Japanese ‘Scientific Diaspora’ in 21st Century: Features of Self-Organization and State Policy towards Japanese Researchers Overseas

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of Japan’s policy towards the community of Japanese researchers working abroad, tentatively referred to as the scientific diaspora. It traces the formation characteristics of this community in the 21st century and questions the legitimacy of recognizing it as a ‘scientific diaspora’. The article presents a periodization of Japan’s course towards the ‘scientific diaspora’, encompassing four stages. To verify the collected data, an interview with a representative of the Japanese ‘scientific diaspora’ in Russia was conducted. Among the main motives for the emigration of Japanese researchers abroad, underfunding and bureaucratization of science in Japan, an excess of non-research-related tasks, and a general decline in the international prestige of national science were identified. The authors conclude that Japan’s policy towards the ‘scientific diaspora’ until the second half of the 2010s was overshadowed by general diaspora policies. Currently, the largest organization of Japanese scientists abroad, UJAW, is under close government scrutiny. The analysis confirms the status of communities of Japanese scientists abroad as a scientific diaspora. It is established that decision-makers in scientific policy consider that scientific workers do not completely sever ties with their homeland and can contribute to achieving Japan’s strategic development goals.