Press Release
April 17, 2014

MEXT has been implementing a survey to clarify the situation on the number of annual research exchanges between foreign countries and Japan’s national, public and private universities, colleges of technology and incorporated administrative agencies.The results of the survey consigned to the Institute for Future Engineering (IFENG) are as follows.

1.Contents of Survey

1)Survey Subjects:

Total of 898 organizations including national, public and private universities, colleges of technology and incorporated administrative agencies. (valid response received from a total of 840 organizations with a response rate of 93.5%)

2)Survey Items:

Clarify the situation on the number of annual research exchanges between subject organizations and foreign countries during the period of April 2012 – March 2013.

2.Summary of Results

1) Number of overseas researcher’s accepted (※1), number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad

(1)Number of overseas researchers accepted

  • Total number of researchers accepted(including short-term, mid-to long-term <※2>)has been on decline since FY2009, but has increased in FY2012(FY2010: 37,453 people -> FY2011: 33,615 -> FY2012: 37,066) 
  • Number of short-term researchers accepted has been on decline since FY2009, but has increased in FY2012(FY2010: 23,212 people -> FY2011: 20,257 -> FY2012: 21,872)
  • The number of mid-to long-term2 researchers accepted has by and large remained in between 12,000 – 14,000 people ever since FY2000, but has exceeded 15,000 for the first time in FY2012 (FY2010: 14,241 people -> FY2011: 13,358 -> FY2012: 15,194).

(2)Number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad(※3)

  • Total number of researchers dispatched (including short-term and mid-to long-term) has been on the rise since FY2010 (FY2010: 140,731 people -> FY2011: 155,056 -> FY2012: 165,569).
  • Number of short-term researchers dispatched has been on the rise since FY2010 (FY2010: 136,454 -> FY2011: 149,871 -> FY2012: 160,394)
  • Number of mid-to long-term researchers dispatched is nearly the same as FY2011 (FY2011: 5,185 people -> FY2012: 5,175).

2) Number of research exchanges per organization

(1) Number of overseas researchers accepted per organization

  • Total number of researchers accepted (including short-term and mid-to long-term) by national universities and others(※4) was the highest, followed by private universities.
  • Number of short-term researchers accepted by national, public and private universities which has been on decline since FY2009, has increased in FY2012.
  • Number of mid-to long-term researchers accepted is on the rise at national, public and private universities, of which the largest increase is by private universities.

(2) Number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad per organization

  • Total number of researchers dispatched to overseas research organizations was the highest at national universities and others for both short-term and mid-to long-term.
  • Number of short-term researchers dispatched abroad is on the rise for national, public and private universities, colleges of technology, and incorporated administrative agencies.
  • Number of mid-to long-term researchers dispatched abroad remains nearly the same as FY2011 for all organizations.

3) Number of research exchanges per region

(1)Number of overseas researchers accepted per region

  • Total number of overseas researchers accepted from Asia was the highest for both short-term and mid-to long-term.
  • Number of short-term researchers accepted from Asia, Europe(※5) and North America which has been on decline since FY2009, has increased in FY2012.
  • Number of mid-to long-term researchers from Asia, Europe and North America which declined in FY2011, has increased in FY2012.

(2) Number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad per region

  • The highest number of short-term researchers were dispatched to Asia, followed by Europe and North America, whereas the highest number of mid-to long-term researchers were dispatched to Europe, followed by North America and Asia.
  • The overall number of short-term researchers is on the rise for all regions including Asia, Europe and North America.
  • The number of mid-to long-term researchers was nearly the same as FY2011 for all regions.

※1 Accepted researchers include foreign researchers employed by domestic organizations (including part-time researchers) and those visiting Japan for the purpose of joint research, academic conferences, symposiums, etc. (Postdoctoral fellows and research fellows are also included. Students are not included).
※2“Short-term” refers to a maximum period of stay of one month. “Mid-to long-term” refers to a period of stay exceeding one month.
※3 A dispatch researcher refers to a person working full-time at a domestic organization, who is dispatched abroad for the purpose of research activities including joint research, attending academic conferences, gathering research-related information and or receiving training (Postdoctoral fellows, research fellows and others are included. Students are neither included in exchanges nor dispatches).
※4 National universities and others include inter-university research institute corporations. National junior colleges have been added to the survey scope from FY1997 (provided that national junior colleges have reorganized and integrated with national universities by FY2005).
※5 Includes Newly Independent States (NIS) countries (NIS includes the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia, Ukraine, Republic of Uzbekistan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Moldova and Russian Federation.

For further details, please refer Japanese Page.

(Science and Technology Policy Bureau)