The government's 2015 white paper on science and technology underlines the importance of scientific research as a means to create innovation in society and the economy. However, the weakening research capabilities of both Japanese universities and businesses are eroding the nation's ability to create new industries.
This is a rather pathetic situation given that the government spent more than ¥80 trillion to promote scientific research over the 20 years since the Science and Technology Basic Law was enacted in 1995. The government should waste no time in reviewing its policy to make it more effective.
The white paper boasts that government efforts have increased the total number of researchers by about 160,000 from some 680,000 two decades ago. But although the number of both graduate school students and doctorate holders has risen, the availability of stable jobs for researchers has drastically fallen as government grants to national universities and research institutes have been sharply reduced.