![Koichi Akaishi](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/medien/1/bilder/koichiakaishi-768x744.jpg?h=a1d8c70a&itok=WIEhS3rm)
Koichi Akaishi
Koichi Akaishi, Vice Minister for Innovation Policy is the very person who established Japan’s Moonshot Research and Development Program. As the Vice Minister of the Cabinet Secretariat, he supervises Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Information Technology Policy, Space Policy, Ocean Policy, Healthcare Policy, and Intellectual Property Strategy in Japan. With the aim to develop radical solutions for difficult societal challenges, the Government of Japan (GOJ) established the Moonshot R&D Program, allocating a budget of more than 100 billion Japanese yen (about one billion US dollars) for five years as seed money. GOJ is now setting out the Moonshot Goals for the program. GOJ welcomes international collaboration and international participation in the Moonshot R&D Program.