SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION

A key element of the regulatory framework governing Russian-Japanese cooperation in the fields of science and technology is the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Japan on Scientific and Technical Cooperation, signed on September 4, 2000 in Tokyo.

Pursuant to Article 6 of the Agreement, the Russian-Japanese Commission on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (CSTC) was established. Responsibility for organizing the work of the Commission was entrusted to the Russian Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

The tenth session of the CSTC was held in Moscow in 2010.The Russian delegation was headed by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, V. Fridlyanov. The head of the Japanese delegation was Ambassador for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Y. Katori.

The "Program of Scientific and Technical Cooperation for 2010-2012,” approved by the parties at the 10th meeting of the CSTC, includes ninety four joint projects in thirteen areas: agriculture and forestry; plasma physics and nuclear fusion; high-energy physics and accelerators; nuclear medicine; environmental protection; Earth sciences; life sciences; oceanology; communications technologies; energy research; materials; mechanics; and biotechnology.

On the Russian side, the Russian Academies of Sciences, Medical Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, and Russian universities and research institutes participate in joint scientific and technological innovation projects within the framework of the program. Japan is represented by leading research institutes, supervised by the government: the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA); the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST); the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK); institutes of physics and chemistry (RIKEN and others) and major universities. On this basis, the country is undertaking cutting-edge research and development at the Universities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Tohoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido and other institutions.

Japanese scientists and researchers show great interest in pure research being carried out by Russian scientists. Russia, in turn, is actively studying Japan’s commercialization of advanced technologies and the results of promising research and development projects. Given the strong influence of business on the development of science and technology in Japan (about 80% of investment in research and development in the country comes from the private sector), it was decided in 2001 to permit business representatives to take part in the work of the CSTC as observers.

In order to expand on the theme of cooperation in the field of pure research, the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) was invited to finance joint projects. In 2007, the RFBR and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) signed a bilateral memorandum and held a joint competition for research projects in the following areas: mathematics; mechanics; physics; astronomy; chemistry; biology; medicine; Earth sciences; human and social sciences; information technology; and computer systems. Each year the foundations jointly fund about thirty projects.

Russian and Japanese scientists are working together on major international projects: the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor or ITER (Russia, Japan, EU, China, South Korea and India); the International Space Station or ISS (Russia, Japan, USA, EU, Canada); and the Large Hadron Collider or LHC. Regional and global scientific and technical cooperation is also implemented within the framework of multilateral formats - G8, APEC, the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Asia-Pacific Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), UNESCO and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In the early 2000s the international Science and Technology in Society forum (STS forum), was launched in Japan. A Russian delegation headed by the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, A. Fursenko, attended the first meeting of the STS forum, which was held in Kyoto, in November 2004.

The next meeting of the STS forum will be in Kyoto, in October, 2013. Members of the Japanese academic community will also be taking part in Russia’s Open Innovation forum, scheduled for autumn of 2013 and to be held in Moscow.

peration) and the Russkiy Mir (Russian World) Foundation.