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7
Implications for Foreign Access
The preceding pages have outlined some of the major similarities and
differences between the U.S. and Japanese university research systems, as
well as the major challenges each faces. With this understanding, some
generalizations can be made about what a foreigner seeking access to the
Japanese university laboratory system might expect. First, however, it is
helpful to examine some of the facts about scientific exchange between
the two nations. It should be noted that these figures, like many of the
other figures used above, are subject to argument, as there is no general
agreement on definitions. They can, nevertheless, seIve as a point of
reference.
In 1982-1983 there were 13,610 Japanese postsecondary school students
studying In the United States (1,000 in engineering). Contrast the th the
fact that in the preceding 20 years, no more than seven Americans were
enrolled in Japanese engineering programs in any one year; most years saw
none.t
In 1985, 20,000 Japanese researchers (including students) went to
the United States while only 6,000 researchers from the United States
and Europe combined went to Japan.2 That same year 9,000 Japanese
researchers went to countries other than the United States and Europe,
while 33,000 non-U.S. and -European researchers went to Japan. In 1986,
~ Lawrence P. Grayson, "Japan's Intellectual Challenge: The Strategy," Engineering Education
(December 1983), 7-8.
2 Genya Chiba, "Participation of Foreign Researchers in Japanese Research Activities, " Proceed-
ing~of the Fourth United States-Japan Science Policy Seminar (Washington, D.C.: National Science
Foundation, 1988), 168.
30
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31
23,334 researchers went to the United States from Japan while only 3,633
went from the United States to Japan.3
There have been numerous attempts to explain the large gap between
the number of Japanese researchers who come to the United States and
the number of American researchers who go to Japan. Some attempts
focus on cultural factors, others on structural and systemic factors; some
focus on the United States, others on Japan. There is probably some
truth to all of them, but organizational and societal factors will continue
to play a role on both sides. With recent Japanese legislation that allows
foreigners to work in national research laboratories and Monbusho rules
that allow national universities to hire foreign scholars as regular facula
members, opportunities have increased but there remain cultural and other
factors that limit full participation by the foreign researcher in Japanese
laboratories.
Unfortunately, most explanations of the gap are anecdotal. There
is, for example, little hard data on the number of U.S. researchers who
have seriously but unsuccessfully attempted to gain access to the Japanese
research system. Until recently, in fact, there were few indicators of
even the number of American researchers who might be interested. The
recent establishment of many new postdoctoral fellowships for Americans
in Japan, and the response they receive, may help to answer this latter
question. Although the American response (in the form of applications
for the program) has so far reportedly been disappointing, Alexander
DeAngelis, head of NSFs office in Tokyo, reported that this was because
adequate information was not disseminated in a timely fashion. According
to DeAngelis, NSF received over 1,500 inquiries about the program and
applications were expected to increase in number.4
Despite the lack of hard data, some tentative suggestions and possible
explanations will be put forth here for the purposes of discussion.
First, although Japan leads in many areas of technology development,
there are few areas of basic research in which Japan commands the lead.
Since universities are the loci of basic research in both countries, some argue
that an American researcher has little reason to want to do research in a
Japanese university laboratory. According to U.S. experts in fields such as
optoelectronics, however, there are areas of applied research in which a few
Japanese university laboratories are doing high-quality work at the forefront
of their fields. In addition there are well-established cooperative research
programs In some basic fields, such as controlled fusion. Nevertheless such
3Tsusho Sangyosho [Ministry of International Made and Industry], Sanfyo Gijutsu no Doko lo
Kadai [Trends and Topics in Industrial Technology], 1988, 95.
4"Japanese Fellowships Go Begging Despite $2,000-a-month Pay," Nature 335 (22 September
1988), 287.
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areas of excellence in Japanese university research continue to be relatively
few.
An important factor in explaining the large number of Japanese coming
to the United States is the Japanese perception of the value of human
relations, connections, and first-hand experience. It has been argued that
Japanese researchers come to the United States not necessarily to acquire
knowledge or access U.S. research results, but to learn the American
system and to make contacts. One indication of the importance to the
Japanese of connections and understanding the system can be seen in Genya
Chiba's (Research Development Corporation of Japan) recommendations
for exchanges of administrative personnel as well as scientific personnel so
that the United States and Japan can learn about the "business" aspects of
research in each other's systems. Chiba holds that most current exchanges
have been built on personal contacts.5
Thus, despite the fact that overall American university research is
seen as of higher quality than Japanese, an American researcher may
find at least two reasons for attempting to do research in a Japanese
university laboratory. On the one hand, he may be in a field in which a
particular Japanese university is doing world-class research. On the other
hand, he may gain by increased understanding of the Japanese system and
connections that he could make by working in Japan. The first category
assumes that the American researcher has already learned of the Japanese
laboratory where important research in his field is being conducted. While
it is likely that a scientist actively pursuing research in his field would be
aware of international developments therein, there is no formal network
of informational exchange whereby he could learn of the most appropriate
Japanese university laboratory for him to visit. Looking at the problem
from a different perspective, Chiba notes that there are few mechanisms
through which companies in Japan interested in hiring foreign researchers
can find them; he calls for a system for exchanging Information about
available researchers and positions.6
If an American does decide there Is value in entering the Japanese
university laboratory system and decides where it would be most beneficial
to work, there are still many obstacles to overcome, some inherent in
each system and some that arise simply from differences in the systems.
