The Science Council of Japan held a secretariat meeting in Tokyo and decided on a new statement not to conduct military research.Content that inherits the statements issued over the past two times.The Ministry of Defense has started a new system to fund researchers for the purpose of developing equipment since 2, but a new statement from the Science Council of Japan is likely to affect university research participation.

 According to the Science Council of Japan, the new statement noted that military research "is concerned about increased government intervention in researchers' activities."It urges universities and others to establish a system for technical and ethical examination when it may be regarded as military research, and has indicated its determination to continue discussions on the appropriateness of research.

 The Science Council of Japan issued a statement in 1950 that it would never conduct scientific research for war purposes, and in 1967 that it would not conduct scientific research for military purposes.
However, since the Ministry of Defense 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, whether to set up a review committee from 2016 and review the statement. I started to consider 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.In response to this, the Review Committee (Chairman, Atsushi Sugita, Professor of Hosei University) has put together a new statement that the basic policy of the past statement will be inherited.

 Initially, the Science Council of Japan had a policy of deciding a new statement at the general meeting in April, but there is a strong opinion that it is desirable to make an early decision at the secretariat, which is a normal procedure, and the new statement is reported to the general meeting. I decided to do it.

reference:[Science Council of Japan] Statement on Military Security Research (PDF)

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