According to a report by the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 22nd, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology plans to launch a new project starting in the next fiscal year to provide subsidies to universities and research institutions involved in the development of new technologies, focusing on developing alternative materials for resources highly dependent on overseas supplies, such as rare earth elements, naphtha, and copper. The main areas of support, besides using more readily available raw materials to replace these resources, include reducing the consumption of these resources and developing recycling technologies. To this end, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has included 10.4 billion yen (approximately 89.9 billion won) in its budget request for the next fiscal year.
