Japan’s Govt Sets Goal for World’s No. 3 in Number of Highly Cited Science Papers by 2035, Up from 13th in Recent Years

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, February 6, 2026

The government is considering setting a target for Japan to rank third globally in the share of the top 10% most-cited papers in 2035, according to a draft of its basic plan on science and technology policies that was seen by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The number of such papers is considered a benchmark for a country’s research capability.

The government will soon make public the draft for its seventh Science, Technology and Innovation Basic Plan, which is scheduled to be adopted at a Cabinet meeting by the end of this fiscal year after a public comment call and other procedures. The government draws up a basic plan on its science and technology policies every five years.

According to the draft, it has been pointed out that Japan is declining in its research capability, as the country has plateaued at 13th in the world in recent years in terms of the number of high-profile, 10% most-cited papers. Therefore, the draft set “scientific renaissance” as a pillar.

The draft also included various numerical goals to achieve by fiscal 2030, such as increasing the number of people obtaining a doctorate by about 30% to 20,000 per year and raising the annual research funding that universities and other research institutes acquire from companies by about 50% to ¥150 billion.

The draft stopped short of specifying the target amount for investment in research and development by the public and private sectors for the time being, because no political coordination was conducted due to the upcoming House of Representative election, according to government sources. This target will be included when the basic plan is formally drawn up, the sources said.