A Certain Hope for High Performance Ceramics and Innovation in Manufacturing Processes

Japanese ceramic industry has developed as an industry that provides parts and materials with outstanding characteristics to a number of other industries such as semiconductors and electronic equipment etc. The importance of ceramic products is expected to increase in the future, as we have seen advanced ceramics inducing new leading-edge products. “High Performance of Ceramics and Manufacturing Process” is one of the programs of A-STEP Stage I Industrial needs response type which provide a fund in fundamental research and development of technologies to bolster Japanese industrial competitiveness by contributing to the solution of technical issues common in industry. I hope that 11 projects in the program which started in 2016 will reach outcomes adopted by the industry in the near future. The outcomes will support not only industrial competitiveness and new industries but also solution of huge issues such as global warming which threatens human survival. I hope that cooperation of the members concerned will lead to the development of high performance ceramics and innovation in manufacturing processes of ceramics and contribute importantly to the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals.