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Technology assessment has come into the spotlight several times since the 1970s, but serious misinterpretations caused by the ideas of engineering orientation, safety myth and self-management have impeded its effective societal embedding. Even in this post-3/11 period, thesemisinterpretations are implied in the current science and technology policy plan and suggested as causes of the nuclear accident in the interim report of the governmental investigation committee. In thinking about the future nuclear governance in Japan, wider participation is a key to opening up the closed expert community and escaping from the shortsightedness of nuclear governance. Careful attention should be paid, however, as ever, to simply setting up an “independent” organization and/or conducting participatory events such as public forums and consensus conferences. Individual connections, cognitions and commitments of a diverse range of participants incorporated into institutional and managerial reform can, instead, be seen as a hope for restoring anticipatory energy governance while preventing another severe nuclear disaster in the future.

Studies on synthetic biology have been promoted in many countries to find a solution to the proposition “what is life?”; this is done not by analytical but by constructive methods, or to create the systems of living organisms for human use. Synthetic biology is supposed to be a useful tool for solving various problems that humans have; however, it could lead to many ethical challenges, particularly problems in terms of disaster prevention, such as the question whether the artificial creation of life is right or wrong and concerns about the creation of organisms that may be harmful for humans and the environment. This paper summarizes the social and scientific trends in the field of synthetic biology, especially in Japan, for clarifying the related social problems and bringing these problems to the attention of the stakeholders and public.

The nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCo)’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent Tsunami, is probably the worst “catastrophic technological risk” ever experienced by Japan. Whether this serious accident could have been prevented or managed better is the key question that we need to pursue. Technology Assessment (TA), which is intended to help decision making by assessing possible societal impacts of particular technology, can play significant role in managing catastrophic technological risks by providing an objective assessment of technological risks before it happens, while it is happening and even after the accident. In this special issue on TA, we are fortunate to have papers and reviews from both distinguished experts as well as young scholars. The variety of the subject is also very useful to see how TA can be applied under the different situations. In particular, in the post 3.11 society, we believe it is a good occasion to consider institutionalization of TA in Japan.