Japan remains 12th in global innovation ranking, trails South Korea, China
GENEVA (Kyodo) -- Japan remained in 12th place in an annual innovation report by the World Intellectual Property Organization this year, trailing Sout
Japan maintained its 12th place ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organization's annual innovation report, trailing behind South Korea, Singapore, and China, according to the latest assessment. This ranking falls short of Japan's government goal to achieve a top-four position in the Global Innovation Index by 2035. The report highlights Japan's robust industrial and corporate innovation strengths, particularly in the Tokyo-Yokohama region, which ranks as the world's second-largest innovation cluster.
However, Japan struggled in areas such as tertiary education, science and engineering graduates, and knowledge-intensive employment, with a declining youth population further impacting its innovation performance. South Korea claimed the fourth position, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Singapore in fifth place, and China ranked 10th.
The report cited Switzerland as the top innovator for the 16th consecutive year, with Sweden and the United States in third and fourth positions, respectively. Despite Japan's consistent innovation system, the report emphasized the need to address challenges in tertiary education, scientific talent development, and employment, while also acknowledging the growing global investment in technological innovation, which reached $3.4 trillion in 2025.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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