Publicly Funded Research and Innovation in Japan and the Outlook for International Cooperation

Research governance in Japan is a hybrid that combines bureaucratically centralized top-down control with supplementary “bottom-up” input from associations, research centers, major industrial sectors, and academia. The interest in examining the Research, Technological Development and Innovation (RTD&I) structures and policies in this country stems from the particularity of the above research governance structure in combination with the strong international commitment and involvement of its Transport related industries and the private sector. It also stems from the observation that Japan is a relatively speaking “slow mover” when it comes to institutional or cultural change as well as a relatively “closed” system, regarding RTD&I. Its official efforts to embrace new thinking, seem in conflict with a systemic resistance to change and this may create sub-optimal or even contradictory policies and programs that could compromise Japan’s efforts to regain its RTD&I prominence globally and in East Asia. This chapter examines all these issues in a systematic and thorough way starting with an examination of the background to economic change in Japan and the emergence of its Science and Technology Basic Plans . It then proceeds to examine the Japanese research governance and funding system and its main international RTD&I collaboration policies and activities. It also focuses on transport research and examines its place in the overall Japanese RTD&I system, its principal stakeholders, and gives specific examples of current Japanese international RTD&I cooperation efforts in the transport sector. The Chapter concludes that even if Japan is able to establish an optimal RTD&I international cooperation policy, there are a number of factors that will continue to slow its ability to compete on the RTD&I front. These include an aging population that is highly dependent on social services and thus absorbing many public funding resources; the “insular” culture in the country that is biased against significant participation by foreign scientists; the corresponding reluctance of foreign scientists to relocate to Japan; the growing labour costs; and an apparent reluctance to encourage foreign investment for RTD&I in Japan. In the field of transport, Japan (especially the Japanese private sector) is making considerable progress in establishing international transportation RTD&I collaborations with Europe, the United States, and other countries of East Asia. A major sign of this progress is Japan’s so called ST&I diplomacy relationships primarily with other East Asian governments. This maybe driven by competition considerations and the potential for finding new markets but it is still a very significant “opening” of the Japanese RTD&I system to the outside world. The Chapter provides a SWOT analysis to examine and evaluate these initiatives and the numerous opportunities for greater collaboration between Japan and other countries. It also examines the significant threats which, if not mitigated, may undermine RTD&I collaboration and progress over the mid to long term.