STS in Japan and East Asia: Governance of Science and Technology and Public Engagement

STS in Japan and East Asia: Governance of Science and Technology and Public Engagement Yuko Fujigaki Received: 15 October 2009 /Accepted: 15 October 2009 /Published online: 18 November 2009 # National Science Council, Taiwan 2009 1 Introduction In this paper, I will provide an overview of the development of Japanese science and technology studies (STS) by focusing on the governance of science and technology and public engagement in Japan. First, I will discuss the interaction and development of several STS research groups in Japan since the 1980s and outline the process by which the venue for the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) 2010 annual meeting was decided. Second, I will focus on the governance of science and technology and public engagement in the Japanese context by discussing several case-studies such as that of the Minamata disease (mercury poisoning) and the itaiitai disease (cadmium poisoning). In addition, by referring to the case of the Monju nuclear power plant incidents, I will show that the Japanese society is now shifting from a technocratic model to a more democratic model in decision making in science and technology. This transition has been in parallel with the shift from the deficit model to lay expertise model or to the public participation model in science communication. Third, I will mention science communication funding provided by the Japanese government and analyze the gaps between government-driven public participation programs and grassroots public participation, and government-driven public understanding of science (PUS) and science communication. Finally, the universal nature and culturally bound aspects of STS concepts will be discussed. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: an International Journal (2009) 3:511–518 DOI 10.1007/s12280-009-9110-9 Y. Fujigaki (*) Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: fujigaki@idea.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp 2 Background of 4S 2010 in Tokyo Table 1 shows the development of several STS research groups in Japan. For example, STS Network in Japan (STSNJ) was established in 1990 and the first president of STSNJ was Hideto Nakajima. In 1992, the Japan Journal for Science, Technology and Society was established by Japanese Association for STS (JASTS), and Miwao Matsumoto currently has overall responsibility for this journal. In 1998, the International Conference on STS was held in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. This conference was organized by Yōichirō Murakami and there were 245 Japanese participants and 127 foreign STS researchers (including invited speakers.) This conference enhanced exchange among several STS research groups in Japan and promoted international discourse on STS. It became one of the stepping-stones for the establishment of Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies (JSSTS) in 2001. The first president was Tadashi Kobayashi. The total membership of JSSTS was about 200 in 2001, but by 2009, it had reached around 600. The International Conference on STS in 1998 encouraged the involvement of Japanese researchers in the governance of 4S. For example, Hideto Nakajima was elected to the council of 4S and served on the council for the period 2000-2002. Yuko Fujigaki and Miwao Matsumoto also served on the council in 2003-2005 and in 2009-2011, respectively. Yuko Fujigaki was also included in the program committee of the 4S 1999 meeting in San Diego, the 4S and the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) 2008 meeting in Rotterdam, and the 4S 2009 meeting in Washington D.C. This involvement eventually led to 4S 2010 being held in Tokyo jointly with JSSTS. At both the 4S 2005 council meeting in Pasadena on October 19 and the business meeting on October 22, the 4S community expressed an interest in having an Asian meeting. In particular, the outgoing and incoming Presidents Bruno Latour and Susan Leigh Star both supported the idea of holding a joint meeting in Asia. The Council for the Japanese Society of STS, which at the time had 511 members in Japan, met on November 12, 2005 and agreed to propose a 4S-JSSTS joint meeting in 2010 in Tokyo. The proposal of 4S 2010 in Tokyo by JSSTS was discussed at the 4S 2006 council meeting in Vancouver on November 1, and accepted at the business meeting on November 3. JSSTS was...