Press Releases
Submission of Recommendation towards TICAD7 by Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs
1. On 14 March 2019, Prof. Teruo KISHI, Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, presented the ‘Recommendations towards TICAD7: Achieving an Innovation Ecosystem together with Africa’ (summary (English (PDF)
/Japanese (PDF) ), full report (English (PDF) / Japanese (PDF))) for the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD7) to Toshiko ABE, State Minister for Foreign Affairs (in the presence of Akihiko Tanaka, member of the Advisory Board for the Promotion of Science and Technology Diplomacy). This recommendation was prepared after discussions held by the Advisory Board for the Promotion of Science and Technology Diplomacy, which was chaired by the Science and Technology Advisor.
2. State Minister ABE appreciated for the contribution of the Advisory Board and expressed her willingness to refer to the recommendations in order to further continue the preparation for the TICAD7, scheduled in Yokohama in August this year. The preparation would include activities related to the field of science, technology and innovation in which Japan has advantages.
Reference 1: Outline of the ‘Recommendation towards TICAD7: Achieving an Innovation Ecosystem together with Africa’
In order to establish an innovation-ecosystem where innovations occur autonomously and sustainably between Japan and Africa, the recommendation links four ‘S’s (SDGs, STI, SATREPS, Society 5.0) to three initiatives: (1) supports for solving social problems to achieve SDGs using STI, (2) continuation and expansion of STI human resource development, (3) social implementation of STI achievement through enhanced utilization of ICT. This would contribute to the sustainable development of the Japan-Africa equal partnership.
Reference 2: Science and Technology Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dr. Teruo KISHI, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, was appointed as the first advisor in September 2015, and has been conducting various activities since then. The Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs supports the activities of the Minister for Foreign Affairs on matters of science and technology, aims at strengthening the collaboration with the advisers and related parties in the science and technology field of other countries, and advises the Minister for Foreign Affairs and related departments on how to incorporate matters of science and technology in the planning and drafting process of its various foreign policy strategies.
Reference 3: Advisory Board for the Promotion of Science and Technology Diplomacy
In December 2015, Fumio KISHIDA, the then Foreign Minister, gathered experts from various fields of science and technology under the Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and established the ‘Science and Technology Diplomacy Advisory Network’ to utilize their knowledge and experiences in the planning and drafting process of foreign policy strategies including Japan's top diplomacy and high-level international conferences. As part of this attempt, he appointed experts from the related fields to the member of ‘Advisory Board for the Promotion of Science and Technology Diplomacy’ (currently 17 members including Dr. KISHI).