NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
TOKYO REGIONAL OFFICE
The National Science Foundation's Tokyo Regional Office periodically reports on developments in Japan that are related to the Foundation's mission. It also provides occasional reports on developments in other East Asian countries.
Tokyo Office Report Memoranda are intended to provide information for the use of NSF program officers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy.
Report Memorandum #02-04
In March 2002 the Statistics Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications published a report on their survey result of research and development (R&D) in Japan based on its survey conducted starting on April 1, 2001. The following translation of the overview of the survey results was translated by Ms. Kazuko Shinohara of the National Science Foundation’s Tokyo Regional Office.
2001 Survey on Research and Development in Japan:
Increase in expenditures from the previous year
Based on the Japanese Statistics Law, the survey research and development (R&D) expenditures and related data has been conducted by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications every year ever since 1953 for the purpose of obtaining basic information needed for promoting science and technology in Japan. The outline of the questionnaire for the survey conducted starting on April 1, 2001 was as follows:
| 1. Organizations questionnaire was sent: | |
| - About 12,000 companies which have more than Yen 10 million (ca. $77,000) in capital, and 15 non-profit organizations | |
| - Return ratio: about 83 percent. | |
| - About 1,200 national, public, and private research organizations | |
| - Return ratio - about 99 percent | |
| - About 3,000 undergraduate universities and technical colleges | |
| - Return ratio - 100 percent | |
| 2. Items on the questionnaire: | |
| R&D expenditures, number of research-related employees, and technology transfer. | |
| 3. Date/period of the statistical data: | |
|
The number of researchers as of April 1, 2001; research expenditures during one year retroactive from the most recent account closing date before April 1, 200 |
|
SUMMARY OVERVIEW of the Survey Result
I. R&D Expenditures
1. The total R&D expenditures for JFY2000 in Japan were Yen 16, 289.3 billion (ca. $125 billion), a 1.7 percent increase from the previous year and a marked increase over the year 1998.
2. The ratio of R&D expenditures against GDP was 3.18 percent, an increase of 0.07 from the previous year. These R&D expenditures were the largest in history.
3. The breakdown of R&D expenditures by performing organizations were: Yen 10,860.2 billion (ca. $ 83 billion) by companies, 66.7 percent of the total expenditures; Yen 2,220.7 billion (ca. $17 billion) by research institutions, 13.6 percent; and Yen 3,208.4 billion (ca. $24 billion) by universities, 19.7 percent.
4. The sources of the R&D expenditures were Yen 12,684.2 billion (ca. $97 billion) from the private sector, 77.9 percent of the total expenditure and an increase from the previous year by 1.9 percent, and Yen 3,540.8 billion (ca. $27 billion) from the central and local governments and non-profit organizations, 21.7 percent of the total expenditure and an increase from the previous year by 1.1 percent.
5. The character of R&D expenditures for natural science were Yen 2,119.5 billion (ca. $16 billion) for basic research, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous year; Yen 3,566.5 billion (ca. $27 billion) for applied research, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year; Yen 9,187.4 billion (ca. 70 billion) for development research, a 1.1 percent increase from the previous year.
6. Industrial R&D expenditures were dominated by manufacturing industries in an amount of Yen 9,816 billion (ca. $75 billion), 90.4 percent of the total industry R&D expenditures and a 3.1 percent increase from the previous year.
II. Number of Research-related people
1. As of April 1, 2001, the number of people involved in R&D activities was 1,024,800, a decrease from the pervious year by 1.9 percent. Among them, the number of researchers was 728,200, a 1.5 percent decrease from the previous year, which is the lowest figure ever since 1963. Also, the numbers of research assistants, technicians, administrators, and other research-related people have decreased.
2. On the other hand, the number of women researchers was 78,700, which was 10.8 percent of the total number of researchers and the record highest.
III. Technology Transfer
1. The income from technology exports was Yen 1,057.9 billion (ca. $8 billion), a 10.1 percent increase from the previous year. The payment for technology import was Yen 443.3 billion (ca. $3 billion), a 8.0 percent increase from the previous year. As a result, the export surplus expanded further from the previous year, and the technology trade balance (the ratio of income against payment) was 2.39, the largest in history.
2. The biggest partner of technology trade was the United States as in the previous year. The technology import from the United States dominated 70 percent of the total technology import, and technology export was 50 percent of the total technology export.