Five years after Fukushima: Scientific advice in Japan

Abstract

In the last 5 years, scientific advice has emerged as a new policy theme in Japan. In 2010, virtually no one in Japan’s science policy circle spoke of scientific advice. By 2015, Japan was proactively involved in international discussions on scientific advice, and both the government and the scientific community recognized it as a key area of concern. This article describes how the issue of scientific advice came to attain recognition in Japan’s science policy community in the first half of the 2010s. It can be regarded as a study of a case in which attention to scientific advice greatly increased in a relatively short period of time and progress towards the goal of constructing an effective national scientific advisory system was witnessed. In Japan’s case, two coinciding developments powerfully drove the phenomenon observed: The unfolding of debate on the roles and responsibilities of scientists and the government, prompted by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster in March 2011; and a parallel surge in attention to scientific advice in the international community. Having considered the path that Japan has taken, the last part of this article will call for the nation’s sustained effort to be engaged in ongoing international endeavours to strengthen scientific advice. This article is published as part of a collection on scientific advice to governments.