Japan has achieved remarkable industrial and economic development since World War II, becoming one of the world’s leading economic powers. It is requested to fullfill its international responsibility to make a reasonable contribution to the benefit of mankind. Although Japan is poor in natural resources, it has attained rapid scientific and technological progress in the fields of iron and steel, polymer chemistry, automobile manufacturing and electronics , depending heavily on the introduction, improvement and development of overseas science and technology. All of these industries have grown into major export industries.
At present, however, due to increasing international competition and restrictions on energy and other resources, Japan is facing extremely serious circumstances, confronting many difficult problems and recognizing to perform further intensive and sophisticated research and development in basic science and technology to cope with these conditions. Looking back over the history of developments in science and technology, we find that research on materials constitutes the basis for deverlopment. It is clearly apparent that scientific and technological progress has required materials with increasingly higher functions, and that the development of new materials has in turn, brought about radical progress in new fields of science and technology.
The significance of these materials promises to increase further in the future and the development of advanced materials that may break down barriers confronting science and technology is attracting special notice as a subject for future research. Under these circumstances, we have now Established the “Iketani Science and Technology Foundation” for the purpose of contributing to socioeconomic development through scientific and technological progress by making efforts to promote studies on advanced materials and facilitating international exchanges to break down technological barriers and create seeds for technological innovation.