In the 21st century, we face environmental, energy, and communication problems on a global scale. Each problem has the potential to overturn our present social system, and nations that neglect these problems will inevitably fall backward. Furthermore, sometimes problems that originate in one nation, or only a handful of nations, can touch the entire world. Global warming, the Year 2000 computer problem, and radioactive contamination are prime examples.

The necessity for environmental research will increase more and more in the future. Under what principles should we carry out such research? I want to emphasize the following 3 necessities: to conquer what I will call the "illness of separation"; to promote international, interdisciplinary, and interregional linkages; and to maintain a "bird's-eye view" of the world.

There are 3 forms of "separation" illness. One is the separation of knowledge from knowledge, as seen in the exclusive devotion to a single paradigm or the use of technical jargon. Next is the separation of knowledge and action, as is found in the isolation of virtual and actual, and of theory from practice. The last is the separation of knowledge and feelings, as seen in the practice of narrow objectivism and the detachment of knowledge from reality. In performing environmental research we must resolve these separations as much as possible.

To me, the process of "internationalization" includes the sincere consideration of a partner nation's position, without turning a confrontation of opinions into a confrontation over feelings, and without discriminating in terms of nationality, race, religion, political view, economic structure, wealth or poverty, sex, or ethnicity. Internationalization cannot be disregarded in the effort to solve environmental problems occurring across space.

The concept of "interdisciplinary" linkages is self-explanatory. "Interregional" linkages start with the recognition that no environmental research can occur without the need to move across regional boundaries.

In this way, "international," "interdisciplinary," and "interregional" are the keywords of environmental research.

The "bird's-eye view" of the world has been the greatest achievement of humanity in the 20th Century. Humans have now looked down at the earth from the highest altitudes for the first time in the history of civilization, and in this way have gained a profound emotional understanding of the continuum of past, present, and future. In leaving footprints on the moon and confirming that there is no life on Mars, we have gained new insights that have enabled us to contemplate the state of all humanity and the entire Earth.

Humans have attained today's great prosperity in the course of their endeavors to acquire greater benefits for the individual. Our environmental problems have arisen from this historical focus on the self, but history has taught us that we need to change our focus from the self to others, and that our scientific endeavors need to include consideration of the environment. There can be no future for the Earth and its inhabitants if we do not aim at the symbiosis of self and others. Nature operates well according to this principle, and it is important that our own environmental research organization should operate similarly.

In an organization, the balance between self and others is elusive, whereas the potential for collision between self and others is ever-present. By exercising wisdom, cooperation, and vitality, we aim to construct a system of symbiosis between self and others at NIAES.

Our environmental research will continue to move forward, supported by our collective will to conquer the illness of separation, to promote international, interdisciplinary, and interregional linkages while maintaining a bird's-eye view, and to form a symbiosis of self and others. From such a vantage point, NIAES performed many of its activities in the 2002 fiscal year. We held an international conference with our counterparts in China and Korea and concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with these countries. We began joint research projects with 10 prefectural agricultural research institutes. We also established 2 committees to liaise between environmental research institutes. I expect that these activities will gradually bear fruit, as is already apparent in this annual report.

Katsuyuki Minami
     Director General