Japanese companies are more open to reciprocal relationships. Japanese markets are somewhat more open, particularly in consumer products. However, US-Japan differences in regulatory approaches, intellectual property protection, private-sector business practices, and other areas are likely to persist. How quickly opportunities to participate in Japanese and Asian high-technology markets expand will play a major role in determining whether the United States derives maximum economic benefit from science and technology cooperation.
Maximizing U.S. Interests in Science and Technology Relations with Japan
( 1997 )
5 U.S.-Japan Technology and Competitiveness Trends in Key Industries
A Framework for Maximizing U.S. Interests in Science and Technology Relations with Japan
Report of the Competitiveness Task Force:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5850&page=76
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japan’s economic and technological strength was an object of admiration and concern in the United States and elsewhere. Japanese companies had established leading positions in the global market for critical high-technology products, such as semiconductor memories, and dominated the production of key semiconductor manufacturing tools. Japanese industry and government appeared poised to build on accumulated strength in consumer electronics and electronic components to establish a leading position in the emerging synthesis of computing and communications, one of the key growth industries for the next century. Even in areas where Japan was presumed to lag, such as the aircraft and biotechnology industries, cooperative industry-government research partnerships and research collaboration with U.S. universities and companies were pursued aggressively. It appeared to be only a matter of time before Japanese companies would emerge at the forefront of these industries as well.
Juxtaposed with Japan’s high-technology juggernaut, the United States appeared to be in serious decline as an economic and techno-industrial power. U.S. industry was experiencing increasing difficulty in translating the outputs of America’s formidable research and development effort into globally competitive products, high-wage jobs, and an improved standard of living. Large economic imbalances with Japan in trade and investment contributed to this picture of relative decline.
The prospect that Japan might come to hold increasing sway over high-technology industries raised concerns about the long-term impacts on U.S. economic well-being and national security. One area of focus was the U.S.-Japan science and technology relationship. While U.S.-Japan interaction in science and technology is extensive and comprises a variety of counterparts and mechanisms, it is also widely imbalanced and asymmetrical in terms of the flow of people, knowledge, and many technology-based products.1 There is a sharp contrast between the effective utilization of U.S. science and technology often exhibited by Japanese companies and the low level of Japanese science and technology utilization by U.S. entities. As Japan’s standing in technology-based industries continued to grow and the United States suffered reverses, some questioned whether continued asymmetrical science and technology relationships would impair America’s future capability to produce and utilize innovation, the mainspring of future growth in productivity and economic performance.
With these concerns as a backdrop, the National Research Council’s Committee on Japan formed the Competitiveness Task Force to assess the U.S.-Japan science and technology relationship and to develop recommendations on what the U.S. government, industry and research institutions should do to maximize the economic benefits to the United States of science and technology interaction with Japan in the future. For its assessment the task force examined the historical experience of U.S.-Japan science and technology relationships and their impact on competitiveness and economic performance, the current policy context, and U.S.-Japan
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The task force examined technology and competitiveness trends in the United States and Japan in several key industries. These case descriptions are based on discussions with industry experts at the January 1995 task force meeting and have been supplemented with background research.
In recent years U.S. companies in a number of industries have improved their competitive performance. In automobiles, U.S. companies have responded to pressure from Japanese competitors, and Japanese investments have contributed to overall U.S. capabilities. In biotechnology and health care, a strong fundamental research base and a financial structure enabling commercialization of technologies through the formation of new companies have been the most important factors. In semiconductor manufacturing equipment, a resurgence of the U.S. semiconductor device industry and improved cooperation between companies and with government have played major roles. In information industries, a strong research base and the dynamic U.S. market have enabled U.S. companies to play a leading role in setting de facto standards and architectures.
Japanese companies are still major competitors, and Japanese government and industry are still pursuing policies designed to attain global technological and market leadership. But changes are occurring as well. Japanese companies are more open to reciprocal relationships. Japanese markets are somewhat more open, particularly in consumer products. However, US-Japan differences in regulatory approaches, intellectual property protection, private-sector business practices, and other areas are likely to persist. How quickly opportunities to participate in Japanese and Asian high-technology markets expand will play a major role in determining whether the United States derives maximum economic benefit from science and technology cooperation.
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The acquisition, effective adaptation and improvement of technologies from abroad, mainly from the United States, have served as a basis for Japan’s rapid economic growth and international competitiveness in a wide variety of manufacturing industries. For the United States the economic benefits of science and technology interaction with Japan have been much lower in relative and absolute terms. There are indications of growing benefits in recent years, particularly in industries where opportunities to participate in the Japanese market have improved, and industries where Japanese investment in the United States has contributed to maintaining U.S. capabilities.
The U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Relationship Is Changing
In recent years a number of major changes have occurred in the U.S.-Japan science and technology relationship, most of them positive from a U.S. perspective. The strengths of the U.S. innovation and market systems have reasserted themselves, particularly, but not exclusively, in information-related industries. Information about Japanese science and technology is much more widely available, and a growing group of U.S. scientists and engineers are capable in the Japanese language and experienced in the Japanese research and innovation environment. A wide range of U.S. manufacturing companies have developed more effective approaches to innovation, manufacturing, and marketing, in some cases adapting aspects of Japanese practices. At the same time, Japanese government and industry strategies to further strengthen Japan’s leading role in global high-technology development and manufacturing have recently met with diminishing returns. Approaches to industrial development based on technology acquisition and improvement have become less effective due to the higher risks and uncertainties faced by Japanese companies as they have reached the technological frontier. Japanese firms also have faced challenges from new technological and industrial competitors in markets where they had established strong positions, such as semiconductor memories.
(sk)
Cooperation の名の下に、自分たちの interests を maximize しようというのは、どの国でもやることだが、アメリカはそれが特に上手い。