S&T Strategies of Six Countries Implications for the United States (2010) / Chapter Skim
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6 Japan
6 Japan
Pages 46-58
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From page 46... ...
, energy and food availability, and prospective epidemics. Japan's aging population, low rates of birth and immigration, and low participation of women in the workforce will act as a drag on its future S&T efforts.
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Japan's concerns over energy and resource security are the subjects of R&D projects to enhance its ability to access seabed resources, drastically curtail energy consumption, produce energy from biomass, and develop technological alternatives to rare-earth elements. The latter initiative is of particular importance because China currently accounts for 97 percent of global rare-earth-element production and is restricting export quotas in response to growing domestic demand.
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From page 48... ...
Recognizing the important role that research universities can and should play in the development of technological innovation, Japan enacted in 1999 The Law on the Special measures for revitalizing industrial Activities to encourage the transfer of technology from universities to industry, particularly in the arena of science-based technologies. The 1999 law allows grantees of government-supported research to retain ownership of intellectual property and associated patents derived from the research.
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japan's National Security Concerns Japan's most important national security concerns arise out of the threat of military confrontation in northeast Asia. North Korea, a hostile neighbor, has developed nuclear weapons and possesses ballistic missiles capable of hitting Japan within a few minutes from launch.
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From page 50... ...
Role of Science and Technology in Addressing Security Concerns A review of Japan's current S&T projects with regard to national security indicates that the government is not, by and large, seeking to address these concerns through the development of breakthrough or disruptive technolo gies. Its R&D projects overwhelmingly involve the development of defined pieces of equipment and systems with applications meeting performance parameters capable of addressing very specific security concerns -- reconnais sance satellites, scanners, underwater exploration vessels, efficient manufacturing systems, synthetic alternatives to various raw materials, and similar items.
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From page 51... ...
Reacting to the memory of famine in 1945-1947, Japan is heavily invested in measures to improve food security. It may achieve significant breakthroughs in areas not researched as intensively in other countries, such as breeding of marine life, application of rice genome information to crop breeding, and use of microbes in fermentation processes supporting food production.
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experience in Afghanistan demonstrates, even very sophisticated systems of aerial surveillance cannot completely prevent infiltration by small groups of terrorists. Japan's civilian research establishment is making substantial commitments to addressing unconventional threats to national security.
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It has developed a vast array of "green," energy-efficient technologies such as hybrid/electric vehicles, highly efficient water heaters and batteries, photovoltaic solar panels, highly efficient lighting, hydrogen fuel cells, thermotrophic glass, and "green" appliances such as waterless washing machines. With the world turning increasingly to alternatives to oil, vast infrastructural changes will be necessary in which Japan's green technologies and existing manufacturing capability with respect to green products are likely to be of critical importance.
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From page 54... ...
The number of universityindustry joint research projects has increased from about 1,400 in 1995 to more than 6,000 in 2003 (Figure 6-3)
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JAPAN FIGURE 6-4 Academic spin-offs in Japan.
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With some exceptions, technology-intensive multinationals do not undertake substantial levels of investment in Japan or conduct major collaborative research with Japanese firms. Although Japanese companies devote sub stantial resources of their own to developmental R&D, their comparative isolation from global commercial research efforts will continue to limit Japan's ability to emerge as a leading innovator.
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From page 57... ...
Reflecting its national experience, Japan has focused its S&T to address specific nonmilitary threats that could very well confront the United States in the future in areas such as energy, food security, natural resource availability, and environmental degradation. Recommendation 6-1.
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From page 58... ...
REFERENCES Published CSTP (Council for Science and Technology Policy) , Cabinet Office Government of Japan.
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