Type: INT 97-44 NSF/Tokyo Report: Survey of Research and Development in Japan Date: 12/31/97 The National Science Foundation's offices in Tokyo and in Paris periodically report on developments abroad that are related to the Foundation's mission. These documents present facts for the use of NSF program managers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF policy. 1997 SURVEY OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN -- Government-funded R&D Declining -- This Memorandum is an update of NSF/Tokyo's previous Report Memoranda on the same subject (RM#94-9 of 12/6/94, RM#95-22 of 12/19/95 and RM#96-26 of 12/9/96). Information is based on data provided in a "summary report" released by the Statistics Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency of the Japanese Government on November 27, 1997. This "summary report" provides findings from the 1997 "Survey of Research and Development" (Kagakugijutsu Kenkyuu Chosa), a survey conducted every year as of April 1 to collect basic statistical information on funds expended for R&D during the preceding fiscal year by companies, universities and other organizations in Japan. This Report Memorandum, for ease of reference and comparison, follows the same format for statistical tables used in previous reports. Statistical data are provided both for (1) all areas covered by the survey (humanities, social sciences and natural sciences) and (2) "natural sciences" alone, whenever such data are available from the Statistics Bureau's original summary. Appendices A and B show R&D expenditure levels in the specific areas of life sciences and energy-related R&D. The 1997 survey covered R&D expenditures of approximately 16,600 organizations, including 12,500 private companies, 2,600 universities and 1,500 research institutes, for the Japanese fiscal year 1996 (April 1, 1996 - March 31, 1997), as compared to a total of 15,700 organizations surveyed in previous year's survey (including 11,700 companies, 2,500 universities and 1,500 research institutes). The increase in the total number of organizations surveyed is primarily due to the fact that starting from this year's survey the scope of private companies to be covered has been expanded to include companies in the so-called "software industries"; namely the companies conducting R&D on computer programs and other software products. For comparison, the table below shows an industry-to-industry breakdown of R&D expenditures in the private industries covered in the survey, to show the relative ratio of R&D expenditure of the "software industries" added at this time: Industry-to-Industry Comparison of R&D Expenditures (Unit: Billion yen) INDUSTRIES: FY'1995 FY'1996 Ratio to Total ----------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 8.7 9.0 0.1% Mining 22.9 21.7 0.2% Construction 204.4 224.5 2.2% Manufacturing 8,774.4 9,263.2 92.1% Transport, communications and public utilities 385.6 362.9 3.6% Software N/A 177.2 1.8% ------------------------------------------------------- Total of All Industries: Y9,395.9 Y10,058.4 100.0% (In billion yen) A complete report of the 1997 survey findings will be published later by the Statistics Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency, probably in April 1998. Brief Review of 1997 SURVEY OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN by Statistics Bureau of Management & Coordination Agency Japan A. The total R&D expenditure in Japan in JFY 1996 (April 1, 1996 - March 31, 1997) was 15,079.3 billion yen (including 13,840.9 billion yen in the natural sciences alone); an increase of 4.7% (nominal)* or 3.4% (real) from the preceding fiscal year [Tables 1 and 2]. This represents continued growth in total R&D expenditure for the last two years, following the decline for the two previous years (JFY 1993 and JFY 1994), although the rate of yearly increase (4.7%) was not as high as the last year (6.0% in JFY 1995 over JFY 1994 level). [Note that the rate of increase would have been even