This is the last year of the first mid-term plan after the incorporation (privatization), and the hard working of evaluation has been carried out. As exemplified by this kind of a bit too much evaluation work and the fatigue of faculty members due to this, Japanese academic policy is still quite serious. It would be necessary to seriously reconsider the present system from the view-point of permanent national policy. The development of “science and culture” is fundamental and very crucial for Japan to be an advanced cultural country.
The nationwide network system for efficient use of research equipments in chemistry, which has been constructed in order to prevent the collapse of the basis of scientific research in Japan with the participation of 72 national universities, is still financially poorly supported. However, we further work hard to make this system a solid one. In future it would be necessary to build up a much more stable budgetary framework than just a request from one institution. We believe that this kind of network system must be effective in other fields of science and is very economical and useful even in the case that the government budget becomes much healthier.
The special programs for the operation of which the IMS is taking a major responsibility have been carried out nicely. In the Asian Core Program, not only a variety of collaborative researches are going well, but also various activities to stimulate young scientists are regularly performed. In addition to this, the Jenesys (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange of Students and Youths) program has started in order to foster and exchange young scientists in East Asia. The grand challenge to next generation integrated nano-science in the next-generation supercomputer project has entered a full-scale activity stage. Furthermore, two new programs, “Quantum beam technology program” and “Photon frontier network”, have started within the framework of the national project of “Basic technology development to form core research centers for photon and quantum beam sciences”.
In order to strengthen the research system, the IMS research assistant professor positions are created from April, 2009.
Considering the present national policy that tends to incline to the technological innovation and short-sighted research projects, we, scientists, should keep appealing the significance of promotion of“science and culture”as a permanent national policy, and at the same time we should strive to pursue basic scientific researches of high quality and originality. As I always say, we should devote to that by pursuing the consciousness of“truth, good, and beauty”, and furthermore the consciousness of“myo（妙）”higher than the former.
April, 2009
NAKAMURA, Hiroki
Message from IMS Director-General
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