According to a survey of 255 companies conducted by Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei Shimbun and published in July, R&D investment by Japan’s private sector totaled JPY 12.5 trillion ($113.16 billion), a 6.9% increase. Of the companies surveyed, 32.9% plan to increase R&D spending by more than 10% within the next five years. Fifty-five percent of companies surveyed plan to invest in conservation technology, 36.3% plan to invest in renewable energy and 36.3% plan to invest in nanotechnology. More than 80% of the surveyed companies expect to increase their relationships with domestic universities and independent research institutions. Of these companies, 57.4% anticipate such a collaboration will result help product development. Twenty-six percent of companies in the survey intend to set up R&D operations in foreign countries. The US is the favored R&D location for 64.3% of the companies in the food, drug and biotechnology industries. However, China is the preferred R&D location for 40% of the car manufacturers surveyed.

Source: British Embassy Tokyo