213 chapter nine Integrated Solutions to Complex Problems: Transforming Japanese Science and Technology Masaru Yarime Japan’s isolation from the outside world ended in the mid-nineteenth cen- tury, and the Meiji Restoration brought to power a modernizing elite that introduced Western science and technology to serve national goals. 1 The new government invested domestic resources to transform the country and cre- ated a military-industrial complex that brought victory in the Russo-Japa- nese War and challenged the Allied Powers in World War II. Defeat in 1945 ended support of research and development for military purposes, and eco- nomic growth became the national priority. The oil supply crises in the 1970s induced a shift from an industrial structure based on heavy industries to one that emphasized resource-efficient sectors. Many government-led projects developed energy- and resource-saving technologies such as photovoltaic cells that could be commercialized by private firms. When the real estate and stock market bubble collapsed in the early 1990s and globalization accelerated, the national objective became achieving eco- nomic recovery by strengthening industrial competitiveness. The govern- ment created a Basic Science and Technology Plan and implemented policy and regulatory changes to promote university-industry collaboration. Today Japan faces serious societal challenges such as climate change, an aging pop- ulation, and natural disasters. The Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 shook public trust in scientists and engineers, reminding the nation that scientific knowledge must address urgent problems but has its limits. After a brief overview of science and technology from the Meiji Restora- tion to the years of recovery from World War II, I will look at three periods: