chapter 2. 



government r&d 



The Japanese Government's share 

 of total national R&D funding 

 reached its peak in 1972 at 33 per- 

 cent. It has declined fairly steadily 

 since then to its 1985 level of 21 per- 

 cent. In comparison, the U.S. Gov- 

 ernment's share of national R&D 

 funding is much higher, although it 

 also declined from 1970 to 1985, 

 dropping from 57 percent to 48 per- 

 cent. 



Despite its declining relative con- 

 tribution to total national R&D re- 

 sources, the actual value of Japanese 

 Government funds has steadily in- 

 creased, reaching constant $7.6 bil- 

 lion in 1985. U.S. Federal funding — 

 which declined during 1970-75, but 

 has increased steadily since then — 

 was constant $46.0 billion in 1985 

 (chart 12). Despite an environment 

 of fiscal restraint, the Japanese Gov- 

 ernment's S/T budget has received 

 a high priority in the last 5 years. 

 From 1980 to 1985, Japanese Gov- 

 ernment R&D funding increased at 

 an average annual rate of 3 percent 

 (a net increase of 16 percent) com- 

 pared with a 6-percent average an- 

 nual rate (a net increase of 33 percent) 

 in the United States. In the United 

 States, 90 percent of the growth in 

 government R&D funding is ac- 

 counted for by increases in defense- 

 related R&D. 



organization of s/t 

 policymaking 



In spite of its relatively small share 

 of total national R&D funding, the 



Japanese Government plays an im- 

 portant role in science and technol- 

 ogy both by identifying new 

 directions for national R&D efforts 

 and by indicating R&D initiatives to 

 industry through a program of fi- 

 nancial incentives and selective 

 funding of particular R&D projects. 

 Chart 13 presents the governmental 

 structure of S/T administration in Ja- 

 pan. 



S/T policy in Japan is largely the 

 responsibility of four institutions: the 

 Prime Minister's Council for Science 

 and Technology; STA; the Ministry 



of Education, Science, and Culture 

 (Monbusho); and MITI." In one ca- 

 pacity or another, these four orga- 

 nizations: (1) develop national S/T 

 policy, (2) coordinate the policies of 



"Much of this discussion is drawn from Har- 

 umitsu Yoshimura, The Or^amzaUon of Science and 

 Technology m japan, prepared for the International 

 Conference "The Organisation of Science and Tech- 

 nology in Western Industrialized Countries — An 

 International Comparison" (Bonn, West Germany, 

 May 26-27, 1987). Mr. Yoshimura is the Assistant 

 Director General for Administrahon, Science and 

 Technology Agency. 