lower; namely, 3.4% (nominal) or 2.2% (real), if R&D expenditure of the newly-added "software industries" had not been included.] The total R&D expenditures in JFY 1996 accounted for 3.00% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an increase from the previous fiscal year's level of 2.95% [Table 3]. (1) Regarding sources of funding for R&D expenditure, 21.0% of the total was disbursed by national and local governments and 78.9% by the non-government sector [Table 4]. Government R&D support dropped 4.0% from the preceding fiscal year; a sharp contrast to the 12.8% increase from JFY 1994 to JFY 1995. On the other hand, this year's non-government funding increased 7.2% from the preceding fiscal year as compared to an increase of 4.1% from JFY 1994 to JFY 1995. (2) Regarding R&D expenditures by type of performing organization, 66.7%, 20.0% and 13.3% of the total was accounted for by private companies, universities and research institutes, respectively [Table 5]. R&D expenditures in private companies increased 7.1% (or 5.2% if "software industries" were excluded) from the preceding fiscal year, as compared to an increase of 4.6% from JFY 1994 to JFY 1995. On the other hand, R&D expenditures in research institutes dropped 1.1%; a contrast to the 9.0% increase from JFY 1994 to JFY 1995. R&D expenditures in universities showed a slight increase of 1.0%, as compared to 8.3% increase from JFY 1994 to JFY 1995. (3) Regarding expenditure by type of research, 14.1% of the total was for basic research (as compared to 15.0% in JFY 1995), 24.4% for applied research (24.6% in JFY 1995), and 61.5% for development (60.5% in JFY 1995) [Table 6]. ----------------------------------------------------- Note: (*) For computing "real" figures, the Statistics Bureau changes the base year once every five years, and starting with the 1997 survey (for JFY 1996 data), they use JFY 1995 as the base year. B. The total number of regular researchers as of April 1, 1997 was 695,600 (including 15,600 in the newly-added "software industries"), an increase of 3.3% over the 673,400 in the previous year. [Table 7]. Private companies and universities showed yearly increases of 4.2% and 2.2%, respectively, in the number of regular researchers employed (including software industries), whereas research institutes showed an increase of only 1.1%. The average research expenditure per investigator was 21,680,000 yen in JFY 1996; an increase of 1.3% from the previous fiscal year's level of 21,400,000 yen. The "per capita" research expenditure increased 2.7% in private companies, but decreased both in research institutes (-2.2%) and universities (-1.1%). C. The ratio of "payment" to "receipt" in international technology trade showed a decrease from 0.70 in JFY 1995 to 0.64 in JFY 1996, suggesting that Japan's "receipt" for technology exports continued to exceed her "payment" for technology imports for the last four years [Table 8]. When limited to transactions newly initiated in JFY 1996, the ratio increased from 0.60 in JFY 1995 to 0.71 in JFY 1996. The following tables summarize data provided by the Statistics Bureau: Summary Tables of 1996 Survey of Research and Development in Japan by Statistics Bureau Management and Coordination Agency 1. Total Amount of R&D Expenditure Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 (Unit: Billion Yen) Total Amt. of R&D Expend. Y13,596.0 Y14,408.2 Y15,079.3 (Nominal) Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year (Nominal) -0.8% 6.0% 4.7%* Total Amt. of R&D Expend. Y13,651.4 Y14,408.2 Y14,894.7 (Real)** Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year (Real) -1.4% 5.5% 3.4% ----------------------------------------------------------- ( *Note: Or, 3.4% if "software industries" were excluded. **Note: In computing the "real" expenditure figures, JFY 1995 is used as the base year. ) 2. R&D Expenditure in Natural Science Areas Only* Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) Amt. of R&D Expend.