President Nakamura’s participation in Japan-Spain Symposium

Strategic International Research Cooperative Program
http://www.jst.go.jp/inter/english/sicp/index.html

President Nakamura participated as a panelist in the Japan-Spain Symposium held on October 3, at Keidanren.

The he Japan-Spain Symposium was held for the first time in 1997, and it has been contributing to strengthen the collaboration between both countries as experts from both countries have gathered and exchanged knowledge in specific fields since then. The 16th symposium was held in a grand style as part of the opening events in Japan to celebrate the “400th Anniversary of Japan-Spain Relations,” which started from the dispatching of the Keicho Mission to Europe in 1613.

Starting with the opening speeches from President Rajoy, Mr. Fumio Kishida (Minister for Foreign Affairs), and others, an active exchange of opinions was carried out on two themes; “Innovation as the driving force of growth: Cooperation in science and technology between Japan and Spain at present and in the future” and “Cooperation in markets of developing countries.”

President Nakamura appeared on the platform as a panelist during the “Innovation as the driving force of growth: Cooperation in science and technology between Japan and Spain at present and in the future” session, and he suggested that while science can transcend our five senses, such as discovery of DNA, it is necessary to recognize the light and shadow of it. Moreover, he emphasized that Japan is eager to establish the world-class centers nationwide to accelerate innovation, and international collaboration and globalization are necessary to revitalize Japan.

JST is supporting the collaborative research among Japanese and Spanish researchers by means of the “Strategic International Research Cooperative Program” and “Connecting and Coordinating European Research and Technology Development with Japan (CONCERT-Japan)” program. JST will deepen the relationship within organizations in both countries through this symposium and contribute to the development of the collaborative research by researchers of two countries.