A draft statement by the Science Council of Japan, the nation's largest and most influential group of scientists, makes clear the organization will uphold its long-standing vow that scientists will not take part in military-related research. The draft also warns that the Defense Ministry's program to provide funds to research institutions for the development of dual-use technologies risks increasing government intervention in scientific research.
The statement would have no binding power and it stops short of calling for abolition of the Defense Ministry program or prohibiting researchers from taking part in it. Still, it will be significant for the council to express the scientific community's resolve to protect academic freedom and fulfill researchers' social responsibility in the face of two major forces — the lure of research funds provided by the government and growing chances that the fruits of scientific research will be used for military purposes through the spread of dual-use technology. Members of the council, in a plenary meeting next month, should adopt the draft and fully digest its messages.
The SCJ's earlier vows — a "firm determination" expressed in 1950 that scientists in Japan will never engage in research projects designed to achieve military purposes, and a similar statement issued in 1967 — were made to reflect on Japanese scientists' past cooperation with the government's war efforts.