To the stars!

Or at least the farthest reaches of the human body. So saith Prime Minister Abe. Not only is he big on defense spending, the PM is intent on reaching into all sorts of exciting new research and saving the world through government investment in science. Sounds good to me. I just hope the bond markets are cool with bankrolling yet more pie in the sky research while the Japanese national debt creeps towards 300% of GDP.

安倍首相「世界一目 指せ」＝山中教授に 支援約束

安倍晋三首相は１１日午後、神戸市の理 化学研究所発生・再生科学総合研究セン ターを訪れ、人工多能性幹細胞（ｉＰＳ 細胞）の開発でノーベル医学生理学賞を受 賞した山中伸弥京都大教授らと懇談した。 首相は「安倍政権では世界に展開できる分 野に集中的に投資する」と支援を約束し た。 首相は実際にｉＰＳ細胞を顕微鏡で観 察。その後の懇談で、再生医療の研究に今 後１０年間で約１１００億円を支出する政 府方針を伝えた。山中教授は「一円も無駄 にすることなく、さらに力を合わせてまい 進していきたい」と応じた。 視察を終えた首相は記者団に「やはり世 界一を目指さないと駄目だ。未知の分野に 挑戦していく精神があって初めて大きな成 果が出てくるんだろう」と感想を語った。

http://jp.wsj.com/article/JJ1276540245529453430311977557 0750431283654.html

Prime Minister Abe “Aim to be #1 in the world” –Promises to support Professor Yamanaka

On the evening of the 11 th , Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Developmental Biology Center at the Institute for Physics and Chemistry in Kobe and met with Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on man-made pluripotent (iPS) stem-cells. The Prime Minister promised his support saying, “The Abe administration will provide focused investments in fields that can be expanded globally.”

The Prime Minister observed iPS stem-cells under a microscope. In his discussion after that, he revealed a government policy of supporting research in regenerative medicine with an 110 billion yen investment over 10 years. Professor Yamanaka responded by saying, “Without wasting a single yen, I hope to continue working through our combined efforts.”

After his observation, the Prime Minister told reporters, “It’s a waste for us not to aim to be best in the world. If we have the intent to venture into unknown territory, who’s to say we have brand new, big results?”