Czech Research and Development on Display in Japan

23 May. 2007 | CzechInvest | The third annual Czech-Japan Science and Technology Days will begin tomorrow in Japan.

More than 100 participants are expected to attend, including 37 representatives of the public, academic and private sectors from the Czech Republic. Like last year, the event is being organised by CzechInvest and the Czech Technical University in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, and the Academy of Sciences. The event is being held under the auspices of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek.

“The aim of the event is to present and offer to Japanese partners the possibility of expanded cooperation between both countries in the areas of innovation, research and development,” says Josef Lebl, CzechInvest’s specialists on Japanese investment. “In terms of investment volume of projects mediated by our agency, Japan is second only to Germany. We have received signals that many of the 193 Japanese firms registered in the Czech Republic want to expand their activities here in the area of research and development in the near future,” Lebl adds.

The main meeting in the course of the Czech-Japan Science and Technology Days will take place in the form of a one-day seminar which will be held tomorrow in Tokyo. Confirmed Japanese participants include all three concerned ministries, i.e. Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT); Foreign Affairs (MoFA); and Trade and Industry (METI), as well as other organisations such as the Federation of Economic Organisations – Nippon Keidanren and the Japanese External Trade Organisation – JETRO.

In addition to questions of organisation, support and financing of research and development, the professional part of the programme will focus on presenting the existing possibilities of investment and cooperation in these areas. The Czech representatives will also present opportunities for joint enterprises and utilisation of business incubators, new science and technology parks and technology-innovation centres. The seminar will feature the participation of a range of Japanese firms, including Toyota Motor Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric, Osaki Electric, Sanyo Electric, Japan Steel Works, Aoyama Seisakusho, RS Dynamics, Shin-Etsu Chemical and others. A representative of the Czech Space Alliance will inform the participants of the Czech Republic’s involvement in European space programmes. Specialised sections of the event will focus on the latest results of Czech research and development in four priority fields – biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, natural sciences and technical sciences. Following the seminar, the Czech delegation will visit a research centre in Yokosuka and the National Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba.

The Czech delegation will be led by Pavel Komarek, Deputy Minister of Education. “This is the third meeting of Czech and Japanese partners in the area of research and development. A tradition has thus already been established, and I hope that these events will continue to be organised and supported in future,” says Komarek.