Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERNMENT POLICES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE, SPORTS AND CULTURE 1997 > Scientific Research Chapter 4 Section 1 1

In 1996 the National Center for Science Information Systems published the results of an inter-national comparative study that analyzed yearly and national totals of papers published in science, engineering, and medicine, as recorded in large, internationally respected databases in Europe and North America. The databases used were:

Trends in the numbers of papers in 28 subcategories were analyzed for seven countries by country and by year. Using data obtained from this survey, the number of papers from each country that was registered in each of the databases was calculated at three-year intervals from 1978 to 1993. Table 4-1 lists the results in order of national rankings.

These findings show that Japan's share of the scientific and engineering papers registered in INSPEC increased from 7% to 10% and that the country's global ranking rose from fourth to second. For Japanese papers in chemistry, figures from the Chemical Abstracts database show an increase from 10% to 13% of the total. Analysis of the COMPENDEX database revealed that the ratio of Japanese engineering papers grew from 6% to 9%. In both fields, Japan's international ranking advanced from third to second place. According to an analysis of the EMBASE, Japan's share of papers in the field of medicine expanded from 6% to 9%, while its international ranking rose from fourth to second or third, about the same level as the United Kingdom.

The overall number of papers registered in these databases is gradually increasing. The growth rate of the number of papers produced in Japan has exceeded the overall growth rates of the individual databases and is the highest among the seven countries surveyed (Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Russia/Soviet Union, and Canada).