Keynote Speech

In recent years, there have been calls for a decline in Japan's scientific and technological capabilities. Japan's presence in the world has been declining, partly because of the rapid progress made by other countries in both science and industry. The percentage of people with a doctorate degree in Japan is decreasing, while it is increasing in other countries. This can be attributed to the low esteem in which PhDs are held by business and industry. In addition, Japan has one of the lowest levels of job satisfaction in the world, which may indicate that many Japanese see work as a means to earn money rather than for self-fulfillment. Professor Amano said, "If this trend continues, there is a possibility that inventions and innovations will no longer come from Japan. He argued that one of the most important ways to produce future leaders in innovation is to create an education system for graduate students. With this concept, he will talk about attempts to improve the quality of the postgraduate curriculum.