NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
TOKYO REGIONAL OFFICE

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Tokyo Regional Office periodically receives and disseminates reports on research developments in Japan that are related to the Foundation's mission. It also provide occasional reports on developments in other East Asian Countries.

These reports present information for the use of NSF program officers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy..

Special Scientific Report #02-07 (June 12, 2002)

The NSF Embassy Fellows program has been created through a partnership between NSF and the Department of State, with the goal of providing scientific expertise and support to US Embassies as they may request, while providing international experience to NSF staff. Embassy fellows are expected to:

• Meet with foreign colleagues in ministries, universities, and other research organizations.
• Perform site visits to develop expertise in that country's science and engineering systems.
• Assist with preparations for major international conferences taking place in the host country..
• Write reports that may be used in the State Department reporting cables.
• Provide expert input to the formulation of bilateral and/or multilateral activities and foreign policy.

During this assignment I was asked to focus in the area of "Nanotechnology" in Japan. I was assigned to the Environment, Science, and Technology Affairs Section at the Embassy of the United States of America in Tokyo, Japan. During my stay, I also explored other nanotechnology related activities such as Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS)

As an Embassy Fellow, I met with the representatives of the government, university, research institutes, and industry. The following is a list of the organizations which I visited:

Government Organizations:

• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
• Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI)
• Bureau of Science and Technology Policy
• Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST)
• New Energy and Industrial Technology organization (NEDO)
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Technology (JSPS

Semiconductor Industries:

• Hitachi
• Toshiba
• Fujitsu

Universities:

• Osaka University
• Kyoto University
• Tohoku University
• Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Toyo University
• University of Tokyo

Research Institutes:

• National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba
• National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba
• The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Hirosawa
• The Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Sendai.

I also met many members of the Nanotechnology Working Group (NWG). Please see appendix for the list of the members of NWG.

During my visits to the universities and the research institutes I found that very high quality broad based nanotechnology basic research as well as focused research is being done in Japan. The government, industry leaders, and university researchers are eager for increased international cooperation, and there are ample opportunities for fruitful collaboration with U.S. researchers.

In 1995, the Japanese Diet enacted the Science and Technology Basic Law requiring the Government to develop and implement two successive five-year Basic Science and Technology Plans. The first Basic Science and Technology Plan became effective on April 1, 1996 and was completed on March 31, 2001. In the first Basic Plan, the government spent 17 trillion yen (~$150 billion) in Research and Development. The Government of Japan is now in its second five-year Basic Science and Technology Plan that became effective from April 1, 2001 and will last until March 31, 2006. For the second five-year Basic Science and Technology plan, the government expects to invest for Science & Technology, 24 trillion yen or approximately $185 billion (assuming 1% of the GDP, nominal GDP growth of 3.5% per year).

In the second five year Basic Science and Technology Plan, the government has planned a number of Science and Technology (S&T) reforms that would focus on creating and utilizing excellent outcomes of the R&D funding. Some examples of these reforms are:

• Making the National Institutes of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) independent administrative organizations (completed in JFY 2001).
• Making the national universities independent administrative organizations in the JFY 2003 (now delayed until JFY 2004).
• Doubling the amount of competitive research funds and allocating for indirect expenses (30% of the research grant).
• Expanding research funds for young researchers.
• Internationalization of the science and technology activities.

(For more details regarding the Science and Technology Plans of the Government of Japan, please refer to the following NSF Tokyo Report Memoranda: RM#96-11, dated April 3, 1996; RM#96-21, dated August 28, 1996; RM#98-06, dated April 7, 1998; RM#00-06, dated March 7, 2000; and RM#00-18, dated December 4, 2000.)

During my visits with the representatives of the government, and based on the information received from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Government of Japan in the second five-year Basic Science and Technology Plan, has prioritized areas of research and development that address the critical needs of the nation. The four highest priority areas:

1 Life Sciences: prevention and treatment of diseases; solution of starvation.

2. Information Communication: construction of highly developed information-communicating society; expansion of information and high?tech industry.

