood.  Treatment of cancer of many organ systems is both relatively non-specific and variably effective. Further research can be focused on genetic susceptibility to cancer and use of DNA-based screening methods to characterize cancer in order to design effective treatments and make accurate prognoses.  We strongly endorse the US-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program, which, after a review process completed two years ago, started a new format last year.  Further, we recommend that the United States and Japan consider strengthening their partnership in clinical aspects of cancer research.

2.4.2. Dementing Diseases and Parkinson's Disease

Conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease have become increasingly prominent with the demographic shift towards increasing numbers of the elderly.  In the absence of effective prevention or treatment, the increase in the numbers of people with these diseases will come about as a simple consequence of an increase in the size of the population most at risk, namely, those aged 60 years and older.  Etiology and pathogenesis are still elusive in each case, and there are no known measures for prevention.  Recognition of genetic predisposition suggests the potential for identifying high risk individuals or groups through the characterization of genetic material.  Research on new therapeutic measures, including stem cell therapy, should also be pursued.

2.4.3. Cerebrovascular Disease

Incapacity from stroke is a major cause of disability among the elderly.  Prevention of stroke together with reduction of the degree of impairment are of utmost importance.  Subjects for collaborative research hold exciting possibilities for earlier, effective treatment following stroke, salvage of healthy brain tissue and improved therapeutic outcome from the ability to take advantage of both protective therapies, and repair of damaged brain cells after stroke.

2.4.4. Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is increasing in prevalence in all parts of the world.  It is predicted that there will be over 230 million patients by 2010. Diabetes mellitus is the number one cause of blindness in adults and the number one cause of renal insufficiency requiring hemodialysis in many countries.  Of the two major types of diabetes, Type 1 is caused by autoimmune destruction of specific insulin producing cells of the pancreas.  Type 2 diabetes develops through interactions between genetic predisposition and environmental factors.  Studies in genomics, as described below, are expected to identify the affected genes and provide new perspectives for prevention and treatment of the disease. 

2.5. New Initiatives—Exciting Opportunities in Genetic Research

The potential for using the new science of genetics to shape new and improved strategies for disease prevention and management is seen as enormous.  Both infectious disease and diseases associated with aging will benefit from new advances in genetic research. Advances in genetics, including those from the human genome project, will soon revolutionize our understanding of the pathogenesis of the diseases and will open new horizons in the prevention and management of the diseases. 

New and highly efficient techniques have emerged for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, the slight differences among people’s genetic makeup). These promise new insights into why and which individuals or populations are susceptible or resistant to disease.  Disease is commonly believed to be the result of several factors, both genetic and environmental, and these new techniques are expected to assist in the understanding of the relative contribution of each of these factors leading ultimately to more specific and efficacious avenues of treatment and prevention. 

Since both the United States and Japan are heavily invested in this type of genetic research, we propose a threefold set of projects that explicitly seeks to exploit the new insights and tools in genetics in order to reduce the burden of disease. 

We propose that a meeting of experts in genetics and disease prevention be convened preferably within the year—to coincide with the forthcoming publication of the rough draft of the human genome study—in order to develop a cooperative program based on these topics:

2.5.1. Basic Biological Mechanisms of Disease

This endeavor is essential for the development of effective and specific new interventions for disease for both prevention and treatment.  Specific examples of expected benefits of using genetic insight to derive understanding of biological mechanisms for medicine include: 

(a) Diabetes.  Better understanding of the genetic background of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes promises to reveal effective avenues for both prevention and management.

(b) Tuberculosis and AIDS.  Work is proceeding presently on DNA-based vaccines for prevention of the diseases.

(c) Parkinson's Disease.  Current therapy, built around replacement of the hormone, levodopa, is limited as that drug loses its effectiveness with prolongation of treatment. Fuller understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, expected to come from genetic inquiry, is felt to be essential in order to craft improved medical interventions.

(d) Dementing Disease.  Some subsets of these diseases are caused by mutations of single genes.  In most cases, specific genetic predispositions are not known. Promise of effective treatment will likely be based on this new insight.

2.5.2. Susceptibility and Resistance to Disease

With comparable exposure to infecting organisms or to environmental physical or chemical agents, some persons become affected by clinical disease and some do not.  Determination of what leads to susceptibility is believed to be important in designing strategies for both treatment and prevention.  Genetic insight is recognized as an important step in deriving that understanding.

2.5.3. Combining Genetics and Epidemiological Research for Understanding the Behavior of Disease in Populations

The traditional methodologies of epidemiological research are useful but limited in their sensitivity to detection.  Combining these methodologies in population studies of disease promises to sharpen the acuity and usefulness of these methods.

3. The Environment

3.1. Importance 

The dramatic improvement in the general standard of living for most people in the twentieth century has brought with it a heavy burden on the environment.  Science and technology have not only contributed to creating prosperity, but also offer the best tools for fighting environmental degradation.  Indeed, for most of the developed world, great progress has already been made in improving air quality, raising water quality, and protecting our lands. 

Yet the 21st century brings us new problems—perplexing because of our limited scientific understanding of those problems.  In some cases, there is doubt about whether problems really exist, and in many cases, there is doubt about whether certain choices of “solutions” will turn out to be sound over a generation or more.  The sciences of the environment are young and the range of environmental issues wide, so we hesitate about whether technological answers will be appropriate and effective. 

New concerns are emerging, for example, about global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, and potential dangers from individual, specific chemical pollutants that may be in the environment.  New questions also emerge about the consequences of carbon dioxide from the energy uses that raise our standard of living, the pesticides that provide a year-round supply of healthful fresh fruits and vegetables, the plastics that protect our water and our foods from contamination, and the chemicals that have transformed our world with an astounding array of technologies. 

Questions arise about the unintended consequences of the use of many chemicals, consequences ranging from frank toxicity, which we are relatively well equipped to understand, to the other extreme, namely, the possible effects of low-levels of chemical exposures on the human body or on ecosystems, where there is a high degree of scientific uncertainty. 

In Chapter 9, we discuss the challenge of making public policy decisions in the face of limited scientific understanding. Should we seek minimum risk regardless of the economic tradeoffs or should we use a “weight of scientific evidence” approach to balance risk management options? This is the choice the world is grappling with in a variety of policy areas.  We believe that inputs to societal choices should be based on the “weight of scientific evidence” approach to balancing risk management options, taking into consideration timescales, unknown factors, overall costs, and many other complex issues.  

To focus on a difficult and specific case as a way to apply this approach, we recommend that an emerging policy choice be selected for a collaborative project between the United States and Japan to develop mechanisms that can help us choose the appropriate balance in such decisions.  One issue that is likely to be the focus of near-term policy decisions, yet has only a limited scientific knowledge base, is the issue of endocrine disrupters in the environment. 

3.2. Cooperation between Japan and the United States

Environmental cooperation between our two countries commenced at the 1970 Japan-US Ministerial Conference on Environmental Pollution, which led to the conclusion of the Environmental Cooperation Agreement and the establishment of a Joint Planning and Coordination Committee (JPCC) and a number of panels in 1975. Since the first JPCC meeting in 1976, eleven meetings reviewed environmental policies in our two countries, including information exchange and collaboration among experts.  At the meeting completed on March 2-3 in Washington, DC, both countries exchanged views regarding chemical issues, including sharing information on endocrine disrupters, a possible process to identify common research, and joint sponsorship of a regional workshop in Asia. 

3.3. The Endocrine Disrupter Case in Brief

The question of whether certain chemicals found in the environment can adversely affect the endocrine system of humans and wildlife has resulted in significant controversy over both the science of endocrine disruption and the technology of identifying and predicting the activity of chemicals at levels present in the environment. Policy-makers and scientists alike are trying to understand and manage the impact of endocrine disrupters in the face of a significant lack of scientific basis. No causal relationship has clearly been demonstrated between any adverse human health effect and the low levels of a substance in the environment acting through the endocrine system. However, concerns raised by some observed effects of high-level exposures in wildlife have stimulated many nations to undertake studies to determine if regulatory interventions are warranted.  To date, there is little agreement on what kind of studies are needed to make policy decisions that will reassure the public. 

The presidents of the international scientific societies, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR), and the International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX) have concluded: 

“There are remarkable similarities between the current situation with endocrine disrupters and the situation with chemical carcinogens…soon after the Ames’ test for detecting carcinogens became available. In both cases there was concern about the cause of serious diseases, about whether a continuing increase in the diseases was occurring and how much chemicals contributed to the causation of the diseases. The resolution then was to improve understanding of the scientific basis for the concerns and collect data which has helped to reduce the areas of disagreement. A similar approach is unfolding with endocrine disrupters.” 

3.4. Initiatives on the Endocrine System

While our knowledge of human physiology continues to increase, there are still substantial gaps in the understanding of the human endocrine system, specifically in relation to changes in the body’s chemical balance that might be caused by exposure to chemical entities.   Since this is an international issue, it is important that there be an internationally harmonized definition of “endocrine disrupter” that includes the adverse effects caused by the disruption.  Thus we recommend a collaborative effort to define the problem in detail and research that will elucidate the mechanisms of chemicals as endocrine disrupters and the harmful effects of the alterations they may cause in the endocrine system. 

