Amid concerns about the decline in Japan's scientific and technological prowess, we are pleased to announce the Science Japan Meeting 2025 with the theme of "Enhancing Science in Japan Through Industry-Academia Collaboration." This important conference will bring key figures from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), such as the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Science and its sister journals, to Japan. They will join experts from Japan's leading academic institutions and those involved in industry-academia collaboration to discuss and make recommendations on critical issues related to the enhancement of science in Japan.
At this meeting, we will examine the latest trends in research and development and the current state of scientific publishing, bringing together experts from a wide range of fields, including academia, companies involved in the implementation of research outcomes, and national organizations responsible for promoting science and technology. We aim to create a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences, exploring the path forward together to pave the way for the future of science in Japan.
We sincerely invite and seek the participation and cooperation of all those who contribute to the enhancement of science in Japan.
Event Date:
2025/03/10 (月)
Time:
12:00-17:00(Networking 17:00-20:00 ※By invitation only)
Venue:
Kyoto University Clock Tower Centennial Hall (Centennial Hall, International Exchange Hall)
(Address: Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 606-8501, JAPAN)
*The meeting will be held on-site only.
*AI translation is planned to be implemented.
*The meeting will be conducted in English.
(Opens an external site)
Program
Timeline ( JST ) | Session Title |
12:00- | Opening |
13:00- Opening | AAAS and Science Publishing - Latest Global Trends Bill Moran, Publisher of the Science Family of Journals |
13:20- Keynote Speech | Science: Present and Future of Science Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science Family of Journals |
14:00- Speech 1 | Ever-Present Challenges of the Research World Mitinori Saitou, Director,Insitute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University 京都大学 高等研究院ヒト生物学高等研究拠点(WPI-ASHBi)拠点長 斎藤 通紀 氏 |
14:30- Speech 2 | Research Funding in a Changing Environment Executive Director, The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) 独立行政法人日本学術振興会 理事 水本 哲弥 氏 |
15:00- Sponsored Session Current status and challenges in research and development | Adarsh Sandhu Board of Directors, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), R&D Division, Noster Inc. |
Hiroyuki Kanda Deputy General Manager & Head of SBU SBU Rigaku Oxford Diffraction, Product Division Rigaku Corporation | |
Tomoyuki Igawa Vice President, Head of Research Division Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | |
16:00- Panel Discussion | What Can We Do to Enhance Science? Moderator: David H Kornhauser, Director of Global Communications, Kyoto University |
17:00- Closing | Nagahiro Minato, President, Kyoto University 京都大学 総長 湊 長博 氏 |
18:00- Networking | Message from Fuyuki Ishikawa, Vice-President, Kyoto University ※By invitation only |
20:00 | End |
Speakers
Speakers (in order of appearance, titles omitted) | |
![]() | Bill Moran, Publisher of the Science Family of Journals Bill Moran is currently the Publisher of the Science Family of Journals. In his role, Bill and the publishing team are responsible for content, rights and permissions, licensing, scientific meetings, publishing collaborations, advertising, outreach, Science Careers and all publishing operations. |
![]() | Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science Family of Journals Holden Thorp became Editor-in-Chief of the Science Family of Journals on 28 October 2019. He came to Science from Washington University, where he was provost from 2013 to 2019 and professor from 2013 to 2023. He is currently a professor at George Washington University and on leave to serve as the Editor-in-Chief at Science. |
![]() | Mitinori Saitou, Director, Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University Mitinori Saitou received his M.D. and Ph.D. (under Prof. Shoichiro Tsukita) from the Kyoto University, and performed his postdoctoral work at the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute (with Prof. Azim Surani). He was appointed team leader at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in 2003. He was appointed Professor at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in 2009, and Director of the JST ERATO program in 2011. He was appointed Professor at the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study (KUIAS) and Director of Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi) in 2018. His work focuses on the mechanism and reconstitution in vitro of germ cell development in mice, non-human primates including great apes, and humans. |
![]() | Tetsuya Mizumoto, Executive Director, The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Tetsuya Mizumoto was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in March 1979, a Master of Engineering degree in Physical Electronics in March 1981, and a Doctor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in March 1984, all from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), Tokyo, Japan. He began working for Tokyo Tech in April 1984 as a research associate in the Faculty of Engineering and became an associate professor in March 1987. He was promoted to full professor with the Graduate School of Engineering in April 2004. From October 2012 to March 2018, he served as Vice-President for Education at Tokyo Tech, and became Executive Vice-President for Education in April 2018. In October 2021, he began serving as Executive Director at Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), while working at Tokyo Tech. He retired from Tokyo Tech in March 2022. Currently, he is serving as Executive Director at JSPS. His research fields are applied optics, photonic circuits, and information and communication engineering. His research activity has been concerned mainly with waveguide optical devices, especially magneto-optic devices and all-optical switching devices based on the third-order optical nonlinearity. Dr. Mizumoto received the Treatise Award in 1994 and the Best Letter Award of Electronics Society Transactions in 2007 from the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE). He was awarded the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Photonics Society Distinguished Lecturer Awards in July 2009, IEEE Fellow grade for “Contributions to investigations of waveguide optical nonreciprocal devices for optical communications” in January 2012, and IEICE Achievement Award for “Pioneering work on optical nonreciprocal circuits” in May 2012. He is a fellow of IEICE, member of the Japan Society of Applied Physics, and the Magnetic Society of Japan. |
![]() | Nagahiro Minato, President, Kyoto University After graduating from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Medicine in 1975, Dr. Minato worked as an associate researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1977–80, before receiving a doctorate in medicine from Kyoto University in 1983. Following clinical practice at the Kyoto University Hospital, he was appointed as professor of immunology and cell biology at the university’s Graduate School of Medicine in 1992, where he served as dean from 2010–14. His main interest is immunology, a field in which he has published approximately 220 scientific papers throughout his career. In 2002, he invented PD-1 checkpoint blockade cancer immunotherapy with Dr. Tasuku Honjo. After serving as Kyoto University’s provost and executive vice-president, Dr. Minato was appointed as president in 2020. |
![]() | Fuyuki Ishikawa, Vice-President, Kyoto University Graduated from The University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine in 1982. After working as a Postdoctoral Fellow in University of Colorado (Supervisor; Thomas R. Cech Professor), he was appointed Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1992, Professor there in 1998, and Professor at the Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University in 2002. He has served as Vice President of Kyoto University since 2022, and as Deputy Director-General of Kyoto University Office of Research Acceleration since 2025. His scientific interest is chromosomal stability and adaptive responses to sublethal stress in cancer cells. |
Panel discussion moderator | |
![]() | David H Kornhauser, Director of Global Communications, Kyoto University David Kornhauser facilitates interaction with global media for the Kyoto University community. Previously pr head for KyotoU’s iCeMS and then KURA, David has extensive international communications experience, having served with the United States foreign service in China, Austria, and Japan; Japanese television and government in Washington DC; and corporate and public sector communications in Japan. He has appeared as a commentator on NHK World’s Science View since 2021. David majored in physics and then continued in international relations in graduate school. He is a native of Honolulu HI and is fluent in English, Japanese, and German. |
Organizer
Organizer: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Co-organizer: Kyoto University
Support: Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Council on Competitiveness-Nippon (COCN),
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Kyoto Prefecture
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (scheduled)
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (In application)
Contact
Contact Information:
Science Japan Office (c/o ASCA Corporation)
Rie Rambelli Phone: +81-3-6459-4174 rrambelli@aaas.org
Miyuki Tani Phone: +81-6-6202-6272 mtani@aaas.org