Updated on: 2020-03-29
| Response | |
|---|---|
| Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? | In Japan, the Headquarters of the Novel Coronavirus Disease Control headed by the Prime Minister has been established to comprehensively and strongly promote government measures against COVID-19. Under the Headquarters, the Expert Meeting on the Novel Coronavirus Disease Control has been held to provide advice on measures against COVID-19 from the medical perspective. |
| Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? | ・Japan participates in the conference call with government science leaders around the world hosted by the United States to gather and provide information on COVID-19. ・The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), together with research support agencies and journal publishers around the world, signed a statement on sharing research data and findings relevant to the COVID-19 outbreak and working to ensure that this does not disadvantage the publication of scientific papers. ・The National Institute of Infectious Diseases（NIID）has succeeded in isolating the novel coronavirus, and provided it to countries around the world for research and development without compensation. |
| Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? | Accurate information is provided through multiple measures such as the website of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsui... |
| Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? | ・The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) support R&D projects on diagnostic methods, treatment methods and vaccines for COVID-19 by additional grant (1.44 billion yen in total). ・AMED supports to develop an R&D platform to immediately respond to emerging infectious disease epidemics such as COVID -19 by additional grants (2.5 billion yen in total). ・Additional grants of Health Labour Sciences Research Grant supports confirmation of therapeutic effects of existing drugs and creation of diagnostic kits for COVID-19 (1 billion yen in total). ・Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes) supports basic research for the development of preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic agents, including the collection and analysis of COVID -19 information and samples (50 million yen in in total). ・AMED and others support the development of immediate testing equipment for novel coronavirus. (0.3 billion yen in total) |
| Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | Relevant ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) MHLW, AMED, and NIID are addressing this issue in collaboration with other stakeholders including universities and industry. |
| Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | [Left blank] |
| Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? | See answers provided to Q3. |
| Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? | In the short-term, research exchanges and international research collaboration are expected to stagnate due to restrictions on overseas travel. MEXT has permitted the flexible use of funds for the support of researchers' overseas travel, and has been working to ensure that research exchanges will be promoted as usual after the situation is improved. In the medium- and long-term, it is expected that private investment for R&D will decrease due to economic recession. Additionally, the needs of providing scientific evidence in order to adequately respond to infectious diseases and the importance of further deepening international cooperation for addressing infectious diseases will grow. It is necessary to establish a framework for sharing knowledge and data on infectious diseases across countries. |
| Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? | The ongoing support for research and development on COVID -19 is being conducted as a measure against infection. |
| Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? | [Left blank] |