3.4.1. Identification

The first step to identifying chemicals that could disrupt human and wildlife endocrine systems is to develop an evaluation system that appropriately predicts the potential for the chemical to interact adversely with the endocrine system. Although many studies are currently underway, there is little coordination to ensure that the knowledge gained in one country will be accepted or useful in others. Furthermore, there is little work being done to evaluate whether the mechanism of action of these chemicals is through hormonal receptors or other pathways. We recommend collaborative research that will develop and validate effective and reliable evaluation systems for screening and testing of chemicals, with a view toward adopting a worldwide guideline for evaluation. 

3.4.2. Prioritization

Positive results from preliminary laboratory screening may indicate that a chemical could affect endocrine systems; but that is not sufficient to warrant actions to limit the use of that chemical. It will be necessary to know whether that chemical actually has an adverse health effect in humans and wildlife and that it could reach a sufficient level in the environment to actually have such an adverse effect. Many studies are currently underway to identify and quantify chemicals found in the environment. We recommend collaborative research on methods to set priorities about how to select chemicals for attention and to frame policy decisions about those chemicals. This could take the form of an international workshop to enhance scientific findings on endocrine disrupters with sessions devoted to the methodology for decision making and gaining public acceptance. A process could be established to provide for a continuing exchange of information and personal exchange of researchers on a regular basis.  Because the subject appears to be especially timely, some urgency is appropriate.  

4. Energy

4.1. Current and Future Issues

Energy is the foundation of socio-economic activity, and the stable and efficient supply of energy is absolutely essential for sustainable economic and social development.  Energy centered on fossil fuels in the form of oil and coal has thus far greatly enriched our lives.  But it is also having a major impact on health and the environment on the household, local, and regional scales.  On the global scale, carbon dioxide emissions have changed atmospheric composition, and may already have had an effect on climate. 

Meeting future global energy needs in ways consistent with local, regional, and global health and environmental quality, and with the security interests of the global community, is a major challenge. 

Major transitions in the generation and use of energy will be needed. In general terms, the world needs to make a transition to some combination of: (i) much cleaner ways of using coal and other fossil fuels (including perhaps sequestration of carbon); and (ii) electricity produced from renewables or nuclear energy, which could also produce hydrogen to be used for transportation. 

Japan and the United States are leaders in the global community and are technological leaders in the energy field.  Therefore, cooperation and global leadership in energy technology between the institutions of our two countries is of great importance if the necessary global energy transitions are to be made in a timely way. 

4.2. Japan-US Cooperative Energy Research

There has been active energy cooperation between Japan and the United States for many years. Two of the frameworks for this cooperation are the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America on Cooperation in Research and Development in Science and Technology and the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America on Cooperation in Research and Development in Energy and Related Fields.  Many cooperative areas related to energy are involved, including such diverse areas as nuclear safety and safeguards and collaboration on fuel cell R&D, from which early development, introduction, and dissemination of the technologies are hoped. Cooperation is also undertaken in the International Energy Agency programs, and many collaborations exist between Japanese and US companies. 

4.3. Future Directions

4.3.1. Bilateral Cooperation

We propose that the two countries pursue bilateral cooperation in research and development of advanced technologies for energy generation and use. These include:

Renewable technologies: solar, wind, and biomass;
Energy conservation technologies;
Improving the cost, safety, and proliferation-risk characteristics of fission reactors, improving safeguards, and disposal of nuclear waste;
Clean use of fossil resources, including advanced coal burning technologies and cogeneration of electricity, heat, and fuel products;
Possible ways to sequester carbon;
Advanced fuels, fuel cells, high-efficiency vehicles and other clean transportation technologies;
Continued collaboration in research and development in fusion energy concepts and technologies;
Enabling technologies such as materials: for example, the ceramic engine, surface coating technologies for energy efficiency, and the development of smart materials and structure system for life extension and maintenance of energy-related materials. 

In these pursuits, the role of government should not be to substitute for the activities of private sector research institutions, but instead to encourage related activities and take on catalytic and supplementary functions.  This role should not be limited to research and development, but should extend to the promotion of practical applications of the results. Policies that will contribute to the improvement of global energy supply and demand structure, and to lessening of health and environmental impacts, must be developed accordingly. 

4.3.2. International Strategies

Japan and the United States should also work with developing countries to help them meet energy needs for economic and social development, decrease or avoid severe health, environmental, and economic burdens, and prevent security problems. Of  particular importance is cooperation with developing countries in decreasing or preventing:

Emissions from burning coal;
 Environmental and health problems caused by burning traditional fuels, particularly indoors;
 The environmental and dependency problems caused by reliance on high-emission transportation systems. 

Cooperation with developing countries should include: energy sector policy reform; the development, demonstration, and deployment of clean and affordable technologies; and common standards for energy systems and their emissions. 

This cooperation will be more effective if Japan and the United States have a common approach. We should also work together to encourage policies of international lending institutions that help developing countries move toward cleaner and more sustainable energy sectors. 

4.4. New Initiative

We propose that the United States and Japan launch an Initiative to Accelerate the Global Transition to Cleaner Energy Systems, comprised of a bilateral and a multilateral component. 

4.4.1. Bilateral Cooperation Between Institutions in Japan and the United States

One step should involve the 15 national research institutes affiliated with the MITI, which will be integrated in one large institute on April 1, 2001. The institute will be called the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).  Its approximately 5000 researchers will come not only from the new institute but will include researchers from the private sector and post-doctoral workers as well.  One main focus of research and development of this new Institute is the energy field. A research and development collaboration between this new Institute and the laboratories of the US Department of Energy on energy research should be developed.  It should include not only research cooperation, but also young researchers exchange, information exchange, and appropriate involvement of the private sector. 

4.4.2. Cooperation with Developing Countries

Since energy-related issues are global issues, it is necessary to look beyond the Japan-US relationship to construct international cooperative ties that include the participation of developing nations.  In doing so, it will be important for Japan and the United States to cooperate with each other and with developing countries and international lending institutions in identifying and implementing the best technologies and approaches for clean, affordable, and sustainable energy for developing countries. 

5. Freshwater Management

5.1. Importance

While we all understand that water is essential to human existence, much of the world today still acts as if there will be a never-ending supply of clean and fresh water. Yet millions of people already know that water is a precious, limited commodity as a consequence of their societal difficulties in ensuring that they have an adequate and secure supply of water. 

There are two fundamental principles relating to the current global status of freshwater that warrant increased collaboration between Japan and the United States.  The first is that water is an international strategic matter.  The second is that Japan and the United States, as well as the entire world, will benefit from more collaborative initiatives between the two countries. 

Freshwater is an international strategic substance for two reasons.  One is that while the amount of freshwater available to human use has remained constant (freshwater in rivers and lakes constitutes less than 0.007% of all water on the Earth), the per capita availability of freshwater is rapidly decreasing due to population increase (for example, water demand for food production, industry, and municipal use), the loss of productive freshwater due to contamination, and an increasingly uneven distribution of water caused by changes and variations in climate.  This decrease in per capita supply of water is a growing source of regional as well as international conflict in every aspect of water development and management.  The second reason is that the increase of trade between nations indirectly increases the “trade” of freshwater used for the production of the goods.  Trade of foods, timber, and other industrial goods depends upon the water used to make those products.  In effect, a country importing goods is indirectly driving water management in the countries exporting the goods. 

5.2. Current Situation

Reflecting this strategic importance, a number of countries and governmental and nongovernmental organizations are quite active in the water related global initiatives in research and policy formulation.  Many European countries have established strategic research centers on water issues that have made remarkable contributions to the understanding of global water management needs. Despite substantial governmental support, however, water research efforts in Japan and the United States are fragmented into different independent departments and institutions without any integrated center. This considerably weakens their involvement in global activities and, as a result, the US ideas of cultural heterogeneity and Japanese regional experiences in Asia and the Pacific hemisphere, for example, are under-represented in the global water policy making. A more active involvement of Japan and the United States in global water initiatives would benefit the global community a great deal. 

5.3. Past Collaboration

There have been significant collaboration efforts between Japan and the United States on freshwater management research. There have been multiple channels, for example, between the Japan Ministry of Construction and USGS and with US Corps of Engineers. But partly because the lack of funds and partly because the segmented nature of each channel, the collaboration presents a great opportunity for improvement. 

Since 1992, the US Geological Survey and Japan's Public Works Research Institute have been engaged in a joint scientific and technical exchange in several areas of hydrology and water resources.  The collaboration has been conducted under the auspices of the US-Japan Committee on Hydrology and Water Resources, and under the governance of the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan on Cooperation in Research and Development in Science and Technology, signed in Toronto, Canada, in 1988.  Recently, the US Bureau of Reclamation has joined this collaboration.  It serves as a successful model of mutually beneficial international cooperation that should be continued in the foreseeable future. 

5.4. Proposed Areas of Future Work

Based upon the productive outcomes of past efforts, we recommend that the collaboration should be strengthened with wider involvement of multi-organizational components and more focus on social and international dimensions. The following three initiatives are recommended for future collaboration between Japan and the United States as well as for the international community. 