3. Environment: Human Health: preservation of environment; essential to maintain our basic existence.

4. Nanotechnology and Materials: basic technology to result in considerable ripple effect for a variety of fields.

Other topics include new energy sources, manufacturing technologies, social infrastructure, and new frontier science.

The government representatives, industry leaders, and the researchers from the institutes and the universities expect that these priority areas of R&D will have the most economic and social impact in the next five years.

Nanotechnology and Materials is as much a high priority area in Japan as in the United States. Everybody, across-the-board, involved in research and development (R&D) activities and policy making, believes that the technical innovations in "Nanotechnology and Materials" will significantly impact the technological innovations and applications in all the other three-priority areas of Life Sciences, Information Communications, and Environment.

For each of the R&D priority areas, the Council for Science and Technology Policy (an official advisory body to the Prime minister) has identified and has selected 25 broad research themes for projects that are challenging. 10 of these projects will be selected and funded in FY 2002. These projects will be announced at the end of June 2002.

Based on the documents I received from MEXT and METI, in the FY 2002, 75 billion yen (~$580million) is allocated for R&D in Nanotechnology and Materials. The R&D funding scheme in Japan is rather complex compared to the funding of R&D projects in the United States. In the United States, most of the funding by government agencies is generally given to proposals submitted in response to program announcements and initiatives and selected by a peer review process. In Japan, MEXT funds a variety of R&D programs and projects in universities and institutes through Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Technology (JSPS). METI provides the funds directly, as well as, through the "The New Energy and Industrial Technology organization" (NEDO) to various institutes and research organizations. The majority of MEXT research and development funds are competitive, whereas, the majority of funds provided by METI are non-competitive.

According to Prof. Takuo Sugano, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Toyo University, there are almost 100 national universities supported by the government; but there are only 10 universities that are truly active in research in Japan. These universities are Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kyushu Hiroshima Tsukuba, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In addition, active research is carried out in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM) in Sendai and The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN).

I visited all the institutes and the universities, except Nagoya, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Hiroshima to get a broad perspective on the nature and emphasis of research in "Nanotechnology and Materials". Meetings were also held with the key semiconductor industry leaders of Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu.

R&D managers in Japan discussed the focus and the manner in which the research funds were allocated. Some people stated that the nanotechnology budgets in Japan and the United States are about the same for the FY 2002, but that the nanotechnology R&D investment focus is entirely different in the two nations. It was their understanding that a significant amount of nanotechnology funds in Japan tend to be allocated for programs that are very important for industry in the continued development of top-down silicon technology.

The Government of Japan has developed a broad based systematic plan to promote and support the development of nanotechnology activities in the nation. The projects are classified in the following four categories:

Under this category, the focus is on the development of a basic understanding of nanotechnology and the development of nano-scale particles and nano-structure materials. This will be based on extensive exploratory, and in-depth research in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and in the development of new theories and methods of modeling, simulation and analysis.

Research topics under this category include nanoanalyses, nanofabrication, and nanosimulations.

The goal under this category is to focus R&D projects that will create fundamental and revolutionary technologies to support industry in the next 10-20 years. Examples of R&D projects under this category are:

• Development of new materials by controlling nano-structures.
• Development of biomaterials and biosystems and technologies for Medical/healthcare by developing interdisciplinary projects between biotechnology and nano-systems.
• Development of tools and methodologies for characterization and measurements with accuracy in the nm regime.
• Development of processes for Nano-scale fabrication.
• Development of methodologies and tools for Modeling and Simulation.

In this category, the R&D projects will focus on those areas of technology, which will have practical applications and an economic impact within 5 to 10 years.
Examples of such projects can be found in next-generation semiconductor technology using the conventional top-down approach.

One of the projects under "Flagship-type Project" category is the "Millennium Research for Advanced Information Technology" (MIRAI) project in Tsukuba. The New Energy and Industrial Technology Organization" (NEDO) under METI is funding the MIRAI project. MIRAI project started in FY 2001 and will continue to FY 2007. This project is under the direction of Prof. Masataka Hirose. It is a very high priority project and is in response to the technical challenges for future semiconductor technology partly set by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS).

