The first Reunion was held at Conference Square in the Shin-Marunouchi Bldg. in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo on Friday, December 1.

The total number of researchers and co-researchers funded by the 1st to 8th grant programs of the Canon Foundation since its establishment in 2008 is 321 persons. The Canon Foundation considers this community of researchers — individuals who play active roles across a variety of disciplines — to be important assets assembled through the Foundation's research grants. This reunion was intended to promote further communication between researchers and provide a common focus for researchers in different research fields and to serve as a place in which these assets could be applied in a meaningful manner. This was the Canon Foundation's first-ever reunion.

A total of 108 individuals were in attendance at the reunion, including the directors, members of the screening committee, researchers from funded organizations, and others involved in the Canon Foundation. The managing director, Satoshi Kondo, began the proceedings by explaining the purpose of the reunion. The chairman, Toshiaki Ikoma, then presented a lecture titled "Research, Development and Innovation in Science and Technology."

In the context of the declining status of scientific research in today's society, Dr. Ikoma pointed out the issues facing many research and development projects. He also discussed the nature of innovation and the intrinsic relationship that should exist between scientific research and technological development.

The chairman also captured the audience's attention by addressing various other themes, such as how to select a research topic, adopting an appropriate subject, and how to identify good researchers. During the subsequent question-and-answer session and exchange of opinions, the mindset of researchers in Japan today was one of the topics addressed. An active discussion ensued.

The chairman continued by stating that gaining knowledge that integrates a variety of fields is very important in the world of science. In concluding the lecture, Dr. Ikoma asked the participants to be proactive in making use of what they had learned at the reunion.

During the subsequent social gathering, the researchers sought to engage in closer communication by referring to a list of participants with photographs that had been prepared by the secretariat. The attendees were assigned seats at the various tables to encourage researchers in dissimilar fields to get to know one other. Despite the limited schedule, the participants engaged in lively discussions and made close contact with their counterparts.