Press Release
March 4, 2015

MEXT has been implementing a survey to clarify the situation of 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 survey for FY2013 has been conducted by the Institute for Future Engineering. We hereby release the results as follows.

1. Contents of Survey

1） Survey Subjects

Total of 899 organizations, including national, public and private universities, colleges of technology, and incorporated administrative agencies. （Valid responses received from a total of 863 organizations, with a response rate of 96.0％）

2） Survey Items

Clarify the situation of the number of annual research exchanges between subject organizations and foreign countries during the period of April 2013 March 2014.

2. Summary of Results

1） Number of overseas researchers accepted,1 number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad

（1） Number of overseas researchers accepted

• The number of researchers accepted under a short-term2 contract （"short-term researchers"） had been increasing until 2009, but then decreased through to FY2011 due to the impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and other factors. Since then, the number has been rising again. （FY 2013: 23,719）
• The number of researchers accepted under a mid- to long-term contract （"mid- to long-term researchers"） has been fluctuating between 12,000 and 15,000 since 2000. Although the figure for FY2013 decreased from that of the previous year, this may be because the definition for overseas researchers accepted was changed in the survey for FY2013 （double-counting of researchers accepted at more than one institution was avoided in FY2013）. （FY2013: 11,930）

（2） Number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad3

• The number of short-term researchers dispatched has been increasing since the survey started. （FY2013: 168,225）
• The number of mid- to long-term researchers dispatched has been fluctuating between 4,000 and 5,000 since 2008. （FY2013: 4,367）

2） Number of research exchanges per organization

（1） Number of overseas researchers accepted per organization

• At national universities, the number of short-term researchers accepted had been increasing until 2009, but then decreased through to FY2011 due to the impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and other factors. Since then, the number has been rising again. At other organizations, the number has been remaining at almost the same level.
• The number of mid- to long-term researchers accepted in FY2013 decreased from the previous year at all types of organizations. However, this may be because the definition for overseas researchers accepted was changed in the survey for FY2013 （the double-counting of researchers accepted at more than one institution was avoided in FY2013）.

（2） Number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad per organization

• The number of researchers dispatched has been increasing at all types of organizations.
• At national universities, the number of mid- to long-term researchers dispatched had been decreasing until FY2007, but has been increasing since FY2008. The number decreased from the previous year in FY2013, dropping to almost the same level as FY2010. At other organizations, the number has been remaining at almost the same level.

3） Number of research exchanges per region

（1） Number of overseas researchers accepted per region

• The number of overseas researchers accepted from Asia is the highest, followed by those from Europe4 and North America, in terms of both short-term and mid- to long-term contracts.
• The numbers of short-term researchers accepted from Asia, Europe and North America had been increasing until 2009, but then decreased through to FY2011 due to the impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and other factors. Since then, the numbers have been rising again.
• The numbers of mid- to long-term researchers accepted from Asia, Europe and North America have been remaining at almost the same level since 2000. Although the figure for FY2013 decreased from that of the previous year, this may be because the definition for overseas researchers accepted was changed in the survey for FY2013 （double-counting of researchers accepted at more than one institution was avoided in FY2013）. （FY2013: 11,930）

（2） Number of Japanese researchers dispatched abroad per region

• By region, the number of short-term researchers dispatched to Asia was the highest, followed by Europe and North America. The number of mid- to long-term researchers dispatched to Europe was the highest, followed by North America and Asia.
• The number of short-term researchers dispatched is on the rise in all regions including Asia, Europe and North America.
• The number of mid- to long-term researchers had been decreasing for Europe and North America since the survey started. However, the numbers have been rising for Europe and North America since 2010 and 2011, respectively. The number for FY2013 decreased from the previous year, declining to almost the same level as FY2010. For other regions, the number has been remaining at almost the same level.

For further details, please refer Japanese Page.
The survey results will also be posted on the MEXT website at a later date.

※1 Accepted researchers refer to foreign researchers [i] who belong to overseas organizations accepted at Japanese organizations, through such means as invitation, and [ii] who used to belong to overseas organizations and were then employed by Japanese organizations. Foreign researchers who are accepted at Japanese organizations （regardless of whether it is employment or non-employment） from an organization located in Japan are not included in the scope of the survey for FY2013. 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 Dispatched researchers refer to researchers who are Japanese and foreign nationals belonging to organizations in Japan. This term include Japanese and foreign researchers who are employed by organizations in Japan （regardless of whether employed in full-time or part-time positions and whether the contract term is limited or not） and researchers who applied for the research fellow program or other related support programs and accepted. Postdoctoral fellows and research fellows are also included. Students are not included. Overseas study is not counted as dispatch.
※4 Includes Newly Independent States （NIS） countries （such as 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）.