Cooperation, Technology, and Japanese Development: Indigenous Knowledge, the Power of Networks, and the State by Donna L Doane

Author:Donna L Doane [Doane, Donna L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Political Science, World, Asian, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9780429969867
Google: SQHFDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-02-19T07:47:03+00:00

Notes

1 According to estimates based on a Japanese government survey, less than 14% of interfirm collaboration was directed at basic research in the early frontier period; one-third of cooperative projects were defined as “applied,” and over half were considered “developmental” (from Rokuhara, 1985, p. 40). This conforms with the idea the vast majority of collaborative efforts have been small-scale and applied in nature. However, the relative amount of basic research in the later frontier period (i.e., in more recent years) tends to be larger, as the importance of basic research has become increasingly recognized across a broad spectrum of industries, and firms have found it increasingly difficult to provide the necessary funding without pooling their resources with others, particularly in a slow growth economy. These trends may tend to boost the proportion of relatively basic research (as distinct from “pure” research, which is likely to undergo a decline in slow growth economies even though its importance will increase in the long run), but this depends on political conditions in individual country contexts.

2 More specifically, each “k” represents the capacity to store 1024 bits of information.

3 Government subsidies were 3500 million yen the first year, 8640 million yen the second year, 10052 million yen the third year, and 6906 million yen the fourth year, totaling 29098 million yen. The VLSI project represented the hardware part of the Fourth Generation Computer program; under this program, subsidies of 20 billion yen were also given to CDL and NTIS to develop the “Operating System,” or software, part of the program, and 3.5 billion yen was given to these five and three other companies—Matsushita Communications, Oki Electric, and Sharp—to develop new peripheral equipment. Sakakibara pointed out that this average annual outlay was approximately two to three times the normal annual research expenditure for semiconductors of the five major companies, but it was not more than some U.S. companies spent alone each year for this purpose. Cf. Sakakibara (1983), pp. 14-15.

4 VLSI research continued within NTT alongside the MITI-sponsored project. These efforts resulted in the world’s first 128K device (designed for use in telecommunications), among other achievements (cf. Gregory, 1982, p. 3). Persons interviewed also noted that although NTT would not duplicate the Fifth Generation Computer project sponsored by MITI, NTT labs planned to carry out research on aspects that were clearly related to NTT’s needs and interests. This “overlap” of research themes does not necessarily lead to a duplication of research, but instead often produces results that are complementary, as noted above.

5 Cf. Sakakibara (1983), p. 14.

6 In the “Operating System,” or software, part of the Fourth Generation program, NTIS and CDL may have played a more significant role as their staffs are said to have included systems engineers as well as sales personnel. However, it is also possible that these organizations once again simply served as a means by which government subsidies were given to the five firms involved, which then developed the software separately. As noted above, it is difficult to cooperate this close to the point of commercialization.

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