A new era for EU-Japan collaboration

In 2009, the EU-Japan Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement was signed. This came into force in 2011, with the mission of promoting research excellence. With the adoption of a Joint Vision in 2015 and a document called the New Strategic Partnership in Research and Innovation between the European Commission and the Government of Japan, this was strengthened. The adoption of this document promoted joint research areas in key thematic areas, established a vehicle for the joint funding of research and innovation projects, developed measures to enhance the mobility of researchers and promoted public engagement to enhance the visibility of EU-Japan cooperation in research and innovation. In 2018, a Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed, which was the first-ever bilateral framework agreement between the EU and Japan. The goal was to enhance cooperation on issues of common interest, including regional and global challenges. In 2020, Japan and the EU signed a letter of intent to make their collaboration in science, technology and innovation more robust, agreeing on the need to work together to overcome key global challenges. In 2021, Japan and the EU strengthened their digital cooperation with a shared commitment to an inclusive, sustainable and human-centric digital transformation. A project called JEUPISTE (Japan-EU partnership in innovation, science and technology) that ran from 2013 to 2017, sought to facilitate research and development, informing researchers about opportunities for collaboration within Horizon 2020 and Japanese funding programmes, and building and strengthening researcher networks.