NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
TOKYO REGIONAL OFFICE
The National Science Foundation's Tokyo Regional Office periodically reports on developments in Japan that are related to the Foundation's mission. It also provides occasional reports on developments in other East Asian countries.
Tokyo Office Report Memoranda are intended to provide information for the use of NSF program officers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy.
Survey on Prefectural Science and Technology Promotion
The following report is the summary of a report published in Japanese that was prepared by Dr. Fumihiko Kakizaki of the Japan's National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP). The unofficial translation of this summary was prepared by Ms. Kazuko Shinohara in the National Science Foundation's Tokyo Regional Office. Questions concerning the report should be addressed to Dr. Kakzaki, kakizaki@nistep.go.jp.
A survey has been made of the science and technology (S&T)-related activities of prefectural bodies, including their budgets and expenditures, incurred in 1999. A similar survey was made in 1997. The new, 1999 survey features inclusion of the percentage of government budgets for the prefectural S&T expenditures, expenditures for S&T facilities, and evaluation of research at public S&T research institutes.
Summary
1. Comprehensive promotion of S&T administration
Forty-five prefectural governments, or 90 percent of all prefectural governments in Japan, have already implemented one of the following measures, indicating that substantial progress had been made in arrangements for promoting S&T administration at the prefectural level.
(2) Establishment of councils within the administration
(3) Establishment of an S&T council
(4) Establishment of a basic plan
2. Structure of S&T-related budgets
The total S&T-related expenditures at provinces (prefectures) and ordinance-designated cities (major cities) in 1999 were about Yen 784 billion (ca. $6.5 billion), a 9 percent decrease from the previous 1997 survey.
The percentage of S&T-related budgets to the total budgets was 1.3 percent in the provinces (1.4 percent in 1997), 1.0 percent in major cities (1.1 percent in 1997), and 1.2 percent on the average (1.4 percent in 1997). Total expenditures in the provinces were Yen 64.5 trillion (ca. $537.5 billion), a 3.9 percent increase from Yen 63 trillion (ca. $525 billion) in 1997.
Of the S&T-related expenditures Yen 360 billion (ca. $3 billion), or 46 percent of the total, were devoted to public research institutes, and Yen 262 billion (ca. $2 billion), or 33 percent of the total expenditures, were devoted to science-related higher education institutes. Expenditures in these two categories decreased from the previous, 1997 survey by 9 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
Central Government investments in prefectural S&T-related activities were Yen 39.7 billion (ca. $ 330 million), or 5 percent of the total prefectural S&T-related expenditures. Of this total, Yen 23 billion (ca. $192 million) were expended for public research institutes (58 percent of the total government funds for prefectural S&T-related expenses), and Yen 6.5 billion (ca. 54 million) for science-related higher education institutes (16 percent of the total government funds for prefectural S&T-related expenses).
Total expenditures for S&T facilities were Yen 135 billion (ca. $1 billion), or 17 percent of total S&T-related expenditures. Of this Yen 135 billion, Yen 55.8 billion (ca. $465 million), or 41 percent, went to public research institutes, and Yen 49 billion (ca. $408 million), or 36 percent, went to science-related higher education institutes.
3. Research Evaluation
Research evaluation focusing on R&D projects is conducted for the activities at prefectural S&T institutes by 49 prefectural governments among the governments of the 47 the provinces and 12 major cities in Japan.
Institutional evaluation is conducted for the prefectural S&T institutes by 13 prefectural governments.