Asian Tiger no more: Japan’s scientists set to leave

Japanese scientists are leaving the country for the better prospects offered by Chinese universities.

China’s investment in research and development sets an example that other countries should follow as scientists are leaving Japan to escape restrictive work environments and lack of funding. For Japan to improve its international research standings, it must foster work environments that allow scientists’ free devotion to their work.

During the past two decades, Japanese scientists have adopted fatalistic attitudes, becoming resigned about their work and complaining of tiny budgets or a lack of time for proper research. By comparison, one Japanese scientist remembers seeing a group of Chinese students entranced by a professor from China, who convinced them to go to his research center while at a meeting in the US in winter 2019.

The scientist had been jobhunting for a few years, hoping to become an associate professor at a Japanese university, but there were no openings. Recalling the enthusiasm of the Chinese scientist in America, he got a job as an associate professor and moved to China in 2022. Scientists there were highly motivated, he said, rarely missing an opportunity to publish research articles.

Compared to Japan, Chinese society esteems science and academia to a greater degree. Another scientist says that the striking difference between Japanese and Chinese labs is communication. He had also gone through gruelling job searches, moving to China as a last resort but ultimately getting a salary five times higher than he earned five years before.

Researchers in China seem to have connections with fellow labmates as well as supervisors, compared to Japan where a rigid hierarchy makes socialization difficult. It might be the sociability in Chinese labs that increases their output, more so than funding.

This is the suggestion of Atsushi Sunami, president of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and an expert on .…

The full article can be read here: https://techhq.com/2023/02/japanese-scientists-moving-to-china-better-prospects/