Think Tanks

Since the 1960s there has been a remarkable new development on Japan's intellectual scene—the think tank. Although some institutes have been in existence since the 1950s, their real development has come since the Nomura Research Institute was launched in 1965. Since then—partly under the influence of such American models as Rand, the Stanford

[28] At the predevaluation exchange rates, $3.2 billion. In 1971, the figure went up to ¥1,355.5 billion, a 14 percent increase in yen amount. Calculated at the then exchange rate of 308-1, it is equivalent to $4.4 billion, a 40 percent increase in dollar amount.

Research Institute, and Battelle—about forty-five think tanks have been established or planned.^[29] Some institutes work for a single client; the Mitsubishi Sogo^[*] Kenkyujo^[*] works for the Mitsubishi group of companies. The Nomura Research Institute, on the other hand, although it does much work on behalf of its parent Nomura Securities Company, also conducts research on broader questions, including molecular biology. The institutes characteristically bring together an interdisciplinary mix of specialists centering on the interface of economics and technology: economists, engineers, designers, planners, survey specialists, and statisticians. Each institute creates its own distinctive mix.

In addition to the government-oriented institutes, the business community has supported the establishment of a policy sciences institute, and each major business group either has established or is in the process of establishing one: the Mitsubishi Sogo Kenkyujo (Mitsubishi General Research Institute), the Mitsui Knowledge Industry (MKI), the Toyota Keizai Kenkyujo (Toyota Economics Research Institute), the Midori-kai (The Green Association, of the Sanwa group), and the Sumitomo Joho^[*] Sangyo^[*] Kaisha (Sumitomo Information Industry Company). Typical general think tanks are the Nippon Sogo Kenkyusho^[*] (Japan General Research Institute), the Shakai Kogaku^[*] Kenkyusho (Social Engineering Research Institute), and the Mirai Kogaku Kenkyusho (Future Engineering Research Institute).

The announcement the day after Tanaka Kakuei's election as prime minister—that a think tank would be organized to put into action his pre-election plan for the "Reconstruction of the Japanese Archipelago"—indicates how entrenched the think tank concept has become. The chairman of the LDP's Policy Affairs Council announced in July 1972 that "he was looking for qualified persons . . . 10 to 15 eminent academicians and a few capable party members . . . to start off its work on how to resolve problems of congested cities, environmental pollution, housing shortage and insufficient welfare."^[30] In July 1973, the government announced that it was in the process of establishing a giant think tank funded at the ¥100 billion level.^[31]

Although these institutes are new, it looks as though they may become an increasingly important channel for sophisticated research input into the government and corporate decision-making process. They also provide an arena in which many scholars and specialists can deal with public-policy issues and make a contribution of high potential impact. Their very existence further enlarges the sphere of consulting and free-lance intellec-

[29] Tallied from tables in Tsusansho^[*] daijin kanbo^[*] johoka^[*] taisakushitsu, ed., Nihon no shinku-tanku—sono kadai to bijon [Japan's think tank: Its problems and vision] (Tokyo: Dayamondo-sha, 1971), pp. 330–336.

[30] Japan Times , 9 July 1972.

[31] To be under the Economic Planning Agency.

tual work in Japan. The consulting fees, research funds, and various forms of compensation available through the think tanks and other research institutes are not insignificant for the changing economics of Japanese academic life.