This strategic proposal presents policy recommendations to further strengthen the implementation of “Mission-Oriented Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (MOIPs)” in Japan, with the aim of addressing global societal challenges (“grand challenges”).
Addressing grand challenges–such as achieving carbon neutrality and enabling the transition toward a sustainable and resilient society–requires long-term, complex, and systemic efforts. These challenges cannot be resolved solely through individual technological innovations or research and development (R&D) investments; rather, they necessitate the transformation of entire socio-technical systems, including institutional arrangements, industrial structures, local communities, and citizen behaviour.
MOIPs is a policy approach designed to address such challenges by setting concrete, measurable objectives with a defined timeframe (“missions”) and by mobilising a comprehensive mix of policy instruments, including R&D, regulation, financial incentives, public procurement, and measures for societal deployment and uptake. Since the late 2000s, as STI policy has increasingly shifted towards directly addressing societal challenges, MOIPs have gained international recognition as a “third generation” of STI policy. In OECD and EU countries, cross-national and cross-regional missions have been developed in areas such as climate neutrality, cities, health, and food and soil.
Against this background, the Center for Research and Development Strategy (CRDS) of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) has conducted continuous analyses focusing on international trends and policy debates related to MOIPS. In its previous strategic proposal published in 2022, CRDS emphasised the importance of “cross-sectoral integration and coordination between STI policy and sectoral policies”, including governance arrangements across ministries and agencies, implementation structures, and institutional design covering the full spectrum from R&D to societal deployment.
At the same time, through practical experiences across countries and ongoing international discussions, several structural challenges of mission-oriented STI policy have become evident. The OECD has identified, inter alia: (i) the “STI-only trap,” where initiatives remain confined within STI policy and fail to connect with sectoral policies or markets; (ii) the “orientation-only trap,” where missions are articulated but weakly translated into concrete implementation designs; and (iii) the “policy-only trap,” where government-led approaches do not sufficiently mobilise voluntary engagement from the private sector or local communities. These challenges stem largely from the difficulty of establishing integrated governance mechanisms that span policy design, implementation, monitoring, and iterative learning.
In Japan as well, progress has been made through the establishment of multiple long-term strategies, sectoral plans, and R&D programmes–particularly in areas centred on carbon neutrality–resulting in initiatives that resemble MOIPs. Fields such as climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and the circular economy, where Japan possesses advanced experience as a “front-runner” in societal challenges, provide a strong foundation for further development. However, to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of MOIPs, critical challenges remain, including: strengthening cross-ministerial policy coordination; improving alignment between national and regional policies; and establishing management functions grounded in scientific evidence and medium- to long-term perspectives to support these linkages.
In light of these circumstances, this strategic proposal presents two key measures to further strengthen the implementation of MOIPs in Japan.
Measure 1. Establishing Core Enabling Functions to Support Mission Setting, Policy design, and Implementation at National and Regional Levels
The proposed core enabling functions comprise three interrelated components:
Together, these functions enable both temporal continuity–from policy design through R&D, regional experimentation, and societal deployment–and vertical connectivity across policy levels, linking national, regional, and sectoral actions. Given the breadth and long-term nature of these functions, it is neither realistic nor desirable for them to be undertaken by a single organisation. Instead, consortium-based arrangements involving universities, public research organisations, and funding agencies represent a more viable and effective model.
Measure 2. Operationalisation of Regional Missions and Further Promotion of Policy Alignment and Coordination
Under this approach, national-level missions are reinterpreted in light of specific regional contexts and challenges, and articulated as “regional missions.” Their effectiveness is enhanced through systematic reviews and reconfiguration of existing policy measures, the formation of regional innovation ecosystems that actively engage local stakeholders, and the implementation of region-based projects such as R&D and demonstration activities. In particular, regional missions should be framed not only as contributions to addressing global challenges, but also as opportunities to generate positive local innovation dynamics. Equally important is the parallel design of mechanisms that allow successful regional outcomes to be scaled up and diffused at the national level.
Through these measures, Japan can further deepen a MOIPs framework that mobilises R&D alongside institutions, markets, and regions in an integrated manner, with societal challenge resolution as its central objective. Beyond accelerating the solution of pressing societal challenges, such an approach is expected to enhance the visibility of the social value of public investment in science and technology, foster resilient regional innovation ecosystems, and enable Japan to internationally showcase a transformative model of MOIPs.
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