First, the American university researcher may End it difficult to find an
5 Genya Chiba, "Participation of Foreign Researchem in Japanese Research Activities,"Proceed-
in~g~of~eFourthUnitedStates-JapanSciencePodcySeminar(Washington,D.C.:NationalScience
Foundation, 19~), 171-172.
6 Genya Chiba, "Participation of Foreign Researchers in Japanese Research Activities," Proceed-
ingsoftheFourthUnitedStates-JapanSciencePolicySeminar (Washington,D.C.:NationalScience
Foundation, 1988), 171-172.
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33
appropriate time in his career for research abroad. A young and untenured
researcher may risk his career by going abroad. A tenured researcher, on
the other hand, may have too many other obligations to the university. If
the researcher depends on outside consulting income, he may face financial
difficulty.
One of the first obstacles an American researcher will encounter, un-
less properly prepared, once in Japan, is a language barrier. Although
many Japanese speak English; a smaller number speak it fluently. Even if
the language barrier can be surmounted to enable everyday conversation,
the foreign researcher will probably be frustrated at his inability to read
the Japanese-language scientific materials surrounding him. Furthermore,
because in some fields much written material is already in English, informa-
tion exchange in those fields is enhanced by oral communication in Japan,
a factor that can make American access to information difficult.
There are also a number of social differences that can create barriers
to foreign participation. It has been argued, for example, that the Japanese
group mentality places sharp boundaries between "insiders" and "outsiders"
and that a foreign researcher is unlikely to be accepted fully into the
laboratory of which he is only temporarily a part. Although this syndrome
is for the most part based on Japanese politeness and respect for visitors, it
nonetheless can be a difficult barrier to overcome. A recent article noted,
"The image of the foreigner as a guest must be replaced with the more
honest one of co-worker, whether in industry, the university, or in a national
research agency."7
While the author of the above article recommends that Japanese
research institutions offer longer contracts to foreign researchers, some
Japanese have suggested that if U.S. companies were willing to permit
their workers longer leaves there could be more exchange in programs
such as PHOTO. The lifetime tenure and employment systems in Japanese
universities and businesses make it less risly for Japanese organizations to
sponsor long-term research abroad; they can be reasonably assured that
the employee will return to the organization and that the organization will
thereby benefit from his having gone overseas. American companies and
universities, on the other hand, have to consider whether an employee they
send overseas will return to work for another organization.
One, but by no means the only, aspect of the degree to which a
foreigner is accepted into the "fold" may be the degree to which he or she
is willing to adapt to the ways of Japanese society. The workplace in Japan
often takes the place of one's family, and acceptance in the workplace
may require sacrificing much of one's private life. An American who is
7Masanori Moritani, "Foreign Researchers Still Face Barriers," TolyoBusu~ess Today (February
1988), 40.
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accustomed to maintaining a division between his private and professional
life may find it difficult to adjust to working in Japan; after-hours socializing
is a normal part of the working life of most Japanese.
An American researcher in Japan must adjust to differences between
the way Japanese and American university laboratories are organized. Re-
lief from funding pressures may come at the cost of total research freedom.
Although a foreigner may not be bound by the hierarchical constraints on
Japanese researchers, the Japanese group may be less willing to accept a
new approach to a problem if it is suggested by a junior researcher. Perhaps
most important, the language barrier can prevent effective use of equip-
ment if a foreign researcher is unable to read instructions, and preclude
full exchange of views with other researchers so important to collaboration.
Depending on the personality of the researcher, cultural and organizational
differences may present opportunities as well as difficulties.
Although the Japanese government has made efforts to encourage
industry-university cooperation, and although there are numerous informal
channels of information exchange between universities and industry, it is
doubtful that a foreign researcher entering the Japanese university labo-
ratory system would have extensive access to industry laboratories. It is
likely that he would make connections through ongoing cooperative re-
search projects and also probable that he would be permitted to attend
informational exchange meetings in some cases (assuming he could follow
them in Japanese). His ability to make such connections would, in all
likelihood, depend on the individuals at his host laboratory and whether
they were willing to introduce him to their networks.
Finally, if a foreign researcher enters the Japanese university labora-
tory system, is accepted, and is able to take credit for a discovery, he may
wonder whether the reward system works as it does in this country, via the
granting of a patent. It is only recently that outside organizations have been
able to have priority in patenting of discoveries made at a national univer-
sity laboratory. Traditionally, these patents belonged to the government;
the government has, in the last few years, allowed companies supporting
research in national university laboratories to have patent priority for a
maximum of seven years. This move was made in an attempt to encourage
private industry support of university research. A foreign researcher work-
ing in a university laboratory in Japan can probably not expect anything
more than what has been offered to Japanese industry. U.S. industrial
researchers have been able to apply for patents on discoveries made In
Japanese universities.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
university laboratory
