The Institute for Future Engineering Information

The Institute for Future Engineering (IFENG) has been serving public and private organizations in Japan and abroad for nearly forty years as a research center focusing on the fields of science, technology and innovation. While the notion of creating an independent think tank catering to the scientific and technical needs of government and industry was unheard of at the time, IFENG’s establishment reflected a strong consensus among Japanese government and business leaders in the late 1960s, and gained the approval of the Prime Minister of Japan. Today, IFENG researchers use a multi-disciplinary approach to discern and analyze emerging socio-economic conditions, complemented by current and timely investigations of government policy and managerial trends in fields including high-tech development and social innovations. IFENG is then able to provide expert policy inputs and opinion, and serves public policy makers, corporate strategic planners, and general citizens alike. IFENG maintains an unwavering commitment to: • Knowledge and value creation for public and private sector clients • A global, interdisciplinary perspective based on facts, not arbitrary geopolitical, territorial, or organizational boundaries In English, IFENG was originally known as IFTECH, or the Institute for Future Technology, when it was established as a non-profit think tank in 1971. However, it was decided to harmonize its English moniker to the original Japanese naming in 2011. IFENG later achieved a special legal status as a Public Interest Corporation, which was made possible due to a change in the legal system in 2013. In the science & technology sector, IFENG was ranked seventh (2010), eighth (2012, 2013), sixth (2014) and 5th (2015) among the world’s think tanks in the 'Global Go To Think Tank Index' (GGTTI) published by the University of Pennsylvania. http://repository.upenn.edu/think_tanks/