tokyo

Science and technology are among the beneficiaries of the Japanese government's largest-ever economic stimulus package, which was unveiled on Monday (16 November) and aims at kick-starting the nation's ailing economy.

The package aims to create one million jobs and restore economic growth by the end of the 1999 fiscal year. The core of the measures focuses on public works projects and rescuing the ailing banking and business sector. But the government's initiative includes provisions for creating businesses through ‘commercially applicable research’.

The public works projects will include the construction of new campuses at national universities and plans to build an ‘international science village’, a project supported by science-related ministries to create an international centre to promote scientific research (see Nature 393, 5; 1998).

The ¥24 trillion (US$204 billion) package features ¥8.1 trillion for a ‘social infrastructure programme’ aimed at developing the infrastructure needed for areas such as telecommunications, science and technology, education and the environment.

The programme includes plans to construct information highways — a project to create fibre optic networks — and a ‘next-generation transport’ system, as well as plans to support ‘future technology’, especially biotechnology.

Going for growth: Japan's prime minister Keizo Obuchi unveils his new spending plans. Credit: AP/KOJI SASAHARA

A significant portion of the funds will go towards projects linked to environmental protection, including research into the effects of endocrine disrupters which the government has listed as one of its top priorities (see Nature 392, 748; 1998).

Keizo Obuchi, Japan's prime minister, said the package is “the first step towards directing the Japanese economy back on a path of sustainable economic growth within two years”. The measures are expected to be financed by the government's third supplementary budget, details of which are expected to be announced this month.