For the MIRAI project, a new super clean room facility has been built that became operational on April 1, 2002. The MIRAI project has research themes that focus on developing materials, process technologies, new transistor structures, metrology and inspection for EUV lithography, and new circuit and systems for realizing the 70-50nm technology node semiconductor devices. A virtual organization of researchers from the Advanced Semiconductor Research Center (ASRC), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and the Association of Super-Advanced Electronics Technologies (ASET) in cooperation with the academia conduct this project.

Compared to the United States, Japan is making a significant investment by supporting the MIRAI project. The MIRAI project has full support of the industry leaders. Many industrial researchers have been sent to Tsukuba from their respective companies.

Dr. M. Nakamura, President of Hitachi Ltd. R&D Group gave me a copy of his speech that he had given at Stanford University in early spring of 2002. In this speech, he discussed three Flagship Projects, which were examples of the three "next generation semiconductor technology" projects. In addition to the MIRAI Project, he discussed the ASUKA project that was started in FY 2001 and will last for 5 years. The goal of this project is to have line widths for semiconductor devices down to 70nm technology node. The ASUKA project has two components, the "Semiconductor Leading Edge Technology" (SELETE) led by Dr. Akiko Marino from NEC, and the "Semiconductor Technology Advance Research Center" (STARC) led by Dr. Takemoto. The third project he discussed was the HALUKA project started in FY 2001. The HALUKA project is expected to last for three years and the goals of this project are to develop the terabit class information storage technology. In this speech, Dr. Nakamura had referred to KEIDANREN: "n-Plan 21" for focusing R&D resources more effectively to expand impact on industry and society.

Dr. Nakamura communicated the same message in his latest presentation made on March 13, 2002 at the Symposium on International Exchange of Industrial Technology" under the auspices of METI at the Tokyo International Exchange Center on the subject of "Japanese Industry and its International Collaboration on Science and Technology"

There is a general consensus with Dr. Nakamura by the industry leaders and the R&D community that the government needs to make investments in nanotechnology R&D to remain competitive. The outcome of these investments should have broad social and economic impact. In addition to supporting flagship-type projects aggressively, the industry leaders are also looking at other opportunities that will have an early return on investments for the electronic industry. For example, Dr. Nakamura of Hitachi observed that the equipment for semiconductor and nanotechnology R&D in the universities is generally generic and is commercially available. He would like to see more creativity, innovation, and development of tools and equipment for nanotechnology R&D. The new tools and equipment could be marketed and commercialized and could place Japan in a leadership position to generate new markets for new tools and equipment.

Despite significant investments for Flagship-type projects, the state of knowledge necessarily compels the Japanese government and the industry leaders to support and invest a great deal for more fundamental research. Within the categories of "Basic Research, Generic Technologies, and Challenge-type Projects" there are many examples of exciting and innovative work in nanotechnology and nanomaterials.

Prof. Kazunobu Tanaka, a trustee of the "Board Nanotechnology Planning" at AIST, discussed the accomplishments of the Atom Technology Project, also known as the "Joint Research Center for Atom Technology" (JCRAT). METI and NEDO have been funding and investing in nanotechnology research for the last 10 years at a cost of 25 billion yen. The project ran from FY 1992-2001. This program was started almost 10 years earlier than the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in the United States. Prof. Tanaka said that the JCRAT program resulted into many excellent research accomplishments in the areas of nano-process; nano-analysis, nanobiotechnology, bulk and thin film spin electronics, and modeling and simulation. It brought many scientists and engineers for advanced research in nano-related technologies from industry, academia, government, and the international community. The people and programs at the end of JCRAT project have been transferred to the Nanotechnology Research Institute, MIRAI Project, Materials Nanotechnology Program, Computational Science, and Electron Correlated research programs. The accomplishments of the JCRAT program have given a head start to many new technology projects.

