JAPAN鈥檚 position as a technological leader is under threat, say the authors of the country鈥檚 latest White Paper on Science and Technology. With the end of the Cold War, the paper says, many governments are shifting research and development funding from the military to the civil sector. But Japan still perceives North Korea and Russia as a military threat, and is continuing to spend more on military research.
鈥淚deally, we would like to see the R&D budget double as soon as possible,鈥� says Ryuji Shimoda of the Science and Technology Agency鈥檚 Policy Bureau. 鈥淏ut how quickly that can be done is up to the government.鈥�
In the past, Japan has led research into fields such as advanced ceramics and liquid crystals, and in applications including consumer electronics. Economists have often attributed this to its strong investment in civil R&D, while other countries such as the US poured money into military projects.
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This year鈥檚 White Paper, Japan in the World in Transition, says the tables are now being turned. In 1987, defence-related industries in the US employed 16 per cent of the nation鈥檚 engineers and 11 per cent of its scientists. By 1992, these figures had fallen to 13 per cent and 8 per cent, and are still declining.
鈥淲hen we look at the growth in the science and technology budgets of major developed countries which include national defence research, we find that Japan appears to show a relatively high growth,鈥� says the White Paper. 鈥淗owever, when we exclude defence-related items 鈥� we find that these countries have been and are expanding their investment.鈥� The increase in the US has been particularly significant, it says.
Japanese research has recently suffered not only from increased competition from other countries, but also from an economic recession that has prompted many companies to cut their R&D budgets.
The White Paper reveals an uneasiness about the future of Japanese R&D, and its ability to compete with other countries. The Science and Technology Agency is particularly concerned about the technological advances of newly emerging economies in Asia, such as South Korea and Taiwan. These countries have been helped in part by Japanese companies shifting their R&D centres abroad to reduce costs. The White Paper quotes a survey conducted earlier this year, which found that half the companies polled were worried that 鈥渢he efforts to develop and produce high value-added products in Japan will not go smoothly鈥�, because of direct competition from other Asian countries.
Asked if he felt 鈥渃oncern鈥� or 鈥渨orry鈥� about the possibility of Japan losing its technological edge, Shimoda replied: 鈥淵es 鈥� Both.鈥