Cablegate: Nih Dr.Zerhouni's Visit to Tokyo

VZCZCXRO3804
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #5867 2830716
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100716Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7224
INFO RUEHZN/EST COLLECTIVE
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 8365
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 8070
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 0906
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 1736
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 9441
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS TOKYO 005867

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/J
DEPT PASS TO NIH/DR.ZERHOUNI
HHS FOR OGHA/STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO JA
SUBJECT: NIH DR.ZERHOUNI'S VISIT TO TOKYO

1. Summary. On September 13, NIH Director Dr. Elias
Zerhouni visited Tokyo to attend the JST-NIKKEI Science
Symposium after his participation in the STS Forum in
Kyoto. In his meetings, Dr. Zerhouni exchanged opinions
with officials at the International Medical Cooperation
Center of Japan (IMCJ), Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science (JSPS) and Japan Science and Technology
Corporation (JST). End summary.

2. Dr. Takehiko Suzuki, President of IMCJ and Dr. Satoshi
Kimura, former Director General of IMCJ's AIDS Clinical
Center, current President of Tokyo Teishin Hospital
visited the Embassy to discuss further cooperation on the
US-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program. Dr. Suzuki
discussed research at his hospital on lifestyle diseases
and explained IMCJ's extensive clinical research on
diabetes. Dr. Zerhouni and Suzuki discussed the
importance of clinical research and the difficulties in
getting research funds and scientists to engage in such
research. They agreed that this was a challenge both in
the United States and Japan.

3. Dr. Zerhouni met with Mr. Motoyuki Ono, President of
the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and
other JSPS officials. Dr. Zerhouni and Mr. Ono exchanged
opinions on training programs on infectious diseases and
research funding systems in universities. Mr. Ono noted
that JSPS was interested in training programs for Japanese
researchers and also in finding ways to support programs
for researchers in developing countries. Mr. Ono pointed
out that Japanese universities were losing their
competitiveness. He believes the closed system makes it
difficult for researchers to move. JSPS officials were
very interested in NIH's funding system for researchers
and universities which enables researchers to move to
other universities and keep their research grants.

3. Mr. Kazuki Okimura, President of Japan Science and
Technology Agency (JST), Dr. Koichi Kitazawa, Senior
Executive Director and Dr. Hiroo Imura, Principal Fellow
introduced their major research programs which JST funds
such as Exploratory Research for Advance Technology
(ERATO), Core Research for Evolutional Science and
Technology (CREST) and Precursory Research for Embryonic
Science and Technology (PRESTO). JST is the second
largest funding institute in Japan following JSPS. This
fiscal year JST has a USD 800 million budget and JSPS has
USD 1.5 billion. They also talked about the importance of
training project evaluators as an integral part of the
research granting business. Dr. Zerhouni and the JST
officials exchanged views on how to ensure that research
funding goes to deserving projects. They shared ideas on
how to make adequate funds available for young researchers
and how to design programs to identify promising high-risk
research.

4. Dr. Zerhouni was invited to the JST-NIKKEI Science
Symposium on the Future of Medical Science and its Impact
on our Lives as a speaker. He made a presentation in the
symposium on a vision for transforming medicine in the
21st Century.

SCHIEFFER

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