For example, The Nanotechnology Research Institute (NRI) in Tsukuba has many JCRAT scientists and engineers focusing research activities in the areas of carbon nanotubes, nano-processing, bionanomaterials, supramolecules, theory and computational science for quantum effects, and molecular processes in nano-structured materials and biological systems. Dr. Hiroshi Tokumoto showed me a fascinating movie of the attachment of carbon nanotube to the Atomic Force Microscope. He had done this work while he was part of JCRAT

The following is a brief summary of the nanotechnology and materials related research activities at the universities and the research institutes that I visited. For more details of the research work of the individuals who hosted me and discussed their research, please consult their website.

Prof. Kazuyuki Hirao at Kyoto University is working in the area of "Active Glasses". This area has many potential applications in optical devices, fluorescence of semiconductor-doped glasses, athermal glasses, and brittle-less glasses. Prof. Hirao was very enthusiastic about his work and showed (and gave) me an excellent videotape of his work and a book and many articles he has published in this area. During my visit at JST, Dr. Usui, Executive Director of JST gave me a list of ERATO projects related to nanotechnology that are supported by JST. Prof. Hirao's project on "Hirao Active Glass" was one of the featured projects on that list.

Prof. Susumu Noda gave an excellent presentation on two-dimensional and three-dimensional photonic crystals. He discussed some of his most recent work in which he has succeeded in developing complete 3D photonic crystals with sufficient band gap effects at near infra red wavelengths (1~2 mm) based on a method where III-V semiconductor stripes are stacked with the wafer-fusion and the laser-beam assisted very precise (a few tens nm scale precision) alignment.

Prof. Kohei Tamao is very well known in the area of organometallics and until recently was the Director of " The Institute of Cross-Coupling Reactions". The subject of the organosilicon chemistry and related element-organic chemistry with its many potential applications was new to me. Prof. Tamao made the whole discussion very informative and exciting. Recently he had organized a meeting of "Thirty years of Cross-coupling Reactions" at Kyoto University. The meeting was attended by leaders from all over the in this area.

Excellent research activities in the nano-biotechnology area are being carried out in the research laboratories of Prof. Toshio Yanagida, President of the Japan Biophysical Society, at Osaka University. He is working on single molecule detection experiments that will shed light on the dynamic and mechanistic properties of molecular machines. The resultant information on molecular motors will certainly be very helpful to make machines that would help in the medical arena in many ways.

Prof. Tomoji Kawai's laboratory at Osaka University has excellent characterization facilities. In his group, Prof. H. Tanaka is doing very fascinating work on the ultra-high resolution imaging of single stranded and double stranded helix of DNA molecules in support of biotechnology research activities and the formation and controlling of two-dimensional DNA networks using Scanning Tunneling Microscopes (STM). Also Dr. H. Tabata, in Prof. Kawai's laboratory, showed me the work on the two-dimensional assembly of gold nanoparticles with a DNA network template.

Prof. Masahiko Yamamoto was my host at Osaka University. He gave an excellent presentation on "Superlattices and their Magnetic Properties". I toured his facilities that were located in many buildings. I was especially impressed with his excellent facilities for molecular beam epitaxial growth of magnetic materials and to study the influence on the structure of epitaxial lattices. Prof. Yamamoto is vigorously pursuing activities in the pursuit of making a single spin memory. Prof. Yamamoto also arranged a meeting with Prof. Yukichi Umakoshi, Dean and Professor of Engineering. Dean Umakoshi gave me an overview of the research activities in the school of Engineering and discussed the development of a Creative Education Center at Osaka University to stay in a leadership position for providing quality education.

