Shrinking Basic Cardiovascular Research in Japan: The Tip of the Iceberg.

Abstract

The number of research articles from Japan has been dramatically decreasing during the 21st century.1 Although the number of Nobel Prize laureates from Japan in the natural science field (physiology, medicine, physics, and chemistry) ranks second in the world after United States during this century with 16 winners, these prizes are mostly based on the research performed during the 20th century. According to the database of Web of Science, the number of articles from Japan published in the American Heart Association journals ( Circulation , Circulation Research , and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology ) was 164 (10.0% of all articles) in 2000, which markedly decreased to only 45 (5.5%) in 2016 (Figure 1A). In contrast, the number of articles from other top 10 countries has been almost unchanged in the same period except for China; the number of articles from China has dramatically increased by 570% (Figure 1A). Regarding the number of publications in Circulation Research , Japan has already dropped from the top countries; Japan was the second in 2000 (11.1%) and 11th in 2016 (only 2.8%; Figure 1B). Similarly, the number of articles from Japan published in the top basic scientific journals ( Nature , Cell , and Science ) was 172 in 2000, which decreased to 151 in 2016 (7.6%; Figure 2A). Again, in other top countries, the number of articles in these top journals has been increased, especially with the marked increase from China (Figure 2A). All these data clearly demonstrate the devastating situation in Japan in the field of basic research as compared with other top countries in the world. Figure 1. Shrinking scientific activity in cardiovascular medicine in Japan. A , Trends in the number ( left ) and percentage ( right ) of articles published in the American Heart Association journals ( Circulation , Circulation Research , or Arteriosclerosis , Thrombosis , …