Research Writing in Japan - conference links
The following links have been chosen to illustrate various aspects of research and education in Japan. Much has been said on these subjects, and the need for educational reform in Japan, but it is difficult to grasp the full scale of change, and to see where reforms will lead.
One approach to change has been to provide very generous support for new research directions within basic science fields considered important by the government. Reviews in 1996 of the ERATO and PRESTO programs are thick with acronyms, but also offer general insights into research in Japan, at the post-doctoral level and above.
Another approach has been structural reform within the higher education system. Major changes are currently being implemented in Japan. For example all 99 of Japan's national universities will become self-governing entities in fiscal 2004 with greater autonomy in hiring and budgets, as well as teaching and research (see an illuminating transcript of the seminar "Education Reform: Can the Japanese Change their Education System?" hosted on 22 January 2003 by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation).
The changes just noted may have fundamental importance for translation and editing services employed by research organisations. Previously, government organisations were required by law to employ services originating in Japan and provided by companies rather than individuals. This restriction is likely to disappear in the near future. There will be much more flexibiltiy and a corresponding need for better communication and mediation between research organisations and those who provide language related services.
For foreign researchers who are newly arrived in Japan, an amusing and realistic introduction to working within Japanese academia was written by Bob Ridge (ICU, Tokyo) several years ago. This has been revised by him, and is "freely available as a contribution to international exchange", online: A Practical Guide to Working as a Scientist in Japan. Of particular interest in relation to the present conference are his comments on the checking of papers, in a chapter entitled "Working in the laboratory". For editors and translators who have not experienced working alongside Japanese researchers, this book should also be of interest. The book is in effect a brief ethnography of Japanese academic life. Although the focus is life in a laboratory, many of the observations have general relevance.
