Japan's Stimulus Invests in Science

Part of the stimulus package announced by the Japanese government will include $11 billion for science and technology, bringing the total governmental support for science to $57 billion, ScienceInsider reports. Broken down, that means $958 million for infrastructure support, $359 million for developing new medical treatments or drugs, and $2 billion to encourage collaborations between academia and industry.

"Of course to guarantee long-term growth, there must be investment in basic research and human capital," Reiko Aoki, an economist at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo and a member of the Cabinet's Council for Science and Technology Policy, says. Aoki adds that those areas should be addressed in the next fiscal year's budget.