Below is the provisional translation of the original Japanese seminar: 第95回STIG PoPセミナー
[The objective of the bioeconomy seminar series] Since a bioeconomic report was created by the OECD in 2009, many countries in Europe and the United States have developed policy documents highlighting the bioeconomy and the momentum for the bioeconomy has been growing. It has also been declared in the Bioeconomic Strategy 2019 that Japan will create the world’s leading bioeconomic society by 2030 and update and promote its bioeconomic strategy every year. However, the bioeconomy concept is extremely broad and its specific overview is not sufficiently certain. This seminar therefore aims to invite experts of domestic/international trends and share information about the current status of bioeconomic developments with the participants. Through this interaction, we will consider the significance, strengths, and challenges of bioeconomies.
● Seminar Information
Date and time: September 7, 2020 (Monday) 1:00 PM ~ 3:40 PM
Venue: SMBC Academia Hall, International Academic Research Building, The University of Tokyo and online streaming (Zoom) (hybrid format)
Organizer: Education and Research Unit , Science, Technology, and Innovation Governance (STIG), The University of Tokyo
Co-organizer: SIP’s (Strategic Innovation Promotion Program on Technologies for Smart Bioindustry and Agriculture) consortium for public understanding (Masashi Tachikawa and Makiko Matsuo, in charge of overseas regulatory trends)
Number of participants: 34
● Program
Session 1: The international bioeconomic trends
(1) Current status and challenges of bioeconomies: Makiko Matsuo, University of Tokyo
(2) International bioeconomic trends: Yoshiyuki Fujishima, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) (National Research and Development Agency)
Session 2: Bioeconomy Strategy 2020 and materialization of bioeconomic society
(1) Bioeconomic Strategy 2020 and Japan’s bioeconomic policies: Sachiko Mori, counselor to the Director General for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office
(2) The materialization of bioeconomic societies: Tatsuya Wada, Chief Official, Bio-Industry Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Discussion
● Session report
Makiko Matsuo of University of Tokyo started off by explaining the purpose of this study session and the current status and challenges of bioeconomies. Although various countries have created bioeconomic policies since the development of OECD’s report in 2009, no common definition exists between the countries as pointed out in a report by the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM, 2020). There are various visions for driving the economy such as through biotechnology, biological resources, and circulation of the ecosystem (circular economy) (Bugge et al 2016). Hence, although such diversity has the advantage of promoting liberal development, it also requires indices and certain clarity for it to become a strategy. Matsuo pointed out that since Japan’s bioeconomic strategy entails creating a bioeconomic society by 2030, it is vital to first understand how Japan as a nation is grappling with this concept and the kinds of government policies that are being developed.
Next, Yoshiyuki Fujishima from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) (National Research and Development Agency) explained the international bioeconomic trends. He pointed out that the definition and concept of bioeconomy are being discussed by the OECD and various Western countries, and the recent trend has been to integrate circular economies and bioeconomies under the concept of SDGs. He also explained the background behind the discussions taking place at and various reports from OECD and the Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS) (an international conference led by Germany) as discussion platforms on a global level. He also touched on the actions being taken by each country such as Japan, the U.S., and the European countries.
Next, we had Sachiko Mori, counselor to the Director General for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office explain the Bioeconomic Strategy 2020 and Japan’s bioeconomic policies. The grand design illustrated in the Bioeconomic Strategy 2019 developed in 2019 indicated five basic policies which defined the ideal societal vision and nine market areas. Based on this grand design, the bioeconomic strategy is to be updated every year. In light of the aforementioned, the Bioeconomic Strategy 2020 was developed in June 2020, which suggests the following: (1) add R&D efforts to counteract the novel coronavirus infection; (2) promote data linkage to facilitate market acquisitions; (3) formulate global biocommunities and local biocommunities; (4) implement measures pertaining to the market areas defined in Bioeconomic Strategy 2019; (5) strengthen the functions of the bioeconomy strategy command center.
Lastly, Tatsuya Wada, Chief Official, Bio-Industry Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry explained the ministry’s initiatives for (1) the smart cell industry and (2) biofoundries. He reported on the various results of the ministry’s initiatives for the smart cell industry, which maximizes biological functions through biological development (biological information), digital technology, and AI. He also gave specific examples of the ministry’s initiatives in and trends of foreign countries in promoting biofoundries, which are a technological package that automate and integrate necessary equipment for developing technologies related to synthetic biology, etc.
09.07.2020