Part 1 Using Knowledge to Create Society and Economy for a New Era
Chapter 3 Towards the Development of an Innovation System Suited to Japan
Section 1 The Current State of Japan's Innovation System in Terms of Science and Technology Activities
Using indicators of input into research and development such
as human resources and R&D expenditures, indicators of output such as number
of patents and number of scientific papers, and indicators of results of innovations,
such as technology trade and exports of high-tech products, including the relationships
between universities and companies which are the main players in the innovation
system, the characteristics of the innovation systems of various countries in
terms of science and technology activities shown in the form of a pot plant are
shown in Fig. 4 .
Fig. 4 International Comparison of Science and Technology
Activities in Major Countries
As a matter of course, resources invested do not immediately
bloom as a flower in the form of achievements, but in Japan's case, the achievements
as innovations are small in relation to the amount of research and development
expenses invested, compared to the US, for example. This is also evidenced by
the low percentage of research expenditure of universities which is funded by
private enterprise, indicating the weak cooperation between industry and academia.
While Japan is close to topping the world in terms of input indicators such as
number of researchers and R&D expenditure, looking at indicators of results
of output and innovation, while achievements are evident in terms of the quantity
of patents, in the value of technology exports and the share of high-tech products,
as a percentage of input they are lagging behind other major countries, evidence
that they are not necessarily flowing through to Japan's industrial technical
strength.
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