Analytical Atomic Spectrometry Department of Applied Chemistry Faculty of Science and Engineering Chuo University 1-13-27 Kasunga Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 112 Japan Professor Furuta (N.F.) has recently accepted an appointment as the Asia-Pacific Associate Editor. Dr Barry Sharp (B.S. Chairman of the Editorial Board) Dr Jim Harnly (J.H. American Associate Editor) and Brenda Holliday (B.H. Managing Editor) took the opportunity to interview him at CSI XXIX in Leipzig. B.S. Can I ask you to tell us something about the development of Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy in Japan and who you think were the leading scientists responsible for its development? N.F. Professor K. Fuwa had a great impact on the development of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry but now he has retired. The answer is maybe three people in Japan.Professors H. Kawaguchi H. Haraguchi and T. Nakahara-they are the leading contributors to a Discussion Group for Plasma Spectrochemistry in Japan. B.S. How many Japanese scientists would be involved in this Discussion Group for Plasma Spectrochemistry that you mentioned? N.F. The number of members is approximately 250. We hold the meeting twice a year in the spring and autumn and one meeting in May organized for newcomers to the field. I therefore organize meetings three times a year and approximately one hundred scientists are gathered for each meeting. We produce a proceedings and members of the discussion group can obtain the proceedings without charge if they don’t have a chance to attend. B.S. Is the Discussion Group for Plasma Spectrochemistry afiliated to one of the major societies for example the Japanese Chemical Society or is it entirely independent? N.F.It is possible to join the Japanese Society of Analytical Chemistry or Japanese Society of Spectroscopy but our discussion group is independent and is supported by manufactuers of ICP-AES and ICP-MS instruments. Fourteen manufactuers support the discussion group and I decided that maybe it would be better for the organization of the discussion group to be independent and at present it is totally independent of the societies and is supported totally by the manufacturers. B.S. You say 14 manufactuers are involved how many of them come from Japan? Are you including the worldwide manufactuers like Perkin-Elmer Varian etc.? How many of these manufactuers are manufacturing instruments designed produced and sold in Japan? N.F.Six companies are manufacturing their own instruments. The other ones act as agencies to sell the products from the United States and other countries. B.S. You have recently moved into an academic environment. What kind of university is the University of Chuo? N.F. Chuo University is a private university and is famous for its Department of Law. Lots of leading lawyers and politicians have graduated from Chuo University. J.H. How do you obtain your funding to do research in Japan and how does the system compare with say the British or American System? Do you write grants to bring in money or does the university sponsor your research? I f you want to you have graduate students who are doing research can you support them with the money you bring into the university? N.F.We have a Ministry of Education to which we can apply every year and if the proposal is good they will give support. That is one way. The other way is through private companies who may use academics as consultants and support their research. J.H. Is it extremely competitive to try get money from the Government? N.F. Yes it is extremely competitive. J.H. You must compete with your colleagues. N.F. Yes that’s right. I only have experience of Canada and the United States and the big difference is we don’t have control over how the Government money is spent. For example I cannot use the money to pay the salary of the Post Doctoral Fellow. That is a very big restriction. J.H.So you would have to have industry money to support a Postdoc? N.F. Yes that’s right. B.S. So the Government money is only for equipment? N.F. Equipment and consumables but not staff. B.S. HOW are graduate students funded? N.F. Graduate students have to pay for themselves. They even pay fees for studying. This is another difference between Japan and the United States. B.S. Do they work in other jobs to pay their way do they borrow money from the bank or do their parents pay? N.F. Their parents would pay. Maybe some of their support income is earned by part-time jobs. B.S. Do they earn any money by teaching in the faculty? N.F. No they can’t. J.H. Is the money from the Government getting harder to obtain today? Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry December 1995 Vol.10 63NN.F. Yes it is rather hard. In Japan the Government encourages the scientists to do fundamental research. Japan has only recently become a developing country which contributes to fundamental research. Japan has a history of production whereas the basic creative research has been conducted elsewhere. The Government now wishes to encourage innovative work but I think this is not so in keeping with the Japanese character. We have a lot second runners in Japan but not many firsts. B.H. Your culture and art in Japan is very distinctive and very creative why do you think that it’s not the same in science? N.F. Science is very different I think. For example not many scientific instruments are designed in Japan. We manufacture instruments but the creative work has been done elsewhere.The Japanese did not try to make their own instruments but I hope that it’s now over. The Yokogawa Analytical Systems is the first instrument I think that they tried to sell to other countries under the name of Hewlett-Packard. In the past Hitachi has also sold a Zeeman instrument. As far as I know only two instruments became popular in the field of atomic spectrometry- not so many. B.H. Where will your scientiJic graduates obtain jobs in Japan? N.F. They usually go to the environmental organizations or manufacturing companies where can get a job. J.H. So industry environmental analytical but what fraction at universities? they N.F. Not so many. An academic position is rather difficult to get. The student who graduated in the middle of the class from a private university will find it rather difficult to get an academic position.B.H. Are the academic sta8 appointed for a short term that has to be renewed? N.F. There are several different levels. The lecturers and staff responsible for the experimental research are appointed for a specific time but for the professor there is no such specific time. I can work until I’m 