* Y12,419.2 Y13,191.2 Y13,840.9 (Nominal) Increase over Preceding -0.9% 6.2% 4.9%** Fiscal Year (Nominal) Amt. of R&D Expend. Y12,462.0 Y13,191.2 Y13,678.7 (Real)*** Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year (Real) -1.4% 5.9% 3.7% ----------------------------------------------------------- [Notes: (*) The R&D expenditure shown above for "natural sciences" still includes some expenditures used for R&D in social sciences and humanities by professors and researchers of S&E universities and research institutes. (**) Or, 3.6% if "software industries" were excluded. (***) In computing the "real" figures, JFY 1995 is used as the base year. ] 3. Ratio of R&D Expenditure to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) R&D Expenditure Y13,596.0 Y14,408.2 Y15,079.3 GDP Y479,026.4 Y488,522.5 Y503,041.3 Ratio of R&D Exp. to GDP 2.84% 2.95% 3.00% 4. Source of Funds for R&D Expenditure Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) TOTAL R&D Expenditure 13,596.0 Y14,408.2 Y15,079.3 Increase/prec. JFY -0.8% 6.0% 4.7% NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS R&D Expenditure Y2,918.2 Y3,292.4 Y3,160.6 Increase/prec. JFY -1.6% 12.8% -4.0% Percentage of total 21.5% 22.9% 21.0% NON-GOVERNMENT R&D Expenditure Y10,663.9 Y11,100.5 Y11,904.7 Increase/prec. JFY -0.6% 4.1% 7.2% Percentage of total 78.4% 77.0% 78.9% FOREIGN COUNTRIES R&D Expenditure Y14.0 Y15.4 Y14.1 Increase/prec. JFY 18.4% 9.9% -8.2% Percentage of total 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 5. Amount of R&D Expenditure by Type of Organizations Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) TOTAL R&D Expenditure Y13,596.0 Y14,408.2 Y15,079.3 Increase/prec. JFY -0.8% 6.0% 4.7% [3.4%*] PRIVATE COMPANIES R&D Expenditure Y8,980.3 Y9,395.9 Y10,058.4 Increase/prec. JFY -0.8% 4.6% 7.1% [5.2%*] Percentage of total 66.1% 65.2% 66.7% RESEARCH INSTITUTES R&D Expenditure Y1,863.2 Y2,030.2 Y2,007.8 Increase/prec. JFY -1.8% 9.0% -1.1% Percentage of total 13.7% 14.1% 13.3% UNIVERSITIES R&D Expenditure Y2,752.6 Y2,982.2 Y3,013.1 Increase/prec. JFY -0.2% 8.3% 1.0% Percentage of total 20.2% 20.7% 20.0% ----------------------------------------------------------- (*Note: Figures in [ ] above show the increase rates excluding software industries.) 6. R&D Expenditure by Type of Research (in the limited areas of Natural Sciences only)* Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) TOTAL* Amt. of Expenditure Y12,316.2 Y13,083.4 Y13,726.4 Increase/prec. JFY -0.8% 6.2% 4.9% BASIC RESEARCH Amt. of Expenditure Y1,781.9 Y1,956.7 Y1,933.1 Increase/prec. JFY 0.4% 9.8% -1.2% Percentage of total 14.5% 15.0% 14.1% APPLIED RESEARCH Amt of Expenditure Y3,033.7 Y3,217.7 Y3,345.2 Increase/prec. JFY 1.4% 6.1% 4.0% Percentage of total 24.6% 24.6% 24.4% DEVELOPMENT Amt. of Expenditure Y7,500.6 Y7,909.0 Y8,448.1 Increase/prec. JFY -2.0% 5.4% 6.8% Percentage of total 60.9% 60.5% 61.5% ------------------------------------------------------------ [*Note: The discrepancy between the total yen amounts shown here (e.g., 13,726.4 billion yen for JFY 1996) for R&D expenditure in "natural sciences" and the amounts listed in Table 2 for "natural sciences" (e.g., 13,840.9 billion yen for JFY 1996) is due to the fact that the smaller figures EXCLUDE the non-natural-science studies done by professors in S&E universities and by researchers in other organizations classified as "natural-science oriented" R&D organizations.] 7. Number of "Regular" Researchers (as of April 1, 1997) Items / As of April 1 1995 1996 1997 ----------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL Number 658,900 673,400 695,600 Increase/prec. JFY 2.8% 2.2% 3.3% [1.0%*] R&D Expenditure per researcher (Million Yen) Y20.64 Y21.40 Y21.68 PRIVATE COMPANIES Number 376,600 384,100 400,400 Increase/prec. JFY 2.5% 2.0% 4.2% [0.2%*] Percentage of total 57.2% 57.0% 57.6% R&D Expenditure per researcher (Million Yen) Y23.84 Y24.46 Y25.12 RESEARCH INSTITUTES Number 46,500 46,500 47,000 Increase/prec. JFY 4.2% -0.1% 1.1% Percentage of total 7.1% 6.9% 6.8% R&D Expenditure per researcher (Million Yen) Y40.05 Y43.70 Y42.73 UNIVERSITIES Number 235,700 242,900 248,300 Increase/prec. JFY 2.9% 3.0% 2.2% Percentage of total 35.8% 36.1% 35.7% R&D Expenditure per researcher (Million Yen) Y11.68 Y12.28 Y12.14 ----------------------------------------------------------- (*Note: Figures in [ ] above show the rates excluding software industries.) 