The 11th meeting of the Japan – United Kingdom Joint Committee on Cooperation in Science and Technology took place online on 20 October 2021.

The Joint Committee was led by Executive Member of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation of the Cabinet Office of Japan, Dr Takahiro Ueyama, and by the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and with Japan’s Ambassador for Science and Technology Cooperation, Mr Takeshi Nakane, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosting the meeting, alongside BEIS Director for International Research and Innovation, Ms Harriet Wallace. Representatives of the Japanese and the UK governments and scientific agencies were also present.

The aim of the Joint Committee was to deepen our partnership by exchanging information on the developing shape of our research, technology and innovation policies and agree practical cooperation. Speakers from both sides presented on the various new activities, such as the Facilitation Mechanism, developed to maximise the value of research, technology, and innovation cooperation to our countries. They shared information on new priorities, seeking opportunities to build on the strength of our scientific communities.

The Joint Committee exchanged views and measures to ensure the security and integrity of the research ecosystem to promote our shared values of independence, openness, reciprocity and transparency under which international collaboration flourishes.

The Joint Committee praised the collaborative work between UK and Japanese researchers to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including through the collaborative research projects funded in partnership by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

The Joint Committee agreed to continue strengthening the relationship by fostering both strategic and bottom-up research partnerships, including through:

• regular open joint research programmes, building on the success of the first two open research programmes supported by UKRI and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 2021 in social sciences, arts and humanities, and in 2018 on life sciences and environmental sciences
• partnerships though research infrastructure, building on the collaborative work already underway on Hyper-Kamiokande Project and the Square Kilometre Array
• more frequent targeted strategic research programmes, building on the success of joints calls in regenerative medicine, infectious diseases, social impact of AI, and marine sensors

Innovate UK and Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) presented to the Joint Committee on their first collaborative innovation programme in 2020. They agreed to further collaborative opportunities for innovative businesses to work together to leverage the strength of the UK and Japan.　

The Joint Committee noted with appreciation the progress in the Medical and Life Science field. The committee welcomed strengthened cooperation, including the joint research calls on infectious diseases and regenerative medicine, based on the memorandum between the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). It also approved of their efforts to hold further symposiums and launch joint calls for neuroscience.

The Joint Committee hoped to further enhance the cooperation in the field of Space and noted with satisfaction the Memorandum of Cooperation between Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA). The committee welcomed the first joint study on space debris between JAXA and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

The Joint Committee expressed its expectation to further enhance cooperation in the field of Marine Science and shared the view to promote the cooperation on the Arctic research development between research agencies and institutions in the UK and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).

The meeting of the UK-Japan Joint Committee on Science and Technology is expected to take place in the UK in 2023.