The advanced industrial democracies face new and complex challenges. Domestically, pluralization of values has been further advanced, necessitating complex policy responses to diverse social needs. Globally, growing interdependence has seen domestic interests and the interests of other countries become more closely entwined, requiring greater policy coordination among nations. Faced with such developments, a greater awareness of the needs for serious policy research in the fields of political and economic affairs has emerged in Japan, and a greater recognition of the need to promote such policy studies through international collaboration.

This report is the second part of a study conducted by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) on behalf of the National Institute for Research Advancement for the purpose of surveying research activities of leading policy research organizations in the United States, Western European countries, and Japan. Like the first, it categorizes information on policy-oriented research and publications covering areas of politics, economics, and global issues and makes the research findings available in English. The information was mostly obtained from annual reports, study papers, publication lists, newsletters, and other available published materials sent by research institutes in North America and Europe to JCIE. The appendix lists the members of the Japan Association of Independent Research Institutes. Also included are index by institute name and a subject index.