The government is turning its eye to the nation's universities in a bid to uncover a potential gold mine in venture business ideas and help lift the economy out of its prolonged slump.
Under the ambitious goal of creating in three years 1,000 venture businesses originating from universities, the government is boosting entrepreneurial education programs and providing venture capital funds.
The goal, set in September by the Headquarters for Industrial Structural Reform and Employment Measures, headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, aims to use the research findings of universities and research institutions to kick start a series of venture businesses.