Session Details
Rethinking Career Paths for Early-Career Researchers: Insights from the "10 Critical Issues" of the Young Academy of Japan
Sun. Jul 19, 2026 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM JST
Sun. Jul 19, 2026 5:00 AM - 6:30 AM UTC
Sun. Jul 19, 2026 5:00 AM - 6:30 AM UTC
Oral Presentation 1(Classroom 301)
Chair:Saki Sugano(Aoyama Gakuin University)
Language: Japanese, English Slides available
The Young Academy of Japan (YAJ), part of the Science Council of Japan, brings together researchers under 45 across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. In 2023, YAJ published its perspective paper, "The Outlook for Science and Society in 2040: 10 Critical Issues" The document identifies structural challenges surrounding early-career researchers and proposes solutions, including promoting interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research, establishing career paths in science diplomacy, reducing household burdens of education costs and closing gender gaps, reforming academia's overwork culture, and expanding opportunities for PhD holders beyond academia. This session opens with an overview of the 10 issues, followed by presentations from YAJ members in diverse fields, including medicine and public health, engineering, and the humanities and social sciences. Each speaker will reflect on their own career path through the lens of the 10 issues, sharing concrete experiences of moving between academia, government, international organizations, and industry; conducting research abroad; and balancing career development with childbirth and caregiving. Through dialogue with participants from Japan and overseas, the session will explore how research ecosystems can enable the next generation to thrive across borders, disciplines, and sectors. In doing so, the session responds to the central theme of this forum: how to nurture and support the people through whom science and technology can contribute to a peaceful and equitable society.