5.4.1. Hydrology for Environment, Life and Policy (HELP)

HELP is a research program consisting of a global network of experimental basins planed by UNESCO and supported by WMO, ICSU and many other national and international programs. Its purpose is to improve the understanding of hydrological processes linked with societal needs.  The experimental basin is a real basin, with human activities and problems to be solved.  The specific objective of experiments will be determined under coordination of scientists together with the other users of the experimental results.  It is a user-driven scientific research network for solving practical problems as well as acquiring scientific knowledge.  Thus HELP adopts a paradigm shift to be “user-driven” rather than being solely driven by the questions of hydrological science.  This paradigm shift requires an integration of three communities, namely water policy specialists, water resources managers, and scientists.  We recommend that Japan and the United States support HELP in using science to solve societal problems in accord with the Declaration of the World Conference on Science held in Budapest in June 1999. 

5.4.2. Freshwater Assessment

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Agenda 21 action plan for sustainable development declared freshwater the key to sustainable development and called for a global assessment of freshwater.  The assessment was implemented and reported by the Russian State Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology at St. Petersburg supported by UNESCO, WMO and others in 1998.  Although the report is very valuable, it is obviously not enough. Freshwater assessment on a global scale is a costly and time-consuming undertaking that must be sustained if it is to serve as the basis of any design and decision making on water.  In fact, many hydrological observation stations have now been abandoned in Africa and other developing countries—precisely where the information is desperately lacking—because of the cost. In support of their own national interests as well as their international responsibilities, Japan and the United States should support basic needs in freshwater management, especially in the global assessment of water use, groundwater, and water quality. 

5.4.3. IWRM in the Pacific Rim and Island Countries

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is the basic strategy for sustainable water resources development and management.  Research and policy formulation along this principle is the core area for collaboration between Japan and the United States.  It calls for integration of all means of management of water supply, irrigation, floods, droughts, water pollution, urban water, groundwater, and land use, etc., including demand management, public participation, water rights, and other institutional means of water management.  As a regional focus, the Pacific rim and island countries, especially Southeast Asia, are particularly important as they face many kinds of serious water problems.  We believe that Japan-US collaboration for supporting our common neighbors should be a priority for our joint effort in freshwater management. 

5.5. New Initiative—Japan-US Committee on Water Resources

To pursue the fulfillment of the basic needs of the Japan and US involvement in global water issues and for the implementation of the three areas of collaboration described above, we recommend the establishment of a Japan-US committee on water resources to conduct the detailed formulation of actions and procedures.  Along the lines of successful collaborations, such as that between the Public Works Research Institute of Japan and the US Geological Survey, a new committee should be multi-sectoral, including all the organizations responsible for water research and management, and should be integrated with other water-related disciplines in Japan and the United States. 

6. Natural Disaster Mitigation

6.1. Objectives

The worldwide escalation of the frequency and severity of natural disasters has exacted a heavy toll on human lives, buildings and infrastructure, regional economies, and socio-political systems. This alarming trend is the result of the increasing concentration of populations in regions that are prone to natural disasters, from earthquakes, hurricanes/typhoons, and tornadoes to torrential rains and landslides.  

With nearly all of the island arc of Japan vulnerable to large-sized typhoons and 75% of the US population predicted to live in coastal regions by 2010, the trend toward larger disasters and increased human and financial losses is certain to continue. The objective of enhanced US-Japan cooperation in science and technology in the area of natural disasters is to reduce the impact of those disasters on the United States and Japan, as well as on developing countries throughout the world.  This focus will also demonstrate both countries’ commitment to follow up activities of the United Nations IDNDR (International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction), which officially ended in 1999. 

6.2. History of US-Japan Cooperation

There is a long and successful history of joint US-Japan collaborations in natural disaster mitigation.  Within the 1961 US-Japan Cooperative Science Program, the oldest formal mechanism for bilateral cooperation is the US-Japan Cooperative Program on Natural Resources (UJNR). Under the UJNR, there are three committees that address natural disaster mitigation: the Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects founded in 1967, the Panel on Fire Research and Safety founded in 1975, and the Panel on Earthquake Research (formerly named the Panel on Earthquake Prediction Technology) founded in 1978. 

Initial cooperative research efforts on natural disasters were spurred by the 1968 Tokachi-oki earthquake in which reinforced concrete school buildings designed to a standard that met earthquake requirements in place at that time for California suffered damage. In 1970, the US-Japan Seminar on School Buildings was held in Japan under the sponsorship of the US-Japan Cooperative Science Program to learn from the Tokachi-oki experience.  The 1971 San Fernando earthquake clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of modern construction in California, and as a result, the Task Committee on Large Scale Experimentation Program was established in 1976 under the UJNR Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects.  The first US-Japan Cooperative Research Program on Earthquake Engineering was subsequently established. The initial personnel exchanges, and the resulting personal relationships under this program played a major role in the nearly 30 years of cooperation that followed. 

6.3. Current Cooperative Mechanisms and Shared Problems

Currently, there are three government-to-government mechanisms for US-Japan science and technology cooperation in natural disaster mitigation: (i) the US-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective, 1993 (CA), (ii) the US-Japan Cooperative Program on Natural Resources, 1964 (UJNR), and (iii) the Japan-United States Science and Technology Agreement, 1988 (JUST).  These mechanisms have been extremely effective in enhancing the development, exchange, and diffusion of technologies that improve design and construction practices, and have provided a better understanding of the fundamental causes and effects of earthquakes.  

However, each new natural disaster reveals new phenomena, and improvements must be made continually in order to take account of new knowledge. Understanding of earthquakes and of new developments in materials science, for example, make earthquake engineering a rich field for cooperation. Japan and the United States are world leaders in this field and must show leadership and cooperation in improving natural disaster mitigation in development and practice.

6.4. Proposals for Further Cooperation

Recognizing the unique and shared problems faced by both countries in natural disaster mitigation, we propose a threefold plan to expand and reinforce the US-Japan Natural Disaster Mitigation Research Network of scientists and experts between the two countries. 

6.4.1. Coalition of University-Based Researchers and Organizations

University-based research is uniquely qualified for application of non-conventional and emerging technologies in the pursuit of more effective mitigation of natural disasters, and it should be encouraged to do so.  As such, exchanges and cooperation among university-based researchers and cooperation among university-based research organizations should be further strengthened.  In developing a plan for this coalition, emphasis should be placed on increased two-way personnel exchanges, particularly for young researchers and students, because these young researchers form the base for all future cooperation between the two countries.  Personnel exchanges not only strengthen the collaboration between our two countries in fundamental research, but also improve the education and training of disaster scientists and engineers. 

6.4.2. Experimental Facilities Network

Both the United States and Japan are home to unique, complimentary and quite costly observational and experimental facilities.  In Japan, for example, nationwide seismometer networks are being established, and the world's largest 3-D shaking table is under construction.  In the United States, the National Science Foundation recently announced an initiative entitled "Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation" (NEES).  The goal of NEES is to provide a networked, national resource of shared-use, next-generation experimental research equipment installations with remote observation and operation capabilities.  Such a network will integrate physical testing with experimentation, computation, theory, databases, and model-based simulation.  Both countries stand to gain from sharing their complimentary investments and resources, and we propose a bilateral initiative to tightly link together all natural disaster mitigation experimental facilities in the United States and Japan, jointly developing the protocol and standards needed to link the facilities using the latest telecommunications technologies. 

6.4.3. Expanded Mechanisms for Partnership

The Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects under the UJNR has provided leadership in developing new research directions for the United States and Japan.  A recent example was the establishment of the Task Committee on Seismic Information Systems in 1998. One of its objectives is to technically assist earthquake policy cooperation under the Common Agenda by facilitating the cooperative efforts between policy makers and researchers.  We endorse these and other ongoing programs and recommend that they continue and be expanded.  At the same time, the cooperation mechanisms should be continuously reviewed, updated, and improved to meet the growth and complexities of our joint research and cooperation.  As one example, we recommend that the relevant organizations in the United States and Japan consider developing more coordinated funding in research cooperation.  Such coordinated funding will significantly enhance joint research endeavors.  The resulting bilaterally-coordinated activities would be broad-reaching, focus on interdisciplinary research that emphasizes new technologies, and be expected to provide an additional mechanism for realizing the full potential of US-Japan cooperation. 

6.5. New Initiative—US-Japan Disaster Professionals for Developing Countries

The sustainable welfare of the developed countries can never be achieved without reducing the vulnerabilities of developing countries to natural disasters. Broadly speaking, natural disaster mitigation is currently performed by universities and government agencies.  Universities mainly deal with scientific and engineering problems, while government agencies deal with disaster response, recovery, and assistance.  Bridging the gap between these separate domains has become natural in both the United States and Japan. Unfortunately, this is not the case for most of the world; in developing countries, problems such as education, planning, and mitigation strategy development have yet to be addressed.  