At the Tokyo Institute of Technology, I visited Prof. Motoichi Ohtsu who is working in the area of nano-photonics and atom-photonics. This is an area of research in the field of optical science and technology beyond the diffraction limit of light. He has some of the most elaborate optical benches and facilities for doing very innovative and creative working in this area. He is directing a program under the Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) project funded by JST. Prof. Ohtsu gave an excellent presentation on "Nanophotonics: Design, Fabrication and Operation of Nanometric Devices using Optical Near Fields". He gave an intriguing demonstration of the fabrication of very small quantum dots of varying sizes, using near field deposition method, and accurately placing them on a substrate. He discussed some of the primary advantages of nano-photonics for increased integration of photonic devices, sub-100nm lithography, and recording and readout of 25 nm pit pattern for realizing extremely high-density optical memory systems.

Prof. Hiroyuki Sakaki at Tokyo University is doing excellent work in the area of the Physics and Characterization of Heterostructure FET. He discussed and gave us a copy of the "International Workshop on Nano Physics and Electronics related to Quantum Dots and Related Nanostructures: Physics and Electronics Applications". It contains an excellent wealth of information.

Prof. Hiroyuki Fujita has been working at Tokyo University in the area of micromachining for a number of years and has excellent new facilities. He directs the Laboratory for Integrated Micro-Mechatronic systems within the University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science (IIS). He is working in the areas of MEMS and NEMS. Prof. Fujita discussed the development of a 3-D packaging system that utilizes a micro machined wafer as a back plane for interconnecting electrical, optical, and mechanical devices to the external world. He also discussed his work in the area of optical MEMS where the focus is on the development of electromagnetic actuator. NEMS research in his laboratory includes: magnetic STM with a non-magnetic tip, Bio-microsystems for cell manipulation, Neural growth BioMicrosystem, and the design of a robot for depositing pico-liter volumes of liquid. Dr. Fujita has been carrying out noteworthy collaboration and research activities between the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) at the University of Tokyo and the Engineering Science Department (SPI) of the Center de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). In this program there is an exchange of excellent researchers between the two organizations and is considered of significant value in research and education.

Prof. Yasuhiko Arakawa at the University of Tokyo is working in the area of Self ?assembled Quantum Dots, their growth, their photoluminescence properties and their characterization in general and a diverse set of applications for optoelectronic devices. He has excellent research facilities for studying the physics of quantum-dots in detail and he is developing highly controllable techniques for the development of the quantum-dots on a variety of materials.

Prof. Masayoshi Esashi is doing excellent work in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS). Prof. Esashi is affiliated with both the Venture Business Laboratory (WBL) and the New Industry Creation Hatchery (NICHe). Prof. Esashi has excellent laboratories and is working on a variety of projects including wafer-level MEMS encapsulation, microenergy sources, and development of devices for optical switches and data storage and nanomachined devices. Prof. Shuji Tanaka discussed his research in the area of micro power generation and microfluidic control. In Prof. Esashi's group, there is work going in the area of nanostructure: carbon nanotubes have been selectively grown on AFM tips to get better resolution. The output of Prof. Esashi's research group could have many practical applications of nanostructures for sensor application. He gave us copies of many of his excellent publications.

I met wit Dr. Tadahiro Ohmi in a hotel in Tokyo as we could not schedule a meeting in his laboratory at Tohoku University. We exchanged excellent ideas on CMOS and nanotechnology. Dr. Ohmi discussed his work for improvement of the CMOS performance by a factor of 10. He is processing CMOS devices at low temperatures by using very reactive radicals. In addition, he is developing fluctuation free facilities at Tohoku University to address a number of challenges to enhance the performance of CMOS technology and to take the gate length down to at least 50nm. He discussed his research activities in the area of data compression algorithms, high dielectric materials, and the development of new materials based on nanotechnology.

Dr. Masakazu Aono of RIKEN is doing exciting work in the area of atomic and molecular electronics and the nanoscale control of chain polymerization, which could lead to new products in the molecular electronics area.

Prof. Akihisa Inoue, Director of the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University, discussed many programs related to the continuous development of new materials and the measurements and characterization of ultra-fine structures at his institute. In support of nanomaterials research, this institute has excellent facilities for the design and development of high performance multifunctional materials such as amorphous alloys, multi-component compounds, and nanocrystalline metals and ceramics.

