Engaging Society, Changing Society

摘要

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced the Japanese Government's Fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan early in 2017, he outlined his thoughts on what he calls Society 5.0, or the 'supersmart society'. He predicted that Society 5.0 will be a fifth step in an evolution away from the industrial and information societies, at the culmination of which "all things are connected and all technologies fuse". We will address the rapidly changing landscape of science and technology as RIKEN enters its next seven-year phase, which was outlined in April 2018 as part of our fourth mid- to long-term plan. RIKEN's reforms under the new plan address three specific agendas: to help raise the overall standard of science and technology in Japan; to act as a catalyst for innovation through research; and, to provide greater stability to RIKEN's personnel by offering more indefinite-term employment contracts. These changes also tie into adjustments linked to RIKEN's move from an Independent Administrative Institution to a Designated National Research and Development Institute in 2016, which came with the promise of more flexibility in funding and an increased responsibility to initiate new high-level research systems.