“Science and Technology Indicators” is a basic resource for understanding Japanese science and technology activities based on objective, quantitative data. It classifies science and technology activities into five categories, R&D Expenditure, R&D Personnel, Higher Education, The Output of R&D; and Science, Technology, and Innovation. The multiple relevant indicators show the state of Japanese science and technology activities. “Science and Technology Indicators 2012” has been enhanced with the addition of two new indicators, i.e., the percentage of Japanese researchers with doctorates and charts showing the flow of R&D funding in various countries from sectors that bear the costs to sectors that use the funds.
Science and Technology Indicators 2012 sees a number of changes in indicators compared with the previous year. Total research and development expenditure in Japan declined in FY 2010, as it did in FY 2008 and 2009. Growth in the number of researchers in Japan has been stagnant in recent years. New hires of researchers declined in both 2010 and 2011. The number of people enrolling in doctoral programs has also been trending downwards since peaking in 2002.
Looking at the number of academic papers produced in Japan (average for 2009–2011), Japan was fifth in terms of “degree of participation in the production of papers in the world (whole counting method).” As for the adjusted number of papers among the top 10% of the world’s most cited papers (average for 2009–2011), Japan ranked seventh in terms of “degree of participation in high impact papers in the world (whole counting method).”
Japanese Science and Technology Indicators 2012