ABSTRACT
Japan has a unique combination of tough industry competition and little competition in the education system. The domestic electronics market is an arena of overly intense competition. Collaboration with industry was regarded as negating the autonomy of academia in the Japanese universities. The so-called “free-ride theory” has obsessed industry leaders, government bureaucrats, educators, and intellectuals in Japan. This chapter reviews the current trends, and examines their implications for the Japanese electronics industry. The development of new technology from scratch is a costly and time-consuming venture. It is imperative for Japan to shoulder part of the burden of originating new technology as it piles up a surplus of trade in manufactured goods. Several indicators show the nation’s potential for leading science and technology: the expenditure on research and development, the human resources in science and technology fields, the statistics in knowledge transfer in the form of patents and publications.