We propose the creation of a coalition of disaster professionals in Japan and the United States, charged with developing a systematic plan for assisting developing countries in increasing their preparedness for the inevitable occurrence of natural disasters.  This should recognize the common challenges posed by the broad spectrum of natural disasters faced by all countries. As a first step, the Japanese government is ready to sponsor a bilateral inaugural meeting this fall to convene a team of disaster professionals to initiate this activity.

7. Societal Aspects of Information Technology

7.1. Explosive Growth of the Internet

Japan’s Millennium Project identifies information technology (IT), including the development of digital libraries, as one of the Government’s three R&D priorities for special support in FY2000.  Throughout Japan, use of computers and the Internet by individuals and businesses is growing rapidly.  In the United States, the growth of Internet use by corporations, governments and individuals has been explosive.  By April 1999, there were already 83 million Internet users and 56 million online shoppers in the United States.  By January 2000, 45% of the US population was using the Internet.  

Worldwide there are 200 million Internet users in 100 countries and that number will be 500 million users by 2003.  Internet use for transactions between businesses is expected to grow extremely rapidly. One publication recently called e-commerce (making business transactions online) an online earthquake for US business, meaning that a company that fails to meet the challenges of the Internet will have a very difficult time in the 21st century. 

In short, the Internet will become an essential element of the global economy and human life.  It will have as profound an effect on society as the automobile or television has had. And as it becomes an integral and essential element of a nation’s infrastructure, it will present significant new challenges for governments. 

7.2. Cybersecurity

This explosive growth of IT has made individuals, corporations, and governments increasingly dependent upon applications that are based on new and often fragile computer and communication technologies. These technologies have become a potential point of vulnerability, subject to attacks and potentially severe disruption by criminals, hostile governments, or simply clever mischief-makers.  

The recent penetration and temporary shutdown of several major Internet service provider systems in the United States demonstrated that this is a serious threat to organized societies throughout the world, and can result in tremendous financial losses, compromise of proprietary information and data, and wide disruption of communication channels.  If the current projections for Internet usage in the United States and Japan are realized over the coming decade, a major assault on such systems could produce a situation similar to shutting down the two countries.  

7.3. The Digital Divide

The booming expansion of IT and the resulting benefits in business, education, medical care, and many other aspects of daily life, however, are not equally shared among the world’s nations.  Nor, indeed, are they shared among all segments of the population in individual countries.  This has been called a "digital divide" between those who are fully participating in the new Information Age and those who lack access to it.  The gap is believed to be widening between the "information haves" and "have nots."  On a global basis, the gap is between the developed and the developing countries; within a given country the gap can result from lack of education, from financial limitations, or from a regional or local absence of facilities or connectivity.  

Our Dialogue Group recommends that attention be given within each of our countries to assuring the broadest possible access to this "Information World" by making it a high educational priority.  Information Technology also holds great promise for education: it can enrich the content of education and enhance the way students learn.  In providing societies a way to broaden access to education, IT tools can deepen students' and citizens' abilities to understand, innovate, and solve problems, not only at school, but also in the workplace and throughout their lives.  Further development of the information infrastructure, promotion of R&D in communications, multi-modal human interfaces and software should also be priority considerations. 

On a global basis, a growing disparity in application of information technology between the developed and developing countries will further aggravate the already existing economic disparities.  Accordingly, our Dialogue Group believes that the United States and Japan should seek to assist the developing countries with respect to information technology.  Possible areas of activity could be R&D on technologies particularly suitable for developing countries, building information infrastructures, and training of IT specialists.  It is further recommended that groups and institutions in the United States and Japan working to increase the IT capabilities of the developing countries be strongly encouraged to cooperate with each other in these efforts. 

7.4. Other Issues Related to Cybersociety

The rapid development and expansion of IT, including the Internet, has brought with it ethical questions and has even contributed to social crime.  Some of those problems are:

                      Infringement of privacy due to growing access to private information;
            A growing number of websites with content that can have an undesirable influence on 
      young people;
            Criminal use of the Internet.

We recommend that the US and Japanese Governments encourage sociological studies on these aspects of cybersociety. 

7.5. Future Directions

With so much at stake, our Dialogue Group believes that cooperation at the basic science level between US and Japanese specialists in the field of cybersecurity should be considered.  Several specific topics might be addressed by cooperating teams of researchers. Since both the US and Japanese Governments are still deliberating their respective national approaches to cybersecurity, as a first step we recommend convening a small group of specialists from each country to examine the possibilities for closer cooperation and to develop specific recommendations. 

8. New Frontiers of Science and Technology

8.1. The Frontier Spirit

It is clear that there are new frontiers and challenges in each of the topics already discussed in Chapters 2–7.  However, since we deeply believe in the value of scientific investigation in the perpetual search for new and basic information about the nature of life, matter, and the universe, we place particular emphasis on this chapter in our Report.  Progress in science is incremental, but small steps are motivated by dreams of great discoveries, and this chapter attempts to suggest areas where great discoveries are certain to be found.  Our Committee believes it is essential that our two countries continue to strengthen their cooperation across the challenging new frontier areas of science and technology.  

There are also reasons in the context of science and society why this Frontiers chapter is important.  New discoveries generate excitement, and that excitement stirs public interest in science.  Broader interest in science will lead to more students seeking scientific or engineering careers and will also mean more attention on science from the media and from generalists.  In this way, research at the cutting edge of science will increase public understanding and appreciation of science.  This in turn will contribute to a more scientifically conscious and literate public that understands and respects the role of objective scientific advice in formulating public policy.  But for all of this to happen, it will also be necessary that scientists make special efforts to explain their work in language understandable to the public.  

The projects highlighted here embody the frontier spirit of science: exploring and measuring the world’s vast oceans, feeding the world’s people, understanding the fundamental structure of matter and the universe, delving into the origins of life and humankind, understanding the functions of the brain, and discovering the wonders that appear at the boundaries between disciplines. They build on what has come before, but also focus squarely on the future.  We wish to commend these efforts to our governments and enlist their support in promoting the following key cooperative programs. 

8.2. Proposals

8.2.1. Earth Sciences

Even today, the deep sea and the interior of the earth are difficult to reach and remain the most unexplored places on Earth. Aiming to solve global environmental problems and to further our fundamental understanding of our planet, Japan and the United States should cooperate to promote new integrative multidisciplinary research in earth sciences, beyond the scope of conventional approaches.  We fully endorse the following initiatives and believe that they will open a new era of earth science investigation that will also give us a new overall view of the global environment.  

ARGO. Climate studies and oceanic studies require massive amounts of data to be taken over vast areas, and are thus natural beneficiaries of international cooperation.  New climate change models running on ever-faster computers require real-time data to have meaning.  Real-time, comprehensive monitoring of the world’s oceans has been a longtime dream not only for navigation and other practical purposes but also for predicting climate variations.  The ARGO project, an international initiative already underway with key participation from the United States and Japan, will help realize this dream by creating a huge array of 3,000 buoys across the world’s oceans that will report real-time data on the conditions of the oceans down to depths of 2000 meters.  It is hoped that this project, combined with other existing observations and advances in computer technology, will allow one-year climate change predictions and provide a deeper understanding of global warming. 

Ocean Drilling. Another new collaborative effort will drill into the earth to take core samples from the ocean floor.  The Science and Technology Agency (STA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are currently playing a pivotal role in planning the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) initiative.  Principal elements of this program will be a new Japanese ship with riser technology able to drill into the deep earth’s crust, and a new non-riser drilling ship to be provided by the United States as a successor to the JOIDES Resolution, currently used in the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP).  Scientists from throughout the world will be invited to participate in the program preserving the spirit of international cooperation that developed in the ODP.  Studying the sampled ocean cores will provide insight into the history of global environmental changes, can elucidate behavior of tectonic plate boundaries, and will contribute to the understanding of earthquake phenomena. 

Earth Observation from Satellites. Another key element for monitoring and investigating the earth’s environmental changes is earth observation from satellites. Both NASA and NASDA have been coordinating their respective Earth observation programs through participation in the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).  Through CEOS, the United States and Japan are working out strategies for long-term observations in three areas of study for the development of an Integrated Global Observing Strategy.  The three areas are the ocean, the terrestrial carbon cycle, and disaster management support.  Long-term observations from satellites based on both bilateral and multilateral cooperation will reveal clearly what is happening in the earth’s environment and provide valuable data for investigating processes and mechanisms causing global change.  Building on past successes, Japan will launch the ADvanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II), and the science communities from both countries will exploit the resulting data sets.  Looking to the future, a working group of US and Japanese scientists and agency representatives is now identifying near- and long-term areas of potential cooperation in space-based earth science research and observation in the years after 2002.  Our Committee strongly endorses these cooperative programs, which will contribute data to a wide range of scientific disciplines. 