70 years old. J.H. In the US a professor or a scientist is hired at the University and after 5 years he has to be noted on for tenure is this the same in Japan? N.F. No we don’t have such a system. J.H. So once you are hired I think this is more similar to the British System. N.F. Yes. J.H. What is your own personal area of research interest? N.F. My research interests are in two subjects.One is the development of analytical methods and the other is remote sensing by spectroscopy. J.H. Are you talking about infra-red? N.F. By using a satellite yes. I am studying the depletion of the ozone layer and we are planning to launch the satellite next October. In the satellite we will put a visible spectrometer and an infra-red spectrometer and using the sunlight as our source we will try to measure the atmospheric substances which cause ozone depletion such as methane N20 and H20. This is very challenging for the spectroscopist. I am also interested in global environmental research and developing analytical methods by using ICP-AES and ICP-MS. B.H. What instruments are you using at the moment? N.F. At the moment I am using a JY24 (ICP-AES) made by Jobin Yvon and an HP4500 (ICP-MS) made by Yokogawa Analytical Systems.We have also a laboratory made rail-system which is useful for diagnostic studies of ICP and MIP. B.S. In which journals do analytical atomic spectroscopists in Japan publish their work? N.F. Application works are published in Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry Analytical Sciences Analytical Chemistry and Bunseki in Japanese. Fundamental works are published in Spectrochimica Acta Part B and Applied Spectroscopy. B.S. Is JAAS widely known in Japan? We know it is known amongst academic scientists because we have received many papers from them but would it be known widely by Japanese scientists working perhaps in Japanese industries? N.F. Yes we know that JAAS is distributed worldwide and almost all scientists in Japan want to publish in JAAS but I think maybe they think it is easier to publish in Analytical Sciences.I think that once they have succeeded to publish then they will be comfortable to publish in JAAS. If the quality is good I suggest publication in JAAS because JAAS is more widely circulated than Analytical Sciences. B.S. Can you tell us what you think the future of analytical atomic spectroscopy is in Japan and where the important trends are going to be from the Japanese perspective? N.F. That is a difficult question. The development of an innovative ICP-MS instrument by Yokogawa Analytical Systems is a good example of where the future should be. Japanese manufacturers have not historically contributed to the instruments but we have learned lots of scientific knowledge from the rest of the world. Now we are at comparable levels with the rest of the world and some innovative instruments have to be produced in Japan.Gradually the required role is changing in Japan and we can respond to such a requirement but at first we have to change our education system. We have to appreciate the innovate spirit otherwise we cannot produce new products. I think we Japanese in the future will produce very innovative instruments in analytical atomic spectrometry and I hope my colleagues will contribute to this. B.H. Which subject which part of the work is most interesting to you? N.F. I am interested in the future trends in instrumentation. I don’t think ICP quadrupole mass spectrometry in its current form will last for another 5 years and maybe another instrument will come in. There are a number of exciting developments including ion traps time-of-flight mass spectrometers and new array detectors.I would like to be involved in their development but there is a limit to what graduate students can contribute without engineering support. Applications research is an easier option. B.H. Do you have a special area for application that you prefer? N.F. My principal interest is in environmental research that is fresh and saline water and particulates. I am interested in developing very sensitive methods for trace element determinations which others could apply to their own problems. B.H. You published a paper using a magnetic sector ICP-MS instrument. Is this an instrument that you have in your laboratory? N.F.I visited the Fisons company and I brought some examples with me and was given the opportunity to use the high-resolution mass spectrometer. I didn’t do the experiment in Japan but in England. B.S. You have worked in western countries and you are obviously well established in Japan. Can you detect 64N Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry December 1995 Vol. 10diferences in. the way Japanese scientists or Japanese companies approach their work? Can you identify diflerences in practices in Japan and in the West? N.F. Yes I think there is a big difference. Japan is not so creative. The Government is trying to change the trends but still the philosophy of Japanese education is that the students have to be equal.If there is a ‘Nobel’ student they hit him on the head you have to be equal. That is the Japanese system. B.H. So what happens to the very good students? N.F. You hit them on the head and maybe they will be equal. There is not a special class for only the very good students. I think that if we compare the knowledge of the average student with other countries then I think the Japanese is very good. But there are not so many top students. B.H. The average is high? N.F. Yes the average is very high it is very seldom to find students who are not competent. B.S. Do women in Japan have equal opportunities and training when they are trained at university do they have equal opportunities to enter top jobs? Are there many woman professors or many woman who have senior positions in industry? N.F. No there is discrimination especially just now that economic stagnation has happened in Japan. For example in a university it is very difficult for a woman to get a job. B.S. So if you have a very able female student even ifshe was a better student more capable more hardworking more everything than her male counterpart she would still find it more dificult? N.F. Yes that’s the problem. Generally speaking the grades obtained by women are higher than those of men but it is still difficult for them to obtain jobs. B.H. Have you enjoyed CSI? N.F. Yes I have enjoyed it. B.H. Have you got anything particular out of it? N.F. I especially enjoyed giving my lecture and listening to other lectures but could not get round the posters completely. There were so many. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry December 1995 Vol. 10 65N