Academia–industry relations

As emphasized in the pioneering work of James Bartholomew, in the Meiji period the transfer of knowledge from scientists who had studied overseas was vital to the formation of science at Japanese universities and requisite to the emergence of modern industries. ¹ This was especially true in the case of the pharmaceutical industry, which employed what was then a new discipline, chemistry—particularly its practical applications—in the production of Western medicines. As aspiring entrepreneurs lacked practical knowhow, direct scientific supervision and guidance were of utmost importance to the emergence of pharmaceutical enterprises in the Meiji and Taishō periods, though only a few of these scientists actually offered any hands-on assistance at production sites. At the same time, they provided indirect assistance through informal academia–industry ties which also served as an important modernizing force. Both types of assistance contributed to the building of the economic and productive foundations of the modern Japanese empire.