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In 1981 JST initiated an innovative research effort called Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology - ERATO - for fostering the creation of advanced science and technology while stimulating future interdisciplinary scientific activities and searching for better systems by which to do basic research. Within the ERATO program JST acts as a Producer in selecting innovative, scientifically versed, key individuals - Directors - who are responsible for setting up exciting motifs and selecting young, talented, international Performers. The atmosphere of this adventure would be like a "science fishing club."
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JST uses a scheme of surveys for intensively tapping the opinions of the young generation at universities and industry, as well as personal contacts and data banks, to identify individuals who stand out as being strongly supported by young researchers. Thus, the Performers select the Directors with whom they would like to work. Having personal charisma and imagination are as important as being a good scientist. Still, each Director must have deep insight into the problems that must be dealt with and have the overall responsibility for executing and managing his or her project. In measuring the "soft" quality of leadership the ability to stimulate is more important than being very directive. Based on these reviews JST chooses the young candidates and the project Directors are then selected by the Research and Development Council of JST, comprising both scientists and industrialists from public and private sectors, and are recommended to its president.
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Within the framework of a "re-launching" of ERATO in 2002, MEXT identifies several strategic research targets every year. Based on these targets, JST identifies the best project Directors. The details of the project themes then evolve from the visions of the Directors with the help of JST to attract both academic and industrial participation in each project. The fields of research are broad and concern many unexplored and precompetitive regions of science and technology. Themes that are fashionable or trendy are eliminated in preference of those that are emerging and challenging. Since the research motifs provide only starting points, without goal-oriented restrictions, a broad spectra of disciplines are invited to participate in any project. In these projects, "science" and "technology" are not differentiated.
One feature of the ERATO program is that each Director has a supporting project office to take care of administrative details. Each project team comprises between 10 and 20 researchers usually grouped into 2 to 4 sub teams. Interestingly, over time ERATO has evolved from a strictly domestic program to an international, borderless one. This first took the form of one research group being located abroad, but has been extended to cases in which the project Director is located outside Japan.
To tap the creative spirit and ideas of youth, teams usually comprise young Ph.D.-type scientists and engineers in their early thirties coming from a heterogeneous mixture of world-wide academic, government, private and individual sectors. Thus, the ERATO program also serves as a good place for young scientists to gain the experience and discipline necessary to become future professional leaders. ERATO also functions as a learning ground for individuals who can later stimulate and refresh creative basic-research atmospheres along side the near-term technological goals of private industry.
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JST administers and fully funds the ERATO program. Members of project teams are employed by JST on a yearly contract, renewable for between two and five years.To maintain independence and flexibility, JST has no research facilities of its own; thus, research is carried out in cooperation with research parks as well as various academic, industrial and other institutions in rented laboratories, sometimes at several convenient locations. Uniquely, the laboratories and project offices are established near to the selected Directors and their principle colleagues in the projects, instead of having them move to preestablished locations. JST headquarters, project managing offices and research facilities are linked by a communication network.
All results from a project are the common property of JST and the members of the project team. Any patent right that has resulted from a project is shared in an agreed manner by JST (50%) and the members (50%) directly responsible for the invention for which the patent has been granted. The portions of the patent right belonging to members can be transferred to their home institutions upon termination of the project.
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After 20 years of activity, the ERATO program has proved to be more successful than had been expected and has become highly rated both in Japan and abroad. JST judges the "success" of ERATO projects not only on the successful development of research themes within a project, but also whether the projects produce "clues" for the next generation of research. JST believes that the eventual evaluations of the ERATO projects are ultimately done by society, including industry and future efforts. To aid such an ultimate evaluation, JST develops systems that comprise external evaluators, and opens the results to society. Within this frame of thinking, JST also puts its utmost effort into continuously providing information to society, by which it can make its own evaluations. Intensive efforts are put into organizing symposia both inside and outside Japan, as well as producing special seminar publications and media reports to the general public. The time conceived to detect the response of society is about 10 years. JST keeps tracking the activities of researchers and their ERATO results after completion of projects.
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It is crucially important that research results are brought to their best possible maturity. For this purpose, JST is continuously organizing interested academic circles and companies in diverse fields so that they can develop those results from basic research likely to lead to innovative technologies.
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The success of the ERATO program has led to the launching of three programs: ICORP (International Cooperative Research Project) in 1989, PRESTO (Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology) in 1991 and CREST (Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology) in 1995. ICORP is an international version of the ERATO program, which is conducting 5-year, 50-50 cosponsored, twined, joint-research projects involving two key individuals, their institutions and the funding organizations, located in both Japan and abroad. By these programs, JST is aiming to help to establish borderless scientific adventures. The other program, PRESTO, is aimed at providing open pastures prepared by respected senior scientists for individual young researchers to develop their emerging abilities, by supporting and stimulating their embryonic research for three-year periods. JST is continuing to put efforts into developing newer innovative research programs in global science and technology. The third program, CREST, has been established to encourage Japan’s basic research by invigorating the potential of universities, national laboratories and other research institutions with the clear aim to build up a tangible foundation for future directions of Japan’s science and technology.
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