State Department · Sunday, October 4, 2026

United States and Japan extend their science agreement without an end date

The File desk · Oct 4, 2026, 10:57 AM UTC

Status

Confirmed (State Department, Office of the Spokesperson, Oct. 2, 2026)

The United States and Japan signed a protocol in Tokyo on Friday that keeps their science and technology agreement going with no end date, and amends it. Michael Kratsios signed for the United States. Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu signed for Japan. The agreement itself dates to 1988.

The State Department posted the note on Oct. 2, 2026. The formal name is the

. The department also calls it the .

The 1988 agreement is a legally binding framework for government-to-government science work. The department says the two countries have built research ties under it for decades.

The

both extends that agreement and changes it. The extension is indefinite. The department says the point is long-term cooperation, with attention to critical and emerging technologies.

Kratsios is assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Motegi is Japan’s minister for foreign affairs. The statement does not attach the protocol text.

What this is

Legal instrument
U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement
A legally binding framework for science cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese governments, first signed in 1988. On Oct. 2, 2026, the two governments signed a protocol that extends it indefinitely and amends it.
State Department, Oct. 2, 2026
The 1988 agreement that sets a legally binding framework for science cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese governments. On Oct. 2, 2026, a new protocol extended it indefinitely and amended it.
Legal instrument
Oct. 2 protocol extending the U.S.-Japan science agreement
The protocol signed in Tokyo on Oct. 2, 2026, by Michael Kratsios for the United States and Motegi Toshimitsu for Japan. It extends and amends the 1988 science agreement and makes the extension indefinite.
State Department, Oct. 2, 2026
The protocol signed in Tokyo on Oct. 2, 2026, by Michael Kratsios for the United States and Motegi Toshimitsu for Japan. It extends and amends the 1988 science agreement and makes the extension indefinite.

What is still unknown or disputed

The amended articles. They are not in the statement.
Any step still required before the indefinite extension takes effect. The statement says the protocol was signed and does not list a later effective date.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

Source 1
United States and Japan extend science and technology agreement indefinitely
U.S. Department of State · October 2, 2026
Oct. 2, 2026, Tokyo. Protocol extends and amends the
Legal instrument
U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement
A legally binding framework for science cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese governments, first signed in 1988. On Oct. 2, 2026, the two governments signed a protocol that extends it indefinitely and amends it.
State Department, Oct. 2, 2026
, first signed in 1988. Signed by Michael Kratsios and Motegi Toshimitsu. Extension is indefinite. Focus includes critical and emerging technologies.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/10/united-states-and-japan-extend-science-and-technology-agreement-indefinitely/

United States and Japan extend their science agreement without an end date

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

United States and Japan extend science and technology agreement indefinitely