Breakthrough discoveries and cutting-edge technologies in life science and clinical research area are driving our lives healthier and more sustainable.

Cross-interactions between various disciplines, such as clinical medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, informatics, and engineering are the key to deliver rapid advances in analytical methods, tools, and technologies, which are vital for attempts to decipher the rules of life. In addition, it is noteworthy that data science is becoming more and more important in the field of life science and clinical research, as researchers in this field are dealing with big data in various aspects. Multi-disciplinarity is crucial also in the process, where the outcomes of fundamental research turn into game changing innovations as a series of social applications; not only the technological robustness, understanding of various social aspects, such as social demands, market trend, legal requirements, economic viability, start-up company ecosystem, social acceptance of advanced technologies have to be assessed. An iterative interaction can be observed during the process in which social implementation of advanced technologies; application of new technologies derived from fundamental research often present new subjects that have to be addressed by further fundamental research. In this cycle, strengthening the relationship between science and society is essential, particularly through addressing Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) and promoting Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). Rapidly advancing technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science are playing an increasingly significant role, serving as driving forces that further accelerate this cycle.

Here we report the latest trends and topics in life science and clinical research area, ranging from basic to applied research activities, moreover, the social issues, such as science/technology policies, social demands, market trend, legal requirements, ethical issues, economic viability, start-up company ecosystem, social acceptance of advanced technologies are also assessed. The report mainly covers the recent topics in Japan with comprehensive comparison to global trends. During our analyses on the social aspects, we have identified that truly effective technologies/solutions are much sought after, and more importantly, such solutions also have to be concurrently sustainable in various aspects. The word "sustainability" doesn't only mean to ensure the earth's natural systems which can support humanity's safe operation, but also includes the adequate/just use of medical/human/economic resources, which are also finite. The concept that combines the sustainability of earth's natural systems and human health is known as "Planetary Health" which was originally proposed by Horton et al., in the Lancet journal in 2014. In many cases, several factors are so closely interrelated that it is almost impossible to have an intuitive solution that resolves the conflicting interests of best efficacy and sustainability. Thus, what we have to pursue is not the ultimate efficacy, but the better-balanced solution over the conflicting various interests. In order to see better-balanced solution, an objective evaluation of the solution from various aspects, including social impacts, needs to be made numerically.

In this 2026 edition, a comprehensive summary of life science and clinical research area is provided in this Overview Report by Field, while recent advances in science/technology in each topic are detailed in Trends Report by Discipline; in total 24 topics were categorised into 3 sections. The topics were carefully selected from the aspects of social impact, newly emerging, and fundamental importance. The "Health and Medical Care" section dedicated for research and development related to human health, sustainable bio-manufacturing related topics are described in the section of "Agriculture and Bioproduction", and emerging technologies serving for the advancement of both human health and bioproduction research area were outlined in the section of "Basic and Fundamental".

Based on the above, the following seven directions of research & development (R&D) that are important for Japan have been identified.

• 1) Realization of predictive and preventive medicine and health care
  • - Elucidation of disease onset and progression mechanisms; development of diagnostic and predictive technologies utilizing AI and data; development and evaluation of novel intervention strategies; fundamental research on infectious diseases and development of control technologies.
• 2) Research and development of diverse drug modalities
  • - Exploration of next-generation modalities; development of advanced drug discovery platform technologies (including drug delivery and evaluation systems, and manufacturing technologies); innovation of drug discovery processes using AI and big data; identification of therapeutic targets through human biology research.
• 3) Improving the sustainability of agricultural, food, and bioproduction
  • - Development of advanced technologies for AI-powered precision agriculture; integration of food system data; creation of new technologies utilizing diverse biological functions; R&D contributing to food security.
• 4) Integrated understanding of life phenomena and elucidation of mechanisms
  • - Analysis of networks across cells, tissues, organs, and biological systems; observation and analysis of multi-scale and multi-item dynamics; utilization of human samples, clinical data, and bioresources; integrated understanding through AI and data utilization.
• 5) Innovation of Common Foundational Technologies in Life Sciences
  • - Advancement and integration of spatiotemporal measurement and analysis; development of biotechnologies; development of foundation models for life science; application to health, medicine, agriculture, and bioproduction.
• 6) Establish R&D Digital Transformation (DX) infrastructure (AI and data)
  • - Promotion of AI technology development and utilization; establishment of data integration/utilization infrastructure; acceleration of laboratory automation and open science; collaboration between dry and wet research, and development of human resources.
• 7) Building an R&D Ecosystem
  • - Promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration; strengthening university hospitals and medical schools; development of core facilities; establishment of innovation ecosystems; fostering of interdisciplinary human resources.

The R&D directions that Japan should pursue are outlined in points 1) through 5). As essential R&D foundations necessary to promote these areas, points 6) and 7) play a critical role. With the rapid advancement of AI technologies, particularly the remarkable development of foundational models and generative AI since the end of 2022, the importance of constructing the R&D DX infrastructure, as described in point 6), has been increasingly emphasized. The development and utilization of life science-specific foundational models, acceleration of drug discovery research through AI, AI-assisted clinical practice and diagnosis, and AI-powered precision agriculture exemplify the rapid application of AI technology across a wide spectrum -- from basic research to diverse practical applications -- in the fields of life science and clinical research. The use and development of AI technologies are indispensable and critical themes for the future advancement of these fields. For effective utilization and development of AI, it is extremely important to build data infrastructures that enables large-scale collection, integration, and effective use of high-quality data. Furthermore, establishing systems that bring together interdisciplinary researchers, including those from mathematical and information sciences, are required.

In addition, the construction of innovation ecosystems, including fostering start-ups and venture companies and developing human resouces, is said to be crucial to promoting these R&D systems, and it is important to continue to make strategic efforts based on Japan's systems and structures.