Interior of the Earth. The frontiers of earth science will be rapidly extended by understanding the deep interior of the earth and its evolution since its birth nearly five billion years ago.  New techniques in the physical and chemical analysis of small samples and the development of seismic, geodesic and magnetic networks on a global scale (such as Japan’s Ocean Hemisphere Network and the Super-Plume Project) have made the earth’s evolutionary history more accessible now than ever before.  For example, the use of seismic waves for tomographic imaging of the interior of the earth has been a powerful tool for studying inhomogeneous structures in the upper and lower mantle—providing new clues to the dynamics and past history of the earth.  Cooperation between the US Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and Japan’s Ocean Hemisphere Network in seismological observation using ODP-holes in the Pacific Ocean has worked well.  Also very successful have been the cooperative efforts by the US IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) with Japan’s Super-Plume Project to acquire seismic data on islands in the Pacific Ocean.  Further enhancement of the cooperation in seismological observations both on islands and on the ocean floor is required. 

8.2.2. Space Sciences

Japan and the United States have had a long and fruitful relationship in this field, including joint work on a variety of applications satellites, a manned space program involving Japanese astronauts, and the scientific exploration of space.   

Manned Space Activities and Space Environment Utilization. Over the past decade, US and Japanese astronauts have been working side-by-side in exploring how humans can live and work in space.  In several successful space shuttle flights, the Japanese have worked on microgravity studies and conducted various in-orbit programs including manipulator operation and extravehicular activity.  Collaboration has also been close on the International Space Station (ISS) program to put a permanently inhabited space station in low earth orbit.  Japan is one of the original partners in the ISS and is contributing the Japanese Experiment Module, an orbital laboratory.  Its materials and life sciences experiments, together with those of US investigators, are key elements of the research program.  Japan is also contributing the Centrifuge Accommodation Module that will create artificially adjustable levels of gravity in space, permitting studies of gravity changes on animals, plants, and microorganisms.  Our Committee fully endorses a continuing close relationship in the field of manned space activity including the ISS program and encourages maximum possible cooperation in microgravity studies of materials and living organisms. 

Space Science. Japan has strong space science programs in X-ray astrophysics, solar physics, radio astronomy, and magnetosphere science that have made significant contributions to the world community.  Japan has also taken its first step toward solar system exploration by launching the NOZOMI Mars orbiter with the newly developed M-V launcher. The Lunar-A (moon), MUSES-C (Asteroid), and SELENE (moon) explorers will follow.  These missions are implemented under a wide range of international programs, which include development of instruments, spacecraft operations, tracking support, exchange of researchers, and data analyses.  Many of the international cooperative aspects of these projects resulted from initiatives taken by individual researchers.  US space scientists supported by NASA have worked closely with Japan’s scientists at ISAS for many years.  Our Committee fully endorses these relationships and believes that with budget pressures on space science research in both countries, it is desirable, wherever possible, to maximize cooperation that will achieve efficiencies in satellite development and production of data packages beneficial to the research objectives of both countries.  

Astronomy. Astronomy opens a door to a new world whose hallmarks are extraordinary distances and energies.  Views into that new world reveal information on the structure and evolution of the universe, the birth and death of stars as well as planets, and the mystery of the origin of life.  Astronomy and space science complement one another.  The existence of new instruments such as Japan’s Subaru telescope, the Gemini pair of telescopes, and the coming Millimeter Array telescope (MMA), all provide continuing opportunities for international cooperation, involving scientists throughout the world’s astronomy community.  The United States and Japan should continue to take full advantage of opportunities for cooperation that exploits the complementary resources of our two countries. 

8.2.3. The Structure of Matter

Particle Physics. Both the United States and Japan have unique, world-class facilities for investigating the frontiers of particle physics.  The facilities of Fermilab, SLAC, and Brookhaven in the United States have been and will continue to be key world centers.  Japan’s High Energy Accelerator (KEK) facility and the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research  (ICRR) are counterpart research centers. Just as with astronomy, these are complementary resources, which, together with European centers, comprise the body of the world’s large machine resources for high energy physics research.  International cooperation will continue to characterize this field.  We commend these cooperative efforts and their remarkable accomplishments in elucidating the fundamental nature of matter.  

Nanotechnology. Nanoscience and nanoengineering refer to the observation, control, and manipulation of single atoms and molecules into completely new structures and materials.  It is a breakthrough technology, described by an NSF committee as one that "will have a major impact on the health, wealth and security of the world’s people, that will be at least as significant in this century as antibiotics, the integrated circuit and man-made polymers" were in the 20th century.  It has been recommended as a priority area for US Government research funding in FY 2001.  Investment in nanotechnology holds promise for basic discoveries as well as industrial applications that will result in a whole series of new nanodisciplines—such as nanomaterials, nanomechanics, nanoelectrics, molecular electronics, and nanobiotechnology.  These fields are inherently interdisciplinary, and breakthroughs in one area may have far-reaching implications in other areas.  These developments could lead to unanticipated benefits for fully mature and conventional technologies as well.  The United States already has achievements in biological and molecular applications, while nanodevices and nanocomposite technology are advanced in Japan.  Although atoms are now routinely observed and manipulated, there is still an enormous amount of research to be done.  But on the basis of what has already been achieved, the future appears to be of unlimited potential.  In view of the present efforts in the United States to involve government, academia and industry in nanotechnology research as well as the active programs underway in Japan, our Group believes this field can be an extremely important new area of US-Japan cooperation, with opportunities in both the public and private sectors.  We recommend that early consideration be given for development of a possible joint program. 

8.2.4. Life Sciences

We are living during a revolution in the understanding of life. The discovery in the mid-1940s that DNA carries the genetic code and the later elucidation by Crick and Watson of the double helix structure of the DNA molecule were the basis of this revolution, which is still explosively generating new knowledge of life processes.  The decision in the early 1990s to determine the complete genome sequencing of numerous organisms, including human beings, was the next obvious step, and the results of these efforts are now emerging.  The Human Genome Project will be completed by the end of 2003.  It is already known that many genes have remained unchanged through all of evolution, leading to the remarkable conclusion that human genes in fact have much in common with those of other species, even fruit flies and yeast cells.  Such discoveries are giving us new tools to study the origin of life, the mechanism of evolution at molecular and phenotype levels, and biodiversity both among species and within species.  While the sequencing of the human genome is not yet complete, many important genes have already been identified leading to major advances in biomedical research and new insights into disease processes.  These advances in genomics have truly opened a new era in the life sciences.  Our Group notes that a consensus should be developed internationally concerning raw fundamental data on the human genome in order to promote this research and enhance the quality of life for all humankind. 

Biologists have already entered the next challenging phase of research into the regulation and function of individual genes.  Studies in post-genomics and proteomics will tell us about the structure and function of individual proteins and protein aggregates, the building blocks of our bodies.  As the frontiers in this field have extended to functional genomics and proteomics, the new, powerful tools of bioinformatics have also had a major impact. This new knowledge is crucial for understanding normal and pathological functions of the body at the molecular level.  Advances in structural biology and computational power will contribute further and enable selective design of new drugs.  It is clear that all of these developments will have a major impact on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. 

These advances in genomics are enabling us to understand life and living organisms more systematically and thoroughly and have opened a new era in life sciences research involving comparative genome studies of different species including humans, studies of biodiversity both among species and within species, and studies of the mechanism of evolution at molecular and phenotype levels.  

Biotechnology in the Post-Genomics Era. The science of genomics has brought much excitement in the fast-developing field of biotechnology.  The rice genome project, led by Japanese scientists under the International Rice Genome Sequencing Working Group, originally set a goal for completion of the sequencing of the entire rice genome in 2008.  The US Interagency Working Group (IWG), with funds contributed by the USDA, NSF, and DOE, has joined the international effort, and it is now predicted that the project will be completed in 2004.  Genome sequences of other plant and animal species will follow.  These advances will open a new era of post-genomics—and the development of second-generation applied biotechnology products that can enhance human health, combat hunger, and offer food security to the world’s population. 

Biotechnology has the potential to be one of the best tools for addressing global problems, and could be key in improving the quality of life in developing countries. Cooperation in agricultural biotechnology would take advantage of mutual interests and complementary skills of both countries.  For example, rice can be enriched with iron and vitamin A to improve health around the world; stress and salt resistant crops can be developed to allow more widespread agriculture as well as huge fresh water savings.  Although our Committee concluded that it was premature to propose a specific project, we do recommend that consideration be given to development of a joint US-Japan research program in plant genetics and "post-genomics" biotechnology.  A first step would be to convene a small group of specialists from both countries to define an appropriate program.  

Biology and Brain Science. A full understanding of the brain and its functions is still far off, but advances have been made in recent years.  Again, genetics and molecular biology have played a major role in revealing the processes underlying the embryonic development of the brain and its intricate wiring.  The brain can be viewed as a communications network, and this network is being actively probed using the tools of genetics, molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, biophysics and single cell physiology.  Major advances have also been made in studies of higher brain functions linking cognitive functions in monkeys with single neuron activity and in humans with different types of imaging techniques. 

The areas of molecular biology and brain science have strong representation in the United States and Japan as well as in Western Europe.  In the 1980s, Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone was instrumental in creating the Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) to build on the strengths of the various countries and stimulate active collaboration between scientists working in molecular biology and brain science.  The program celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1999 and has become a model for structuring international scientific collaboration.  

