Japan's attempts to rein in a budget deficit could crimp spending on science. Last week an advisory council to new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recommended a "large-scale reduction" in funding for public corporations, which include several major science agencies.
CREDIT: NASA
The main targets of the cuts are the bodies that run Japan's toll roads and airports. But the budget ax may also fall on RIKEN, the country's largest collection of research labs; the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, which leads the nation's efforts on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project; and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), which leads Japan's contribution to the international space station and other space activities (such as satellite launch, above). The overall goal is a 20% cut in the $44 billion allotted to public corporations, according to media reports. A NASDA official says that the space agency will "probably be affected, but we just don't know how."