At the Institute for Materials Research, I visited Prof. Toshio Sakurai's group. He has joint appointment at this institute and at Penn State University in the United States. Prof. Tadaaki Nagao and Prof. Yasunori Fujikawa from Sakurai's group gave presentations on their work in the area scanning tunneling microscopy and self-organized quantum dots in SiGe, respectively. This institute has excellent High Magnetic Facilities similar in nature to the National High Magnet Facilities in the United States. I was very fascinated with the design and architect of the hybrid magnet that generates 31T of magnetic field.

I also visited many laboratories of Prof. Hachiro Nakanishi at the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials. I saw the work of Dr. Yoshihiro Iwasa on the creation of organic and polymeric materials for the design and synthesis of novel molecules and molecular assembly: the work of Dr. Yasuo Oka in the area of molecular beam epitaxy growth of quantum wells and quantum dots of diluted magnetic semiconductors; the work of Dr. Akira Tomita in nanostructured carbons; the work of Dr. Tokuji Miyashita on Polymer LB films, and Dr. Masami Terauchi CBED and EELS on modified electron microscopes. This was all very exciting work and I wish I could have spent more time to learn in greater details the activities of this institute.

One of the major research centers for the "Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials" category is the "National Institute for Materials Science" (NIMS), which is funded by MEXT. NIMS was launched in April 2001 under the leadership of Prof. Teruo Kishi. Dr. Kishi is very active in Japan's effort to develop nanotechnology strategy and nanotechnology programs. Dr. Kishi is a member of the Nanotechnology Working Group (NWG) of Japan. He was also a member of the "US-Japan Dialogue Group on the Role of Science and Technology in Society into the New Millennium in 1999-2000". This group reported that the "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". (See report of a Joint US-Japan Dialogue Group, submitted to the Governments of the United States and Japan, May 2, 2000: Tokyo Report Memorandum 01-03, dated March 23, 2001.)

NIMS is dedicated to work in the area of nanomaterials research and will emphasize systemizing nanomaterials science on an atomic and molecular scale. NIMS has an excellent staff and has four major research groups: Nano-Physics research Group dealing with the development of Quantum Computer; Nanodevices Group dealing with devices for the highly information oriented society; Nanofabrication Research Group for creation of Nanostructures; and Nanosynthesis group to synthesize and characterize nanomaterials.

The research universities in Japan, and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) located in Tsukuba and at the Tokyo Waterfront, the Institute of Physics &Chemical Research (RIKEN) in Hirosawa, the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, and the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (MRAM) in Sendai have world-renowned faculty and research staff. The senior faculty and researchers generally have very large groups of scientists and engineers working on a variety of research topics in nanotechnology. The groups usually include junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate, and undergraduate students. A very small fraction of the staff in these groups is from other countries.

The Government of Japan emphasizes cooperation among industry, university and government and supports international collaboration and cooperation on research projects. In the last few months, there have been a number of meetings held to promote collaboration between industry, university, and government. The first meeting was held in Tokyo in November 2001 sponsored by the Cabinet Office, Japan Federation of Economic Organization (KEIDANREN), the Science Council of Japan, and was co-sponsored by MEXT and METI. To emphasize the importance of collaboration between industry, university, and government in Japan, 6 regional meetings have followed the first meeting. (Ref. NSF Tokyo Regional Office Report memo #02-03).

Nanotechnology is truly a multidisciplinary program that brings physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, computer scientists, and many others to work together in highly sophisticated laboratories. The nature of programs and projects is not only interdisciplinary but also international in scope. The challenges for scientists and engineers working in the area of nanotechnology are complex and the expectations for the return on investments from the society and the government is enormous.

Throughout the world, the governments, industries, and university leaders are keenly interested in learning the social and environmental impact of resultant products based on nanotechnology. Concerted international collaboration and co-operation will be required to realize the full potential of nanotechnology.

