"The National Institute of Science and Technology Policy — an organization affiliated with MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) — conducted a survey titled “The 9th Science and Technology Foresight” under grants-in-aid from the Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology (FY2009). The objective of the survey was to clarify the policies to be taken in the fields of science, technology, and innovation in view of coping with future challenges. For this purpose, extensive discussions were held on an out-of-the-box basis while considering the direction to take for the future, whereby the focus is placed on the sciences and technologies that contribute to solving the global and national challenges. The mission-oriented approach (specifically aiming at solving the global and national challenges) and the interdisciplinary approach (out-of-the-box discussion crossing the boundaries of existing disciplines) characterize the methodology employed in this survey..."Japan. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology