Biotechnology in Japan

Context

Economic recession since the 1990s. Need for higher competitiveness through technological innovation.

The elderly population in Japan is expanding at an exceptionally high rate comparted other countries. In 2000, citizens aged 65 or older represent 17.3% of the population.

In 2001, the Japanese gouvernment has formulated what has been named The Science and Technology Basic Plan which serves as the basis for the science and technology policies. In addition the governement has agreed on substantially increasing research investments for the areas including data communication and biotechnology.

Millenium Project

The Japanese gouvernement initiated a research project on the biotechnology-related areas, the Millenium Project, in 2000. The project focuses especially on genome-related research, as the next few years are considered to be the critical period for the future of this area. The budget allocated for the project was increased from JPY 75 billions (USD 750 million) in the first year, to JPY 98 billion (USD 980 million) in 2001.

The main research areas of this project include the structural and functional analysis of human genes and proteins, bioinformatics etc..., which are allocated to universities or research institutes under the management of individual government ministries. For example:

The project is characterized by the collaboration among various ministries as well as by its clear objective to commercialize the project results so as to develop new drugs.
Jean-Philippe Vert
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