Japan: Corporate R&D expenditure rises while but female participation remains unchanged

Corporate expenditure on research and development (R&D) has risen, according to recent statistics published by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the same time, the female participation rate in R&D remains stagnant.

The 2007 edition of the Annual Statistical Report on Japan published 19 April 2007 notes that business expenditures have risen gradually since 2000. The Report also finds that there has been little movement in the proportion of female researchers, an issue that is increasingly being raised in discussions by policy makers.

Japanese firms are spending greater amounts on R&D. From 2005 to 2006, total firm R&D expenditure increased by 7% to EUR 78,311 million. The proportion of general expenditure by firms has increased from 66.4% in 2000 to 71.4% in 2006.

The sector with the greatest decline in the share of R&D expenditure is the national and non-profit sector, where R&D expenditures reduced from 13.6% of total expenditure in 2000 to 9% in 2006. From 2005 to 2006 this trend continued with a 6% reduction, to EUR 10,395 million.

University expenditures have remained relatively stable since 2000, increasing by 4% from 2005 to 2006 and reversing the trend of the previous two fiscal years where expenditure had decreased in one year (-1%), and saw no growth in the other. Current expenditure stands at EUR 20,804 million.

While corporate R&D expenditures have been increasing, the profile of Japan’s researchers has remained relatively unchanged. Amidst a background of population decline, Japan’s main decision making body for science and technology, the Council for Science and Technology (CSTP), has recently been discussing possibilities to increase female participation in R&D activities.

The 2007 Statistical Report notes that for 2006 the female share of researchers has remained unchanged at 11.9% - the same figure as in 2005, but slightly more than in 2000, when 10.6% of researchers were female. While it should be noted there has been an overall expansion in the number of researchers from around 780,000 in 2000 to almost 820,000 in 2006, the proportion of female researchers is still a lot lower than in EU countries.

Significant policy efforts by the Japanese Government will be needed to make a research career more attractive for the women, both in the current generation and in future.

The full Annual Statistical Report on Japan is available for download here.