Japan-EU Horizon talks kick off amid dual-use concerns

Japan has started formal negotiations to enter the European Union’s Horizon research programme, which is reaching out to countries outside the EU that share its democratic values, but academic opposition in Japan to military-linked research may limit its participation in some dual-use research.

Formal negotiations with Japan to become an associate member were launched on 3 December. Associate membership marks the closest form of bilateral cooperation on science and technology with the EU. Once negotiations are completed, Japan will join 19 existing and prospective associate countries, including South Korea, whose membership is scheduled for 2025.

“Japan’s participation as a top researcher in science and technology and as a member of the Group of Seven (G7) represents a major contribution in Asia towards collectively solving challenges facing the world,” said Axel Karpenstein, director of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Tokyo Office, who closely follows Japan and Europe’s research and innovation policies.

“Japan and the EU face similar geopolitical conflicts linked to similar research interests,” said Karpenstein, pointing to fundamental democratic values shared by Japan and Germany.

Horizon Europe has a budget of €93.5 billion (US$98 billion) over a seven-year period that ends in 2027. Japan would pay an agreed sum into the central Horizon funding pot, paving the way for Japanese participants to compete on an equal footing with their European counterparts for EU grants.

Negotiations are for Japan to be part of Horizon Europe’s Pillar 2 projects which focus on partnerships and collaboration to tackle societal challenges with academics and companies working on EU-defined challenges and priorities.

Under Pillar 2, Japanese researchers can receive funding to lead and coordinate Japanese research and innovation projects while deepening collaboration with partners in the EU and associated countries.

National security

The Japanese government has emphasised that science, technology and innovation play an indispensable role in diplomacy as well as more directly in addressing global challenges such as infectious diseases and climate change.

National security is becoming a priority in G7 countries facing the rise of authoritarian foreign governments. Japan’s defence policy has identified strategic collaboration in Asia to contain the threat posed by China’s military expansion in the region. Western Europe is also grappling with the ongoing Ukraine war after Russia invaded that country in 2022.

Military-linked research and development is being boosted against this backdrop, but misgivings have emerged within some countries of the EU and in Japan with regard to domestic defence research.

A group of experts advising the European Commission on the successor agreement for Horizon Europe, which begins in 2028, recommends it should focus on greater cooperation globally.

But the advisory group has also come out in favour of allowing dual-use research and technologies as part of the new seven-year programme. Dual-use technologies have military as well as civilian use.

The European Commission in a white paper published in January 2024 proposed three different ways to boost dual-use research including “exploiting synergies” in existing Horizon programmes, removing exclusive civilian focus in some parts of the new post-2028 programme, or creating a new instrument for dual-use research.

Consultations are still ongoing. However, some proposed changes could cause problems with some associate countries, including Japan. Others may be subject to EU restrictions on joining certain research projects, EU officials acknowledge. The EU already has the power to exclude associate countries from certain ‘sensitive’ calls.

Academics in Japan are divided over defence-related research being conducted in universities which they say drags academics into defence-related matters.

A statement in 2024 by the Japanese Coalition Against Military Research, a coalition of scholars across Japan, reiterated opposition to past moves by the Ministry of Defence around a decade ago to fund research projects in universities for dual-use technologies that could be used for military purposes.

Global challenges

Japanese universities are not newcomers to Horizon Europe. An agreement in 2012 opened the way to research funding for joint proposals by universities, private companies and other institutions.

“Participating in Horizon Europe was an opportunity to work together for a global solution to world issues. The vision of research belongs not to one country but is a collective effort. In our field of earth-sciences it is nearly impossible to conduct research entirely on one’s own,” said Professor Takafumi Hirata at the Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University.

An expert on Arctic biodiversity changes, he was able to collaborate with EU researchers to gain information on other parts of the Arctic as part of a two-year research project that ended in May this year.

Other important research collaboration areas for Japan include clean energy projects to tackle climate change, life sciences, advanced medical science transfer, especially in the STEM areas and big technology such as artificial intelligence. Japan is also recognised for its global expertise in quantum research and bioengineering technology.

In fiscal 2020, for instance, the fifth round of calls for proposals led to the launch of research on e-health focusing on the development of telemedicine as a solution to the shortage of doctors in Japan, according to a white paper issued by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Outgoing European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, said in a statement at the end of November: “The opening of the negotiations on the association of Japan to Horizon Europe marks a step change in our cooperation.

“For both the EU and Japan, research and innovation are key to ensuring competitiveness and achieving the green and digital transitions. Together, we will be able to reach them faster and find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.”

UWN Asia Editor Yojana Sharma contributed to this article.