The Science Council of Japan's Review Committee (Chairman: Atsushi Sugita, Professor of Hosei University), who has been considering reviewing past statements not to conduct military research, has put together a new statement that the basic policy of past statements will be inherited. It is expected to be officially decided at the General Assembly of the Science Council of Japan in April.
According to the draft statement, the technical research that can be used both in military and civilian terms by the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency has a lot of problems from the viewpoint of sound academic development due to the significant intervention by the Ministry of Defense in the research.Rather, what is needed is the enhancement of research funding in the civilian field, where the independence and autonomy of scientists are respected.
Furthermore, research institutes such as universities may be regarded as military and security research, as research results may deviate from the intentions of scientists and be diverted to military purposes and used for offensive purposes. He argues that a system should be established to examine the suitability of projects technically and ethically.It also requires academic societies to set guidelines in their respective academic fields.
The Science Council of Japan issued a statement in 1950 to the effect that it would never conduct scientific research for the purpose of war, and in 1967 a statement to the effect that it would never conduct scientific research for military purposes.
However, since the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency started a subsidy system for military research in 2015, and there was confusion within the university over whether or not to apply for the subsidy system, will a review committee be set up from 2016 to review the statement? I was considering how to deal with it. In February, a symposium on the relationship between security and academia was held in Tokyo, where opinions were exchanged on the handling of past statements not to conduct military research, but at that time, voices opposed to military research continued.