Biology is assuming the central position in natural science previously occupied by physics, and as the field of biology grows, the scope of its research increasingly motivates interdisciplinary investigations.  Since the United States and Japan have substantial strengths in physical and chemical sciences and strong commitments to the biological sciences, it would benefit both countries to consider developing a strong research program in this interdisciplinary field.  The program would involve both young and established scientists and would include a broad postdoctoral program.  It would focus on biology, but the aim would be to bring scientists from a range of different fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, and computer science together with biologists to address important biological issues.  Such initiatives are already being taken at a number of universities and institutes, in centers that focus on the post-genomic phase of biological research and that develop and apply sophisticated techniques to important biological problems.  In this context, our Group also felt it would be appropriate to consider strengthening the HFSP or creating a new international program modeled after the HFSP.  

8.2.5. Young Scientists For the Future

In designing programs and policies in frontier research, it is of special importance to find ways to encourage new interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations and to encourage transfer of techniques or technologies between fields.  It is also of special importance to involve and encourage very capable young scientists to undertake innovative research and build international professional and personal relationships early in their careers. 

For many years, several Japanese organizations, including STA, Monbusho, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, have worked with their US counterpart agencies such as NSF and NIH to provide opportunities for US science and engineering graduate students and post-docs to enjoy working experiences in Japan.  For example, since 1989 STA has sponsored the Summer Institute in Japan Program that enable graduate students to spend half their time for two months working in Japanese laboratories, and the other half studying the Japanese language and learning about Japanese culture.  Such programs not only provide young American scholars with direct exposure to areas of excellence in Japan: in addition, young American scientists and engineers who work with their Japanese peers during their time in Japan frequently develop professional bonds that last throughout their entire careers. 

Non-government organizations in both countries also foster professional bonds between their most promising young scientists.  One example is the HFSP described above.  Another is the Japanese-American Frontiers of Science (JAFOS) Symposium, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences and the Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST).  The symposium allows outstanding young scientists of the two countries to organize intensive discussions in an interdisciplinary format. The first rounds of JAFOS, held in Irvine and Tsukuba respectively, were a resounding success.  Frontiers of engineering events are also being organized. 

Our Group strongly encourages using a range of mechanisms that involve young scientists and will build US-Japan collaborations for the future.  One of the best ways to ensure a strong future in US-Japan S&T cooperation is to give the best young scientists in the two countries the opportunity to use their limitless enthusiasm, initiative, and imagination to create projects directly with each other.  

9. Science and Technology in Policy Decision Making

9.1. Importance

Policy makers and advisory groups for topics ranging from health to energy to the environment confront multiple uncertainties about data and weigh conflicting long-term projections of the consequences of using new technology.  As an additional pressure, these groups are held increasingly accountable by the public.  Most policy decisions must take into account not only long-range frontiers in science but also immediate prospects in technology.  Technological options may rest on a scientific base that is not yet fully developed, as in xenotransplantation; this makes early risk assessment problematic.  Further, a growing number of social and ethical issues, such as genetically modified organisms, the use of human embryonic stem (ES) cells, and consensus concerning the disposal of high level nuclear wastes, are inextricably related to science and technology. 

As scientific information is increasingly required in decision making, there is a correspondingly increasing burden to ensure that the marriage between science and policy decisions respects the integrity of the underlying scientific fabric in each case.  A transparent approach to decision making is preferable because this topic is also affected by education and the public understanding of science, as discussed in Chapter 10.  

The challenge is twofold: to develop new technical insights for policy issues, and to provide accessible interpretation of empirical data for democratic governance by an informed public.  It is a challenge that requires participation and commitment from scientists and policy makers alike. 

9.2. Situation

Many mechanisms are available to provide advice for policy makers, both on a national and international basis.  In Japan and the United States, scores of advisory bodies serve government.  Internationally, many UN agencies have science and technology committees, as does the OECD.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is another example of a science advisory group appointed by a government.  For issues such as trade and health, involving the interests of many countries, international groups help meet the increasing need to provide common advice to several governments. Nongovernmental sources of scientific advice include academies, professional societies, and a wide variety of for-profit and non-profit analytical groups.  

The situation, in short, includes multiple sources and receivers of science and technology policy advice.  One consequence of this pluralistic situation is that the public may see so many viewpoints, and senior governmental officials may see so little coherence, that confusion or delay is the result.  Yet, there is no broad US-Japan forum for regularly discussing these trends in science and technology policy issues and the mechanisms for coping with them. 

9.3. Initiatives

In the context of respecting the integrity of the body of emerging scientific knowledge relevant to the policies in question, we propose the following initiatives. 

9.3.1. Consensus Building

For scientists, it must be acknowledged that in many frontier research fields, only a protracted process can build consensus.  Further, with a more publicly transparent decision making process, disagreements among scientists will be even more visible.  Since scientists have raised the public’s expectation that “they have the answers,” new efforts must try to explain clearly the underlying reasons for scientific disagreements and the ways in which new data builds better answers.  Scientists themselves must show active support for consensus building to the public and mass media. 

For the public, both in Japan and the United States, it has been difficult to build any consensus about certain technologies.  Consider, for example, nuclear power.  There has been some success in the United States building local consensus, but this has not grown to the national scale.  In Japan, the Atomic Energy Commission has convened a series of meetings with a range of scientists, social scientists, economists, opponents, and proponents in hopes of building consensus about the future of nuclear energy in Japan.  Yet nuclear power remains contentious as its advantages and disadvantages remain debatable. 

To help improve the consensus-building process, we propose comparing case studies.  Insights into the means for consensus building may emerge from a series of cross-national studies of at least three major cases.  The work would be funded by the governments, engage participants from all sectors, and be consolidated into on-line and print reviews for wide distribution. 

9.3.2. Interpreting Scientific Knowledge

One indispensable role emerges for scientists and engineers in the policy process.  That role is to ensure that policy makers are provided with help in interpreting scientific information. 

Preserving the Integrity of Science.  In the United States in 1993, the Supreme Court, in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., established a series of tests required of judges in federal courts for the admittance of scientific information in technically complex judicial cases. Preceding this, the courts, faced with an ever-increasing barrage of technically complex litigation, sometimes became a forum for "junk science."  Notably, the Daubert tests correspond closely to the kinds of skeptical scrutiny which scientists themselves use when judging each other’s work and have made a successful contribution to the work of the courts. 

Efforts should be made to ensure that only the most reliable and relevant evidence is used in the government’s judicial and regulatory decision making processes.  Some cases are controversial, and notable differences exist between the processes and institutions in each country.  Nonetheless, we believe the potential damage suffered is so great when “junk science” taints policy that the long range health of scientific and technological enterprises is at risk. 

Advice and Inventories.  We recommend that researchers in applied and basic science meet to discuss the scientific basis of pertinent issues and then publish timely “inventories of knowledge” with the intention that they be used by policy makers. 

As another example, the Science Council of Japan, the National Academy of Sciences, and counterpart organizations around the world are currently designing an institutional mechanism for providing independent and international science-based advice.  Its work will reflect expertise and inputs drawn from many countries, both developing and industrialized.  We note the great potential and importance of such a source of global scientific input, and encourage the involved organizations in the United States and Japan to proceed in this effort. 

The Dynamic Character of Science.  Gathering scientific information and insight is a dynamic process: existing, accepted concepts are continuously challenged and overturned by new findings.  Political judgments in science-based areas inevitably depend on bodies of knowledge that, by definition, reflect a snapshot of current understanding.  Continuing research may not only refine the earlier scientific basis of the judgements, but also call the original decisions into question and raise new questions to be answered.  Greater public understanding of the dynamic character of science should be promoted in order to gain public acceptance of science-based decisions.  

9.4. Environmental Science Policy Summit

It is in both countries’ interest to try to determine the best institutional approaches for advising policy makers.  Making decisions about the environment is an excellent example of this challenge. As discussed in Chapter 3 on the Environment, policy makers face the following question, often in the face of inadequate scientific understanding and information: How do we determine the appropriate balance between risk and benefit for a given level of knowledge, and how do we ensure that society understands the costs that inevitably arise from any policy decision? 

We propose that the United States and Japan convene an Environmental Science Policy Summit that would bring together the top levels of government officials responsible for the environment along with lawmakers, scientists, and the private sector (possibly including public interests).  The summit would compare the environmental policies and systems of both countries in regard to the decision-making process (including the relationship between scientists and policy-makers) and determine the most important environmental policy issues facing our two countries and the role of science and technology in addressing those issues. 

By discussing these topics as well as possible future directions on energy, chemical use, transportation, resource consumption, and land use, the summit would to try to identify and develop ways to bring the best scientific evidence and knowledge to bear in order to continuously inform the development of environmental policy.  

10. Science Education and Public Understanding of Science and Technology

10.1. Importance

Education of today’s students in the fundamentals of science, engineering, and mathematics will affect the competence and the attitudes of the next generation of adults.  The quality and scope of education is especially crucial during the period of early secondary school, when lifelong skills and interests are crystallized. 

Continually growing evidence shows the importance of improving the public’s general understanding of science and technology.  The outcomes of science and technology greatly influence the economy and culture, but it is becoming more difficult for the general public to grasp the complexities of research and the implications of possible technological applications.  

