To date, the chemical industry has been providing large areas of industry and society with a range of raw materials and products, and has been playing a major role in our affluent lifestyles by supporting state-of-the-art technologies.
　　In recent years, new problems on a global scale have become a cause of considerable concern. These problems include the global environment, resources and energy. It has become imperative for the chemical industry to find solutions to these problems through the development of innovative technologies, thereby playing a role in promoting the creation of new industries and of sustainable development of society into the future. As can be seen with the development of solar power generation and various types of batteries in recent years, chemical reactions and chemical raw materials have attained the status of materials that provide essential functions for basic components and processes in industry. The time has come in which new chemical technologies play an active role as the foundation of the development of various industries, and it is strongly expected that the chemical industry will contribute to these developments from this point forward.
　　At the same time, the technologies for solving problems have become increasingly sophisticated year after year, paralleled by greater international competition in the field of science and technology, including chemical technologies. These trends can be seen in project systems and suchlike on a national level in Europe, America and elsewhere. These days, a country's future depends on its science and technology capabilities.
　　To address these problems in future, it is imperative for the chemical industry to improve basic chemistry and to improve the basis for research and development. It is also imperative to improve intellectual technologies that lead to innovative technologies for being internationally competitive. Therefore, improved competitiveness in various industries that utilize chemical technologies is an urgent problem for Japan. It is necessary to establish a system that enables a comprehensive and systematic strategy to be implemented together with the initiatives of individual businesses. This objective should be achieved through the full and unprecedented cooperation between the industries that use chemicals, academia and government, without being confined by the boundaries that separate industries.
　　Against this background, it was decided that the new frontier business of the Association for the Progress of New Chemistry (a corporate juridical entity) and the strategy promotion business of the Chemical Technology Strategy Promotion Organization (a foundation), both having considerable expertise and vitality, would be integrated to create a new public benefit corporation, namely, the Japan Association for Chemical Innovation. The new association has been established in response to the reforms to the public benefit corporation system.
　　The association is Japan's only organization that has the momentum to promote new chemistry into the future and, as such, it strives to develop and strengthen Japan's international competitiveness, and to facilitate improvement in various industries. In this way, the organization will contribute to the sustainable development of society and sound economic growth. The association will help to create innovative technologies and improve the basis for intellectual technologies that lead to the establishment of new industries by sharing an awareness of the issues regarding the direction of development of new chemistry in the future. The association will provide a forum as a common platform for all stakeholders in the chemistry field, and promote projects, including strategic plans and initiatives for chemical technologies in the future. The association will communicate and coordinate chemical technologies, and transmit information within Japan and overseas, as well as support the research and training of human resources, etc.
　　Please note that the organization engages in its new business by restructuring and expanding the Association for the Progress of New Chemistry by integrating the Technological Strategy & Planning Division of the Japan Chemical Innovation Institute. We hope that existing members and others with an interest in the chemicals field will take the opportunity of the establishment of the corporation to participate enthusiastically in its activities.