This document has been archived. Title : INT 97-2 Report Memorandum #96-26 1996 SURVEY OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN -- R&D Expenditure Turning Upward Again -- Type : International Document NSF Org: SBE / INT Date : January 14, 1997 File : int972 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. 1996 SURVEY OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN -- R&D Expenditure Turning Upward Again -- This Memorandum is an update of NSF/Tokyo's previous Report Memoranda on the same subject (RM#93-13 of 12/27/93, RM#94-9 of 12/6/94 and RM#96-22 of 12/19/95). 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 22, 1996. This "summary report" provides findings from the 1996 "Annual Survey of R&D Expenditures" (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. The 1996 survey covered R&D expenditures of approximately 15,700 organizations, including 11,700 private companies, 2,500 universities and 1,500 research institutes, for the Japanese fiscal year 1994 (April 1, 1995 - March 31, 1996). 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. A complete report of the 1996 survey findings will be published later by the Statistics Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency, probably in April 1997. --------------------------------------------------------------- Brief Review of 1996 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 1995 (April 1, 1995 - March 31, 1996) was 14,408.2 billion yen (including 13,191.2 billion yen in the natural sciences alone); an increase of 6.0% (nominal) or 5.5% (real*) from the preceding fiscal year [Tables 1 and 2]. This is noteworthy since the total R&D expenditure was declining for the previous two years in a row (JFY 1993 and JFY 1994.) Total R&D expenditures in JFY 1995 accounted for 2.93% of Gross National Product (GNP), an increase from the previous fiscal year's level of 2.82% [Table 3]. (1) Regarding sources of funding for R&D expenditure, 22.9% of the total was disbursed by national and local governments and 77.0% by the non-government sector [Table 4]. Non-government funding increased 4.1% from the preceding fiscal year; an upturn after three years in a row of decreasing investment in R&D by the private sector. Government R&D support also increased 12.8% from the preceding fiscal year; a sharp contrast to the 1.6% decrease from JFY 1993 to JFY 1994. (2) Regarding R&D expenditures by type of performing organization, 65.2%, 20.7% and 14.1% of the total was accounted for by private companies, universities and research institutes, respectively [Table 5]. R&D expenditures in private companies increased 8.3% from the preceding fiscal year; an upturn after three years in a row of declining corporate R&D expenditure. (3) Regarding expenditure by type of research, 15.0% of the total was for basic research (as compared to 14.5% in JFY 1994), 24.6% for applied research (same as in JFY 1994), and 60.5% for development (60.9% in JFY 1994) [Table 6]. B. The total number of regular researchers as of April 1, 1996 was 673,400, an increase of 2.2% over the 658,900 in the previous year (as compared to the 2.8% increase in 1995 over 1994) [Table 7]. Private companies and universities showed yearly increases of 2.0% and 3.0%, respectively, in the number of regular researchers employed, while research institutes showed a yearly decrease of 0.1%. The average research expenditure per investigator was 21,400,000 yen in JFY 1995; an increase of 3.7% from the previous fiscal year's level of 20,640,000 yen. The "per capita" research expenditure increased 2.6% in private companies, 9.1% in research institutes, and 5.1% in universities. C. The ratio of "payment" to "receipt" in international technology trade showed a decrease from 0.80 in JFY 1994 to 0.70 in JFY 1995, suggesting that Japan's "receipt" for technology exports continued to exceed her "payment" for technology imports for the last three years. [Table 8]. When limited to transactions newly initiated in JFY 1995, the ratio dropped from 0.93 in JFY 1994 to 0.60 in JFY 1995. The following tables summarize data provided by the Statistics Bureau: ------------------------------------------------------ *Note: The Statistics Bureau uses JFY 1990 as the base year in computing "real" figures. ------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Note: The remainder of this document consists of extensive data in tabular form that is not available in the ASCII version. A hard copy of this report, including the tables, can be obtained from Elena R. King, Division of International Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22230, Phone: (703) 306-1709; FAX: (703) 306-0476. When requesting a hard copy, please refer to Tokyo Report Memorandum #TRM 96-26 - 1996 SURVEY OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN -- R&D Expenditure Turning Upward Again --