An increasing number of occupations require substantial skills in science and technology.  Yet schools are not responding quickly enough to prepare students for their first jobs.  Moreover, every year’s modernization of the economy means that many adults need retraining.  

In short, a reasonable level of technical literacy is essential for understanding important public policy issues, fulfilling the obligations as a citizen in a modern society, and joining the workforce in any capacity.  From the challenges in schools and workplaces to the concerns of parents, teachers, and employers, science and technology education is a pervasive demand. 

10.2. Situation

Although scientists, engineers, and governments around the world try to strengthen the level of the public’s understanding of science and technology, many programs are not meeting their goals. 

A recent survey in Japan, in fact, shows a decrease of young people’s interest in science and technology. A US survey reports that only a few people are well informed about either new discoveries or the use of new inventions.  US schools are not succeeding in their reforms of science and math education. 

At the same time, because fewer Japanese and US citizens recognize science and engineering as being attractive professions, fewer young people consider advanced technical training.  Prosperity at home and competitiveness abroad are at stake. 

10.3. US-Japan Cooperation

These issues have been considered in forums such as Japan’s Council for Science and Technology and the US National Academy of Sciences.  Such discussions have led to the development of TV programs, invitations to visit laboratories, and other mechanisms designed to promote better understanding of science and technology.  Regarding public understanding of science and technology, the OECD conference “Science and Technology in the Public Eye” in Tokyo, 1997, was a recent example of multinational efforts.  Taken together, however, the bilateral efforts on science education and public understanding of science and technology have been modest in scale and impact. 

At the international level, the OECD has conducted comparative studies of science and mathematics curricula.  International comparisons and analysis of academic achievements have involved Japan and the United States.  Evidence shows weakness in the middle schools within both countries. 

Some progress has also been made in school exchanges and collaborations between Japan and the United States.  The Fulbright Memorial Fund (FMF) has expanded the opportunities for educators in two countries to make direct contacts in various fields.  Science museums play a pivotal role in both countries by promoting public understanding of science and technology, often linked to school systems, independent professional organizations and universities. 

Little or no large-scale bilateral cooperation has occurred on understanding the underlying trends in building a technically skilled workforce.  Yet both countries confront major challenges in their private sectors to prepare employees at all levels for effective global competition. 

10.4. Future Cooperation

Expanded bilateral cooperation will help enrich science education and promote heightened public understanding of science and technology, and focus on long-term technical workforce trends in the two countries.  Two specific lines of action are called for. 

10.4.1. Science Education

The US middle school (or Japanese lower secondary) years often determine whether a student develops interest in science.  At this level of schooling the capability of teachers is crucial.  Teachers should have not only strengths in the techniques of instruction but also mastery of the subject matter.  The skill of many middle school teachers leaves much room for improvement. It is, therefore, important that science teachers in both countries exchange their experiences and ideas about more effective teaching methods and materials and about how to deepen their knowledge of the fields they teach.  The national associations of science and math teachers could organize an annual program of bilateral visits and meetings. 

Moreover, basic research must be increased to extend and sharpen empirical evidence about the best practices in science education, taking into account the results of studies about adolescent development and cognitive science.  Joint research activities by science and math education experts should encompass comparative review of successful cases.  Other countries could be invited to contribute to the inquiry that would combine jointly funded projects of science teachers and independent evaluators from the social sciences. 

10.4.2. Public Understanding of Science and Technology

A network should be established among science museums because of their important role for public understanding of science and technology. In order to establish the network, a regular meeting attended by specialists such as science museum directors and journalists should be held with the first meeting preferably in the autumn of 2000.  We encourage joint use and development of special materials (multi-media content such as CD-ROM and Internet), cooperative programs such as science camps, and exchange programs of personnel between the Center of Public Understanding of Science and Technology in Japan and corresponding US science museums. 

10.5. New Initiative

As a special initiative to bring much higher visibility to these deep and compelling issues, we propose a High Level Conference on Science Education and Public Understanding of S&T.  Because of the broad societal sweep and long-range of economic goals of this subject, the meeting should also be conceived and publicized as a “Technology Workforce Summit.” The session would involve the most senior representatives from industry and university as well as government.  Representatives and observers from other nations and professional groups would be invited. 

The details of this conference should be further developed, but the subjects of the one day “summit” with a three day professional meeting would include: K-12 education (ages 5-18) in science and mathematics; cooperation on policies for public understanding of S&T; development of science journalists; and especially the global mobility and immigration of scientists and engineers—in short, all issues central to the general improvement of educational systems of science and technology for students and the public.  Specific cases might include: examples of the FMF Master Teacher Program; evidence of “best practices” in K-12 curricula; methods for inspiring the public to learn about research results through museums and popular media; and critical skills needed by most employed persons.  

To create the momentum for accelerated progress in this field, the highest level leaders must lift the visibility of—and their commitments to—science education and the public understanding of science and technology.  We hope that this push will improve the performance of educational institutions and help the workforce reach the performance standards demanded in the future.  

11. Ethical and Social Responsibility of Scientists and Engineers

11.1. Importance

Ethics depends on individual cultures, with norms embedded in history, tradition and social conventions. In medicine, strong ethical guidelines date back to the Hippocratic oath and have been respected through doctrines such as informed consent.  For engineering and technology, robust guidelines have long governed the social responsibility of professional work; codes of conduct derived from the demands of clients.  For science, the ethical standards have been more inner-directed, encompassing integrity in the research environment as well as rigorous tests of evidence and of the priority in discovery. 

As knowledge from the scientific community is increasingly being exploited more quickly and in more situations, science is being performed in the context of society as a whole.  So society’s views of the ethical implications of procedures in research, and of applications of technology, become more influential. 

Since knowledge about science and technology possess a universal nature—crossing geographical boundaries with ease—the ethical and social responsibilities of the professional community impel a universal approach.  Throughout the world the public expects high standards of honesty within research, clear statements about risks related to the applications of technology, and thorough analysis of the pros and cons of the alternate technological paths that a society may choose. 

The energy and depth of our Group's discussions show that there is consensus on both sides that the ethical and social responsibility of scientists is already and will continue to be of utmost importance to the two countries.  In short, Albert Einstein's famous remark summarizes the guiding principle: "Concern for man and his fate must always be the chief interest of all technical endeavors . . . never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations." 

11.2. Situation

New, sensitive and pervasive social issues emerge every day with respect to science and technology.  For example, progress in genetics reveals ethical questions for medicine about whether, when, and how to proceed with novel treatments and life-enhancing interventions.  Even laboratory research in certain biomedical fields has become controversial.  In every institution, accordingly, the risks identified by "whistle-blowing" must be investigated.  To ensure the public's trust, in short, the world's science and technology professionals must fulfill their obligations to society.  Today, that challenge is growing more complex. 

The Asilomar Conference in 1975 was an example of scientists freely convening to gauge the possible risks of the then-new biological frontiers related to working with recombinant DNA.  That successful landmark event in self-governance by investigators would not have been possible—and the social responsibility it fulfilled would not have occurred—unless both high norms and wide freedoms were present. 

The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights is as important for the research community as it is for all other citizens in the world.  Inquiry cannot thrive without freedom, and the rewards of intellectual freedom are widely shared. 

To understand and fulfill the rising ethical and social responsibility of scientists and engineers, appropriate norms must be more clearly codified.  As this process proceeds, the necessary education about those norms can be provided. 

At the same time, the users of science and the general public must grapple in greater depth with the unfolding issues.  Society as a whole holds the ultimate responsibility for the uses of science. Citizens in every occupation—together with lawyers, humanists, theologians, journalists, politicians, and artists—all should be ready to participate in exchanges with scientists, physicians, and engineers about the ethical and social choices appearing at research frontiers. In democracies, this process of debate and education takes time and patience, and it requires tolerance.  It is likely that policy makers would respect and utilize serious consensus views that could emerge from such multidisciplinary discussions. 

11.3. US-Japan Cooperation

Ethical guidelines have been formed by groups of scientists and engineers in each country.  The United States often pioneered in norm-setting and implementation, and played a key role in leading accreditation procedures.  US universities and firms are increasing their efforts on varied perspectives in the education of all those who must respect ethical codes affecting the conduct of research.  In Japan, similar measures are being taken to respond, for example, to APEC initiatives about engineers; and the government is strengthening the ethical dimensions of professional training through the revision of the Registered Engineer Law.  The Japanese Council for Science and Technology has discussed general issues relating to science, technology, and society, such as the ethical and social responsibility of scientists and engineers, as well as specific issues relating to bio-ethics in fields such as cloning and human embryonic stem cell research. 

Yet most actions and most policies have been set independently in each country.  The exchange of knowledge between Japan and the United States is limited to a few specific fields and groups.  No forum organizes cooperation comprehensively enough to span the broad social questions presently in view. 

