Domestic and International Destinations of Japan’s Doctorate Holders

In a knowledge-based economy with increasing R&D investment, the success of innovation relies on nurturing and securing highly trained and skilled talents within a global domain. Accordingly, the number of researchers has increased from 6.6 per 1000 employees in 1999 to 7.6 per 1000 in 2009 in the OECD area, and more new doctorate holders have been produced in the same decade (OECD 2011). The increase in the production of highly educated human resources in science and technology reflects concerns about scientific labor force shortages that were predicted for several OECD member countries in the early 1990s based on assumptions of increasing future demand for engineers and scientists and declining student interest in science and engineering (OECD 1991).