Japan and the EU are aiming to expand cooperation in science, including collaborating on high-profile ‘moonshot’ projects and the ethics of artificial intelligence.
Fresh from a bilateral summit one week ago, held to review the implementation of the Japan-EU free trade agreement, EU Research commissioner Carlos Moedas met Japan’s Science Minister Takuya Hirai in Brussels, to explore how to deepen research ties.
The presence of Hirai in Brussels signalled Japan is considering whether to join the EU’s upcoming R&D programme, the €94.1 billion Horizon Europe, and also highlighted broader research ambitions in Europe.
The European Commission is planning to offer new and improved entry terms to Horizon Europe, allowing researchers in third countries that become associate members and contribute to the budget, to participate in EU R&D projects under the same preferential conditions as researchers in member states.
Brussels officials suggest that, alongside Canada, Japan is probably at the top of the list of countries the EU would like to become an associate member. The relationship between the two has been deepening following the implementation of the trade deal in February, which will remove 97 per cent of the customs duties on EU exports to Japan. The agreement covers a quarter of the global economy.