Tokyo- Four institutions have applied for the Japanese Defense Ministry's program in fiscal 2017 for financing research projects on the development of defense equipment in the future, Jiji Press learned Sunday.

This was found through a survey by the major Japanese news agency covering 13 universities and research institutes whose research plans were adopted in the past for the ministry's security technology research promotion financing program, which was launched in fiscal 2015.

In a statement issued in March, the Science Council of Japan, a leading group of scientists in the country, said that the Defense Ministry program has many problems, citing the government's intervention in research projects.

It is the first time since the release of the statement that applicants for the program have come to be known. The statement also said that the council would follow its two past documents highlighting its determination not to conduct scientific research for military purposes. (Jiji Press)