New S&T Policies and Re-positioning of Universities in the Changing National Innovation System – The Case of Japan

Abstract

This paper discusses the recent dynamics of Japan’s national innovation system, investigating ‘reconstitution’ of innovation policies currently occurring in Japan in light of wider changes taking place within the EU and US policy frameworks. What has been occurring in Japan over the last decade is a rather radical transformation of S&T and innovation policies which emphasise the changing roles played by universities. The paper illustrates the changes in the Japanese national innovation system and examines the impacts of recent policies aimed at promoting academic entrepreneurship. The current Japanese government’s initiatives, with national industrial and S&T policies centred on strengthening university-business links, are critically examined in light of the development of new Industry-Science Relationships (ISRs). By drawing on the recent experiences of Japan, this paper makes two particular contributions in terms of comparative public policy analysis and institutional analysis. The first contribution is related to the discussion about international policy convergence and processes of policy learning. The second area to which this paper makes its contribution is to provide an insight into the institutional transformation of universities in Japan in response to the top-down triple helix interaction. The paper asks whether such re-positioning of universities as part of the new national ISRs leads to the emergence of a new national innovation system, creating constructed advantage as part of the globalising knowledge economy.

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