11.4. Future Collaboration

Accordingly, we recommend organizing a Bilateral Forum on Ethics and Social Responsibility in Science and Technology. The mission would be to compare experiences and reappraise issues arising from both long-standing as well as recently emerging challenges.  Periodic conferences should be arranged in order to explore diverse public perspectives and shape a continuing scholarly program. Cooperative relationships, exchanges of staff, joint research links with observers from other countries, and publications should be encouraged.  Public participation should be included, opinion surveys conducted, and the media engaged. The dialogue should be open and enriched by continuously confronting topics affecting people in their daily lives. The results of this initiative would be useful for Japan, the United States, and for worldwide understanding. 

Appendices

A1. White House Press Release
A2. US-Japan Scientific and Technical Cooperation
A3. Members of the Joint US-Japan Dialogue Group 

A1. White House Press Release

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of Science and Technology Policy

For Immediate Release                        Contact: 202/456-6047
May 4, 1999

FACT SHEET 

U.S. and Japan to Explore the Role of Science and Technology
in Society into the New Millennium

President Clinton and Prime Minister Obuchi called for an expanded dialogue on the role of science and technology in our societies as we enter the new millennium. The Leaders have directed the two governments to lead deliberations that will consider how advances in science and technology can most effectively contribute to our societies and the global community, and to identify areas in which enhanced bilateral cooperation would be desirable. This dialogue is to include representatives from industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, and government. The Leaders asked for a report on findings in the Spring of the new millennium. 

The U.S. and Japan are the world's leading centers of innovation in science and technology, accounting for more than 60 percent of the global investment in research and development. This shared commitment to the importance of science and technology has led to new knowledge, new products, and new services that have improved lives and advanced economies around the globe. Yet many of the challenges remain as we enter the next millennium. Better protecting human health, particularly in societies with growing elder populations; improving our relationship with our environment and use of natural resources; reducing the impact of natural disasters; improving the generation and use of energy; more clearly understanding the fundamental nature of matter and of the universe; improving public understanding of science and technology; and strengthening our understanding of the interactions between science, technology and society are some examples of challenges that continue to lie ahead. By considering where our societies are headed and the role of our bilateral relationship in the broader international community, the dialogue will offer a view of the role that advances in science and technology can play in bringing a better quality of life to all. 

#  #  # 

[The second paragraph of this FACT SHEET was not included in the Japanese press release.]

A2. US-Japan Scientific and Technical Cooperation 

The United States and Japan have developed an extensive relationship in science and technology (S&T) since the end of World War II.  Indeed, the countries share a more extensive and diverse S&T relationship with each other than they do with any other partners.  Government agencies in the two countries have sponsored joint cooperative programs in energy, natural resources, the environment, medicine, earthquakes, space, oceanography, and earth sciences, among others, involving exchanges of information and scientists as well as joint research projects and other activities such as the promotion of science in the public interest.  Many US and Japanese universities have taken part in these cooperative programs, projects and activities as well developing direct ties with counterpart institutions.  

In addition, a broad range of private-sector joint ventures, alliances, and licensing and supply arrangements exist between US and Japanese corporations in highly technical fields such as chemicals, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, computers, and automobiles.  Japan is home to more US-owned research and development (R&D) facilities than any other country outside the United States, and Japanese companies have more US-based R&D operations than firms of any other nation. 

A2.1. Early Interactions

The earliest highly technical post-war cooperation was carried out under the auspices of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC), established in 1947 by an executive order from President Truman.  It focused on the grim but important task of documenting the effects of the nuclear explosions.  US and Japanese scientists cooperated closely in these efforts.  The ABCC was formally disbanded in 1974 and replaced by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) with continuing financial support from both Governments.  This large bilateral scientific effort has produced high quality research results for more than four decades and continues to do so.  

Beginning very soon after World War II, a large number of Japanese graduate and post-doctoral students have worked in US university laboratories on research fellowships arranged between US and Japanese professors and others interested in building a strong, positive relationship.  Some of these relationships had begun before World War II and were renewed; others were facilitated by exchange programs run by the United States, starting with GARIOA (later absorbed by the Fulbright Program) as well as other programs available to Japanese students in general.  Thousands of Japanese researchers have received training in the United States.  The ties built between these Japanese graduate and post-doctoral students and their US hosts have been particularly strong in chemistry, physics, and engineering, as well as in biomedical research.  They have formed the basis of many bilateral research projects begun after the students returned to Japan.  While both the Japanese and US governments have made efforts to increase the number of US researchers going to Japan for extended stays, that number is still small compared to the Japanese scientists going to the United States. 

Another of the oldest bilateral S&T programs was established by the Agreement for Cooperation in the Civil Uses of Nuclear Energy, first signed in 1958 and since then amended several times.  It was signed under the Eisenhower Atoms for Peace Program and permitted transfer of fissionable materials, nuclear reactor technology, and other nuclear materials and technology to Japan for peaceful purposes.  The program served as the basis for Japan's significant program of nuclear energy.  The cooperation was widened into the fast breeder reactor field in 1969 (and lasted until 1995) and into nuclear safety issues in 1973.  Research and cooperation in these fields were held primarily under the auspices of the US Department of Energy and Japan's Science and Technology Agency. 

President Kennedy and Prime Minister Ikeda initiated the first formal US-Japan governmental program for cooperation in basic scientific research in 1961.  This program represented a high level endorsement of bilateral S&T cooperation in many fields rather than in a narrow technical area.  Responsibility for this program fell to the National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, an arm of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture.  This program, in a greatly reduced and modified form, continues to the present day.  It has been the basis for interaction among several thousand Japanese and US scientists over the years, both in sponsored seminars and joint research projects.  Its research work has included earth sciences, oceanography, medical research, earthquake studies, the biology of Pacific organisms, coral reefs, and molecular biology, among other topics. 

Another long-standing bilateral scientific effort is the US-Japan Conference on the Development and Utilization of Natural Resources (UJNR), established in 1964 to include more applied fields and to exchange information in research areas associated with the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and Commerce in the United States and the Science and Technology Agency in Japan.  It covers a wide range of disciplines such as marine science, forestry, fire research, and disaster mitigation.  The program has since evolved from a series of conferences to a standing program of bilateral cooperative research.  It continues to be an active and vigorous program that is contributing outstanding work in many areas of science and technology.  

In 1965, President Johnson and Prime Minister Sato placed new focus on medical research with establishment of the Cooperative Medical Sciences Program.  Its initial emphasis was on diseases endemic to Asia, such as cholera, parasitic disease, and leprosy.  More recently, it has included work on issues such as aging and in medical disciplines associated with infectious disease, such as microbiology, immunology and bacteriology.  This program is still in operation.  

A2.2 The Partnership Era

The signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in Research and Development in Science and Technology in 1988 by President Reagan and Prime Minister Takeshita inaugurated a new era in US-Japan S&T relations, an era defined as a partnership of equals.  The Agreement recognized Japan’s growth into one of the world's premier sources of science and technology, as well as its growing role in high technology.  The Agreement evolved from an earlier one signed in 1980, but it went further than its predecessor in establishing policies and principles of equality and cooperation to govern and guide the bilateral relationship.  While endorsed by both sides, it inevitably increased debate over how the relationship was changing and what new opportunities should be pursued as Japan's S&T capabilities expanded.  Current interactions have all benefited in varying degrees from the new stage set by the 1988 Agreement. 

The Agreement was amended and extended in July 1999, and the amended Agreement serves as an umbrella agreement for most of the S&T cooperation between the two countries' government agencies. 

Over the past two decades, there also have been extensive relations between US and Japanese agencies that are only loosely connected with the Agreement on Cooperation in Research and Development in Science and Technology.  Of particular note is the relationship between the NASA and Japanese space research and development communities in ISAS and NASDA, which began through a series of diplomatic notes, the first of which was signed in 1969.  A resident NASA representative in Japan works out of the US Embassy to facilitate cooperation between the two countries, and Japanese scientists have played important roles in many US space science programs.  In addition to joint work on high visibility programs, such as the Japanese astronauts who conducted experiments on space shuttle flights and the Japanese module for the International Space Station, NASA and NASDA cooperate in earth observation, for example, collecting data on tropical rainfall, important for the study of climate change. 

During the 1990s, the United States and Japan also increasingly became major partners and players in international cooperative projects.  The concepts for these projects often came from the United States or Japan, frequently drawn out of the experiences and knowledge gained from bilateral activities.  The International Space Station is one example of such projects. 

The Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective marks another very important step in the evolution of the US-Japan bilateral relationship.  Begun in 1993, it recognized that US-Japan cooperation should not only contribute to the development of Japanese and US science and technology, but can and indeed should be used to address global issues.  The Common Agenda has taken up global S&T issues such as human health (HIV/AIDS in Africa, eradication of polio), protection of the global environment (cleaning up oil spills, studying climate change), disaster mitigation, and civil industrial technologies that support sustainable economic growth.  The motives behind the Common Agenda and its related research programs stand behind the US-Japan Dialogue on the Role of Science and Technology in Society into the New Millennium.  Indeed, it is an example of how the United States and Japan should cooperate and combine resources to address not just important bilateral issues but also global issues of benefit to all humankind.

A3. Members of the Joint US-Japan Dialogue Group

US Rapporteur:
Frank B. Hicks
New York Academy of Sciences