What is the regulatory science? Concept and history in United States and in Japan │ Interview with Professor Sheila Jasanoff │ *
Background:The termregulatory sciencewas proposed in Japan by Uchiyama in 1987 and analytically reviewed in English literature in 1996. On the other hand, in the United States (US), one of the earliest uses of the term in analytical literature was by Jasanoff in 1990, in her book The Fifth Branch. Objectives:The objective of this interview is to clarify the beginning, history, and meaning of the term �regulatory sciencein the US as compared to Japan. Findings:Through this interview we found the following: (1) In US, Jasanoff first proposed the concept of regulatory science in an analytical way, though there may be some isolated mentions before; (2) to say Weinberg is the founder of this concept is wrong, as he proposed the concept oftrans-scienceto refer to the policy-relevant fields for which scientists have no answer, whereas the termregulatory sciencerefers to science generated to give answer to political questions; (3) in US, regulatory science is discussed in relation to all policy areas requiring scientific knowledge for their resolution, whereas in Japan it is discussed mainly in the field of pharmaceutical development.; (4) in US, regulatory science is not considered the same as policy science, whereas in Japan policy studies, such as regulation or guideline development, is included inregulatory science�; (5) science studies scholars in the US see regulatory science itself as including some subjectivity and hence as needing criticism in order to reveal the sources of possible bias, whereas Japanese opinion tends to regard scientific knowledge as generated objectively.