Decline of Japanese science continues, as its smaller institutions shine

https://www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2018-japan/index#ni-articles

A new analysis from the Nature Index has revealed that Japan continues to decline in its overall contribution to high-quality scientific output. A further fall of 3.7% in 2017 deepens the 19.6% decrease recorded by the Nature Index between 2012 and 2016.

Japan's share of the world's high-quality research articles included in the Nature Index declined from 9.2% in 2012 to 8.6% in 2017, and its share of natural science papers in Elsevier's Scopus database also dropped over the past decade, from 7.7% in 2007 to 5.1% in 2017.

The Nature Index 2018 Japan supplement, published today, also finds that some of Japan's smallest academic institutions are among the most efficient in producing high-quality science when measured against much larger research heavyweights.

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heavyweight: a very large person; impressive in size or qualities = giant

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The supplement examines Japan's efforts to maintain its position in the global scientific elite and highlights its most productive institutions in terms of publishing high-quality research. It uses data from the Nature Index, which tracks the high-quality research of more than 8,500 global institutions. (See ‘About the Nature Index' for full definitions and measures.) For the first time when examining Japan's institutions, the supplement's tables rank institutions using a normalised measure of their high-quality science output. In doing so, it creates a level playing field on which the most efficient producers of high-quality science can be identified. This is calculated by dividing an institution's high-quality output in the Nature Index between 2012-2017 by its total number of natural sciences articles in Scopus over the same period. The top of the supplement's tables includes institutions whose research is disproportionately published in high-impact journals relative to their total scientific output, alongside more established players with global reputations for high-quality research.

Gakushuin University in Tokyo is the first placed academic institution based on averaged performance over six years. The University of Tokyo, among global leaders in terms of overall output, is second, followed by Konan University (3), Kyoto University (4) and Aoyama Gakuin University (5). Osaka University (6), Nara Institute of Science and Technology (7), Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (8), Tokyo Institute of Technology (9) and Nagoya Institute of Technology (10) complete the top ten. For corporate institutions, some of Japan's world-renowned companies feature in the top ten. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation – which the Nature Index placed among the overall top corporates globally in 2017 – is first, followed by Rigaku Corporation (2), Shimadzu Corporation (3) and Toshiba Corporation (4). Toyota Group – also a global force for overall output – is fifth, followed by FujiFilm Corporation (6), JEOL Ltd. (7), Hitachi, Ltd. (8), Daiichi Sankyo Co. (9) and NEC Corporation (10).

David Swinbanks, founder of the Nature Index, said: "This supplement's normalized data provide a very different perspective of the performance of Japan's institutions, allowing comparison of large and small institutions on a level playing field. It reveals the Japanese institutions most efficiently producing high-quality research, and brings to the fore smaller players that might otherwise go unrecognised." "At the national level, while Japan has seen further decline in its overall high-quality output in the Nature Index, it performs better when assessed using this normalised metric, rising to fourth amongst leading countries, while it is fifth in absolute output in the index." Dr Swinbanks added. The supplement also explores both efforts to improve Japan's scientific performance and barriers to progress. These include: management reforms aimed at improving research performance and cultural resistance to these measures; a push for more Japanese women in science; and barriers to young scientists in Japan gaining permanent positions. More information about the Nature Index is available at natureindex.com, including additional and extended versions of the supplement's tables.