The Japanese Government Research Institute: China Ranks First in R&D Investment and High-Quality Academic Papers in 2024
According to a report by Yomiuri Shimbun on September 8: The "Institute for Science and Technology Policy" under Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology analyzed the R&D funding of major countries in 2024 and determined that China has surpassed the United States for the first time to become the world leader. Japan ranks third, behind only the United States.
According to the "Science and Technology Indicators" compiled by the institute, China's total R&D expenditure from government, enterprises, and universities increased by 13.1% year-on-year, reaching 9.71 trillion yen (approximately 4.1 trillion Chinese yuan), surpassing the United States—which had held the top position since the 1980s—for the first time. The U.S. saw a year-on-year growth of 6.7%.
Japan’s R&D spending rose by 8.4% to reach 2.21 trillion yen (about 95 billion Chinese yuan), maintaining its third-place ranking in 2024.
The institute also compiled rankings based on the proportion of papers in the top 10% of citations within their respective scientific fields. China ranked first, the United States second, and the United Kingdom third. Japan has remained in 13th place for the fourth consecutive year.
Regarding the top 10% of papers, the Japanese government set a goal in the "Seventh Basic Plan for Science and Technology Innovation," approved by the Cabinet in March this year, to elevate Japan’s ranking in this category to third place. A representative from the institute stated: “It takes time to convert research funding into tangible outcomes. We need to work harder to increase research time and the number of doctoral students.”
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875745888666624/
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