The fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan (fiscal 2016-2020), which the government will formulate, is important for building national innovation systems toward revitalizing Japan and reinforcing its global competitiveness as well as for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The basic points which the business community places importance on are as follows:

Concept of 5th Basic Plan

Projects driven by science and technology innovation that would serve as the core for the next generation should be nurtured to create the future of our country, and this kind of concept should be promoted with the term "future-shaping model." In fields such as information and communication technology (ICT) and life sciences, the government should make a clear statement that it will tackle these areas with priority.

Key Issues of 5th Basic Plan

Themes such as university reforms, public research institute reforms, regional revitalization, and human resources policies should also be the scope of coverage. In so doing, the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI) is expected to sufficiently exercise its command and control functions.

Enhancing Evaluation Index of 5th Basic Plan

Concerning issues such as achieving targets for raising the government's investment in research and development programs to 1% of Japan's GDP, regional activation, and contributions toward employment and growth, etc., it should indicate the evaluation indexes for specific outcomes in addition to indexes for the output.

Ensuring consistency between Basic Plan and Comprehensive Strategy

The basic plan's relationship with the Comprehensive Strategy on Science, Technology and Innovation, which is updated every year, should be coordinated to ensure consistency between the two.