Japan needs to promote joint projects between the government and the private sector to strengthen its industrial technology, government and business leaders agreed Thursday at a state panel on beefing up industrial competitiveness.
At the fourth meeting of the Competitiveness Commission, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi asked business leaders to make concrete proposals at next month's meeting on what the private sector can do to nurture prospective markets for the future, such as those pertaining to the elderly, natural environment, biotechnology and information technology.
He also urged them to offer ideas on what kind of support the government should provide.