For resolving social issues that are increasingly more complex, the transition from science and technology (S&T) policy to science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy is prominent in Japan as well as in Europe. Moreover, in order to create innovations desirable for society, integration of intellectual resources is necessary, and accordingly expectations and demands towards social sciences and humanities (SSH) are increasing. Under the recognition of such background, JST and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) concluded a memorandum concerning comprehensive cooperation (MoC) in June 2015.
As part of the cooperation in compliance with the said conclusion of MoC, RISTEX co-organized the 1st Franco- Japanese International Workshop "Engaging Society in Innovation and Creativity: Perspectives from Social Sciences and Humanities" in Paris, France, in the same year, with the Fondation France-Japan de l'EHESS (FFJ) and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). This is followed by two workshops in Tokyo: the 2nd workshop/open forum "Innovation Beyond Technique" in September 2016, and the 3rd workshop in December 2018 which was held on the occasion of the EHESS delegation visiting JST.
In addition, in June 2019, an international symposium "Growth, Innovation and Inequality - What the World Can Learn from Japan" was held in Paris to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the founding of the FFJ. In November 2020, JST participated in the Inaugural meeting of the Cercle de la FFJ which was established to promote collaboration within and among the international network and members of FFJ, and under the theme of "Which cooperation between Japan and France in the new post-Covid-19 environment?," fruitful discussions were held which would strengthen the cooperation between France and Japan. The second annual meeting was held in November 2021, which included a session titled "Artificial intelligence and the future of work."
