Japanese Media: China Ranks First for Six Consecutive Years in Academic Paper Attention and Citation Count
As reported by Japan's Mainichi Shimbun on August 7: On the 7th, the Institute for Science and Technology Policy at Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology released a global ranking of high-impact and highly cited papers—those in the top 10%.
China has ranked first for six consecutive years, while Japan has remained in 13th place for four years running.
In recent years, over 60% of Chinese academic papers have been cited within China, which is believed to have boosted their global standing. Shinko Igami from the Center for Science and Technology Forecasting and Policy Infrastructure noted: "Papers in the top 10% may be influenced more by domestic attention in China rather than by global recognition."
The survey shows that between 2022 and 2024, China published an average of 84,392 papers in natural sciences among the top 10%, accounting for 40.6% of the global total. The United States ranks second with 29,911 papers (14.4%). Japan published 3,163 such papers, representing 1.5%.
Additionally, previous data indicates that between 2021 and 2023, 67% of citations to China’s top 10% papers came from researchers within China. In contrast, domestic citation rates were 23% in the U.S. and 9% in Japan. The high rate of domestic citations in China has contributed to its elevated global ranking.
Igami stated: "China’s growing influence might not stem from global attention. If Chinese papers are overly cited domestically, the meaning of global metrics changes. We need to assess research capability using multiple indicators."
In 2024, China's investment in research and development reached 9.71 trillion yen—surpassing the United States for the first time—and far exceeding Japan's 2.21 trillion yen.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1872912036723850/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.