Japan is aggressively pursuing international collaboration through the AIST, JSPS, and JST. AIST has a special International Affairs Department under the leadership of Dr Hiroshi Miyamoto. They have additional technical staff and researchers who are assigned for a one to two year-term to work in this area. The International Affairs Department is focusing on bringing qualified scientists and engineers from around the world to work in AIST.

Dr. Naohiro Soga, Trustee of the International Affairs Department and Director of AIST Tokyo Waterfront, made a presentation on March 13, 2002,at the Tokyo International Exchange Center, at the Symposium on International Exchange of Industrial Technology". He spoke on the subject of "International Research Collaboration and Strategy of AIST". In that presentation, he said, "In order to overcome the staggering Japanese economy and the hollowing out of the domestic industry by shifting factory to abroad, it is requested for AIST to produce new and innovative technology leading to future industry. Certainly, there exists severe international competition in high-tech field. However, in order to explore scientific frontiers and open a new field, interdisciplinary research is indispensable. For this, the exchange of scientific information based on the personnel exchange in domestic and international level is very important".

With this in mind, AIST has general agreements for collaborative research with Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France and SISRO in Australia and are now approaching and negotiating with research institutes in USA, Germany, UK and other countries.

JSPS promotes international scientific cooperation and has a variety of fellowship programs for researchers to come to Japan. JSPS has a number of Joint Research and Scientific Seminars programs with the United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, India, China and Australia. For example in FY 2001, there were 20 cooperative research projects and 8 seminars projects under the US-Japan cooperative science program between JSPS and NSF.

JSPS is supporting a collaborative program between the University of Tokyo and CNRS in France in the area of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) under the leadership of Prof. Hiroyuki Fujita. Dr. Iga, Executive Director of JSPS suggested that the possibility of a similar program in the area of nanotechnology could be explored between a university in Japan and a university in the United States.

According to JSPS statistics, the largest group of scientists and students that are coming to Japan are from China. However, some industry leaders expressed their concern that Japan is not getting the best Chinese scientists. The best Chinese scientists go to the United States, the second best go to Europe, and Japan might be getting the third best group of scientists. They conjecture that part of this could be due to the better research facilities in the United States and Europe and partly due to the Japanese language barrier. Many scientists generally know some English and would like to improve it by going to USA or Europe since English is a common means of technical communication in many conferences and technical journals.

Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) also encourages international collaboration. Dr. Isao Usui, Executive Director of JST, gave the example of the US-Japan collaborative program on "Nakamura Inhomogeneous Crystals" at the University of California in Santa Barbara (2001-2006). He expressed his willingness to consider additional collaboration between the scientists in Japan and the United States.

During our revisit to MEXT, Ms N. Okamura of MEXT and K. Suzuki and T. Harahira of NIMS have proposed a bilateral nanotechnology symposium that could be held sometimes between January and March 2003. They have suggested that such symposiums could be held twice a year, alternating between Japan and the United States.

Towards the end of my assignment in Japan, the office of the Honorable Koji Omi, Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, invited me to inform him of my impressions of Nanotechnology in Japan. I told him that I was very impressed with the high quality of basic research as well as focused research that has been done in Japan. I had observed lot of industrial support in the MIRAI project as well as interaction between many universities, industries, and research institutes. I also conveyed to him that it was my impression that the government, industry leaders, and university researchers are eager for increased international cooperation and interaction, and that there are ample opportunities for fruitful collaboration with US researchers.

Given the great interest and the large amounts of funds being invested in nanotechnology research and development in Japan and the United States, co-operation and collaboration between the US and Japanese scientists and engineers could be beneficial to both the countries.

Dr. Rajinder P. Khosla had meetings and discussions with 9 of the 17 members from the "Nanotechnology Working Group" (NWG) in Japan. These are the key industry and university leaders who are working and managing very advanced nanotechnology programs in their respective organizations. They are setting the strategy and direction for nanotechnology research and development (R&D) in Japan. Following is the list of the NWG members.

Back to top

Return to Tokyo homepage