JST holds emergency symposium to explore ways to revive Japan's research capabilities

What is the cause of the decline in Japan's research capabilities? What must the researchers, research community, universities, research institutions, funding agencies, and government do to revive its research capabilities? JST held an emergency symposium on March 11, "Urgent Debate: Why Is the Level of Attention Given to Japanese Papers Declining and What Should Be Done?" The event attracted much public attention. Approximately 100 people attended the event in person and 1,500 people viewed it online.

Hashimoto: Each person should start with what they can do themselves.
Aida: There is a severe salary gap with the rest of the world.
Uchida: Not many people move on to postdoctoral courses.
Ota: We need reforms similar to the Meiji Restoration.

JST President Kazuhito Hashimoto declared, "There are a wide range of issues. I will do what I can starting today. I would like you all to start doing what you can do in your respective capacities, whether at universities, in the field of research, or in government." He added, "The number of papers, one measure of Japan's research strength, has dropped from third to fifth in the world over the past decade, while the number of 'top 10%' papers has dropped from 5th to 13th. Only two universities are ranked in the top 100 in the Times Higher Education (THE) college rankings, and their rankings are declining."

"The THE rankings evenly assign points, 30% each for education, research, and article citations. The points that Japan's top-ranked universities earn for articles are markedly declining. Indeed, evaluations of research should not be based solely on papers, but that is the reality. This decline is not limited to solely research. The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) publishes an international ranking of the competitiveness of the business environment, and Japan, which ranked first from 1989 to 1994, has now dropped to 32nd place."

Regarding GDP, the country was overtaken by Germany last year to take fourth place, but in terms of GDP per capita, it is in 24th place. We may wonder if Japan is failing to invest adequately in R&D; however, that does not appear to be the case. An international comparison of government R&D investment reveals that Japan ranks third, after the United States and China. Although their combined ranking has fallen, the total number of papers has increased. GDP in some areas has also been promising in terms of overall strength. However, Japan's international standing in terms of per-capita efficiency and level of attention has declined. We would like to identify issues in every sector during this discussion."

Gotoh: We need to double scientific research funding and nurture new 'shoots'.
Gonokami: We need active exchange with foreign countries.
Soga: Researchers need to be prepared for the realities of academic life.

Takuzo Aida, Deputy Director of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) Center for Emergent Matter Science and Distinguished Professor at the University of Tokyo, referred to the disparity in salaries for academic posts between Japan and other countries. Professors at the University of California earn four times the salary of those in Japan, and professors at the University of Hong Kong more than double. He posited that "Japan is no longer a country that can headhunt anyone from anywhere in the world."

Furthermore, Aida offered examples of young researchers from his research group, who are now active in overseas universities. One of them, a former assistant professor at the University of Tokyo, who had switched to an equivalent position at the University of Hong Kong, told him, "People can earn 2−3 times the salary they would be paid for the same position in Japan." All of Aida's former students who have moved abroad, assistant professors included, are working independently as the head of their research group. These research groups are highly committed to cooperative collaboration, making it very easy for young people to carry out the research they want to do. Since there are people from diverse countries, the rules within the university are also decided by discussing together what the international standards should be. "The arrangements are very reasonable," Aida said.

Young researchers from universities in the U.S. and Singapore also spoke about how it is easier to conduct research in other countries than in Japan. Aida argued for the abolition of the current university departmental structure and the division of roles between research and teaching faculty at research universities. Furthermore, he called for the "liberation of faculty members from duties other than research and human resource development, including having to take care of entrance examinations."

Ken-ichi Uchida, Distinguished Group Leader of the Spin Caloritronics Group, Research Center for Magnetic and Spintronic Materials at the National Institute for Materials Science, introduced the results of a questionnaire survey of foreign researchers with whom he has had exchanges. Speaking only of his own field, he said, "More than half of the researchers, including those from the U.S. and China, were not aware that the level of attention to Japanese research papers was declining. However, the issue of very few grad students going on to postdoctoral positions is limited to Japan." He added, "In certain cases, inferior versions of findings already published in Japan, ahead of the rest of the world, are published by overseas groups in high impact-factor journals, and the original Japanese papers are not cited."

