Persistence of the Deficit Model in Japan's Science Communication: Analysis of White Papers on Science and Technology

Abstract

Given the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Japan is at a major point to reevaluate its policies on the public communication of science. However, the government's self-reflection on their measures and policies of science communication has been inadequate. This study reviewed and analyzed descriptions of science-related public communication in the successive Japanese white papers on science and technology (S&T) from 1958 to 2015 with quantitative-qualitative hybrid approaches. Traditional enlightenment activities have always been given higher priority, even after the S&T Basic Plan aimed at two-way science communication, and have used such justifications as “the shying-away of young people from S&T,” “accountability for research investment,” and “problem-solving on issues related to S&T and society,” without considering the reality of science communication.

Keywords:

• science communication
• public understanding of science
• deficit model
• science and technology policy
• Japan

Acknowledgments

I thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions on earlier drafts of this article. This work was supported by a grant-in-aid from the Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education (A-050).

Notes

 1 The S&T Basic Law, based on a bill sponsored by a cross-party group of lawmakers, was enacted in 1995 to achieve a higher standard for S&T and to contribute to the development of Japan's economy and society, the improvement of the nation's welfare, the progress of S&T in the world, and the sustainable development of human society by prescribing basic policy requirements for S&T promotion (excluding those relevant only to the humanities) and comprehensively promoting policies for S&T progress. Similar current policies in other Asian countries are China's National Medium- and Long-Term Program for Science and Technology Development (2006–20) and Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (2016–20) and Korea's Basic Law of Science and Technology (2001) and Third Basic Plan of Science and Technology (2013–17).

 2 The full text of the fifty-three white papers on science and technology is publicly available in Japanese at http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/kagaku.htm (accessed 3 March 2016); English translations of papers dated 1999 and after are available at http://www.mext.go.jp/en/publication/whitepaper/index.htm (accessed 4 January 2017).

 3 The S&T Basic Plans are available in Japanese at http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/kihonkeikaku/index4.html and in English at http://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/basic/index.html (accessed 3 January 2016).

 4 The Council for Science and Technology Policy, chaired by the prime minister, was established in 2001 and changed its name to the Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation in 2014.

 5 The Center for Research and Development Strategy (CRDS) published an interim report with a panoramic view of science, technology, and innovation policy (CRDS 2015) using a database of S&T measures and policies appearing in the white papers (NISTEP 2013). In the report, CRDS categorizes all S&T measures to date into ten groups; measures related to science communication are categorized into the field of STS along with measures related to STEM education and to ethics.

 6 Quotations from the S&T Basic Plans are from the English-language website; see note 3.

 7 Unless otherwise stated, quotations from white papers dated before 1998 are translations by the author.

 8 Project 2061 is an initiative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to advance long-term literacy in science, mathematics, and technology; see http://www.project2061.org/ (accessed 22 August 2016).

 9 Even after 1995, the white papers never mentioned the Tokyo subway sarin attack directly, the reasons for which are not clear, but possibly because it was recognized not as a general matter related to S&T and society but as a special incident perpetrated by a cult. Timing could have been a factor as well, especially with regard to waiting for clarification of the affair.

10 Unless otherwise stated, quotations from white papers dated 1998 onward are provisional translations published by MEXT.

11 Typically, the white paper in 2011 would have reported on the performance of the previous fiscal year (April 2010 to March 2011). However, that paper included some urgent proposals after 3.11 in its preface and part 1. Thus, in the analyses presented in this section 3.2, the 2011 white paper is included in phase 4. In contrast, in the analyses presented in section 3.1, that paper is included in phase 3, because the text of the sections analyzed there reported on the performance in 2010.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Seiko Ishihara-Shineha

Seiko Ishihara-Shineha is assistant professor of the Komaba Organization for Educational Excellence, College of Arts and Science, at the University of Tokyo. She received her PhD in biostudies from Kyoto University in 2009 and then worked in research planning and management at Teijin Ltd., a materials/chemical manufacturer, from 2009 to 2012. She was a member of the Cross-Boundary Innovation Program at Osaka University, where she was an assistant professor from 2012 to 2015. Her current research focus is on practice and policy analysis of transferable skills training for researchers.