ABSTRACT
Throughout recent decades, the innovation systems of Germany and Japan have been regarded as strongholds of the economic systems of the two countries. They played a crucial role in the upgrading of the German and the Japanese economies after post-war recovery to give them a competitive edge on the world markets in medium and high-tech manufacturing industries like automobiles and machinery (in both countries), electronics and semiconductors (particularly in Japan), and chemicals and pharmaceuticals (particularly in Germany).