Uchida pointed out that "Japanese people are too serious and may be losing because of selecting the wrong journals and paper titles." Moreover, "There are many grad students and young researchers who cannot write papers properly. There is also a problem with faculty members who do not have proper thesis training." He then recommended the creation of open-ended research projects that graduate students can apply for, expansion of support for independence, a support system for article publication fees, and a reduction in the burden on researchers.

Kaoru Ota, Professor at Muroran Institute of Technology's Center for Computer Science, said, "The information and telecommunications industry is an important sector that supports economic growth, and the U.S. is leading the way. However, Japan's standing in the eyes of the U.S. is falling rapidly. In the field of computer science, the number and proportion of Japan's 'top 10%' papers is growing but sluggishly, compared to the U.S., China, and Britain, among others. To overcome the current situation, we need to promote fundamental reforms to compete with the rest of the world, just as we did during the Meiji Restoration." Ota stressed the importance of diversity, especially in fostering female researchers and increasing the number of overseas students.

Moreover, she introduced Muroran Institute of Technology's efforts to develop doctoral human resources and presented an example of a significant increase in the number of students enrolling in the doctoral program. She noted, "Systems and rulemaking are very important, but they cannot be changed without a mindset of diversity."

Yukiko Gotoh, Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tokyo, presented data showing that Japan and China are approximately one year behind in research topics compared to Europe and the United States. "The lag in Japan's research themes has been evident since 2004, when national universities were incorporated, and is also roughly correlated with the citation rate of papers by field of study. The 'top 10%' papers are also correlated with patents. The level of contribution by the system responsible for the research lag is low. Japan will eventually lose its industrial competitiveness," she stated. Currently, there are two types of competitive government funds, namely, top-down and bottom-up grants for scientific research (KAKENHI). "KAKENHI is important for the growth of the budding flowers of new research. However, while top-down research programs are being successively created, the growth of KAKENHI is small, accounting for only 5.6% of the total budget for science and technology.

The number of applications for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research has doubled in the past 20 years; however, the amount allocated per application has decreased while expenses have increased. Furthermore, many people in the field feel that the funding has been halved," She further stated that doubling the number of Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research is a "prescription" for strengthening research capabilities.

Makoto Gonokami, President of RIKEN, expressed concern that Japanese are no longer going abroad to join the global research community, primarily because the Basic Act on Science and Technology has improved the research environment. In the research evaluation of THE ranking, the University of Tokyo's standing dropped from 158th to 608th. "We're just a normal university in Asia. I worry that top-flight students may not choose to study with us," he said. "RIKEN's budget and the number of papers being published have plateaued. Compared to UC Berkeley, there is very little variation in salaries regardless of performance. We are trying to break this trend of salary averaging and fix it so that evaluations are reflected," he said, introducing initiatives such as the RIKEN Early Career Leaders program and AI-based research acceleration.

Gonokami further stated that Japan needs to actively use human resources from overseas, establish systematic cooperation with the world's top industry−academic institutions, and strengthen support for sending young researchers and graduate students abroad as part of its strategy for international brain circulation, saying, "It's not too late; we should hurry up and take action."

Kenichi Soga, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, prefaced his remarks by saying that he has been away from Japan for approximately 30 years; hence, he does not know much about Japan, but "The impact of the research is more important that the individual paper." Many issues can be identified from past data, and by analyzing causes based on past patterns, future problems can be predicted and technical measures to solve them can be devised. However, this method may miss some important points. Therefore, considering the entire range of data, that is, both ends of the minimum and maximum, is crucial. "We call this Adaptive Challenges (setting high-risk themes). Frequently participating in international workshops, writing papers in collaboration with researchers you encounter there that explore new research directions, and thereby thinking about the impact of your research is crucial. The life of a researcher involves high risk and low return; therefore, you need to be aware of that going into the field."