8. International Technology Trade Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) RECEIPT FOR TECHNOLOGY EXPORT Y462.1 Y562.1 Y703.0 Newly-Initiated Transactions Y56.5 Y84.4 Y100.8 PAYMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPORT Y370.7 Y391.7 Y451.2 Newly-Initiated Transactions Y52.4 Y50.4 Y71.8 RATIO OF PAYMENT/RECEIPT 0.80 0.70 0.64 Newly-Initiated Transactions 0.93 0.60 0.71 ---------------------------------------------------------- Appendix A R&D Survey Data for R&D in "Life Sciences" Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) TOTAL (Life Science R&D) L/S R&D Expenditure Y1,637.6 Y1,749.7 Y1,798.6 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year -0.2% 6.8% 2.8% Ratio of L/S R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 12.0% 12.1% 11.9% No. of Regular Researchers *109,545 112,000 113,100 PRIVATE COMPANIES L/S R&D Expenditure Y796.0 Y827.8 Y867.6 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year -3.2% 4.0% 4.8% Percentage of Total 48.6% 47.3% 48.2% Ratio of L/S R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 8.9% 8.8% 8.6% No. of Regular Researchers * 26,935 27,200 27,000 RESEARCH INSTITUTES L/S R&D Expenditure Y242.2 Y264.3 Y275.9 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year 1.0% 9.1% 4.4% Percentage of Total 14.8% 15.1% 15.3% Ratio of L/S R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 13.0% 13.0% 13.7% No. of Regular Researchers * 10,126 10,500 10,900 UNIVERSITIES L/S R&D Expenditure Y599.4 Y657.5 Y655.1 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year 3.6% 9.7% -0.4% Percentage of Total 36.6% 37.6% 36.4% Ratio of L/S R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 21.8% 22.0% 21.7% No. of Regular Researchers * 72,484 74,300 75,200 ----------------------------------------------------------- (*Note: The numbers of regular researchers shown above are those reported as of April 1 of the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal years given in the head line of this table.) Appendix B R&D Survey Data for "Energy-related R&D" Items / Fiscal Years JFY 1994 JFY 1995 JFY 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------- (Unit: Billion Yen) TOTAL (Energy-related R&D) Energy R&D Expenditure Y1,058.5 Y1,117.8 Y1,168.1 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year 0.4% 5.6% 4.5% Ratio of Energy R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 7.8% 7.8% 7.7% No. of Regular Researchers * 24,936 25,200 25,200 PRIVATE COMPANIES Energy R&D Expenditure Y363.0 Y377.8 Y397.9 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year -0.1% 4.1% 5.3% Percentage of Total 34.3% 33.8% 34.1% Ratio of Energy R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% No. of Regular Researchers * 11,264 11,200 11,300 RESEARCH INSTITUTES Energy R&D Expenditure Y640.3 Y677.1 Y706.2 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year 0.3% 5.8% 4.3% Percentage of Total 60.5% 60.6% 60.5% Ratio of Energy R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 34.4% 33.4% 35.2% No. of Regular Researchers * 9,919 10,000 9,900 UNIVERSITIES Energy R&D Expenditure Y55.3 Y62.9 Y63.9 Increase over Preceding Fiscal Year 5.2% 13.8% 1.6% Percentage of Total 5.2% 5.6% 5.5% Ratio of Energy R&D Expend. to All S&T R&D Expend. 2.0% 2.1% 2.1% No. of Regular Researchers * 3,753 3,900 3,900 ----------------------------------------------------------- (*Note: The numbers of regular researchers shown above are those reported as of April 1 of the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal years given in the head line of this table.)