In many fields such as robotics, semiconductors, new energy vehicles, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, Japan's scientific and technological strength is rapidly rising, and its outstanding technological achievements not only lead the world, but also bring unprecedented challenges to the United States, the scientific and technological hegemon.
1. Japan's five cutting-edge technologies lead the world
Robotics is a global leader
Japan is recognized as the birthplace of robotics and is a global leader in the fields of industrial robots, service robots, and specialty robots. Japanese robot products are known for their high quality, high performance and high reliability, and enjoy high recognition in the global market.
The core strength of Japanese robotics is precision reducers and servo motors. The precision reducer used by industrial robots in the world is almost monopolized by Japanese companies, whether it is product quality, material selection, or design process and manufacturing accuracy, Japanese reducer technology is far ahead. In the field of servo motors, the "brain" of robots, Japanese companies such as Yaskawa Electric and Fanuc have also occupied the forefront of the world for a long time.
Japan also has a unique technology accumulation in the design of robot ontology, control system and human-computer interaction. In 1986, Fujitsu Corporation of Japan pioneered the SCARA robot based on the theory of Professor Hiroshi Makino, which established Japan's leading position in the field of assembly robots.
The semiconductor manufacturing process is the world's best
The semiconductor industry is a traditional area of strength for Japan. In the 80s of the last century, Japan once became the world's largest chip manufacturer, accounting for nearly half of the global market share. Although the Japanese semiconductor industry fell into a trough after being suppressed by the United States, Japanese companies still maintain a leading position in the world in the field of chip manufacturing equipment and key materials.
Japan's semiconductor materials industry has long occupied an absolute advantage in the world. For example, among the world's advanced optical glass manufacturers, there are well-known enterprises such as Japan's Hoya Optics and Japan's Sumida Optics, which are at the leading level in terms of manufacturing technology and product quality.
Japanese companies are also among the world's top in the "three supers" processes required in semiconductor manufacturing, such as ultra-purification technology, ultra-high purity technology, and ultra-fine processing technology. These key technologies have laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of Japan's semiconductor industry.
Hybrid technology leads the way in new energy vehicles
In the field of new energy vehicles, Japan is a global leader with the advantages of hybrid technology. Toyota's THS hybrid system and Honda's i-MMD hybrid system are recognized as top-of-the-line technologies in the industry.
Toyota's THS hybrid system uses a planetary gear structure that can flexibly switch power transmission between the electric motor, engine, and wheels to achieve efficient energy recovery and output. The thermal efficiency of the fourth-generation THS system has reached the world's highest level of 41%.
Honda's i-MMD system uses an electric motor as the main driving force, and achieves high efficiency and high dynamic performance through the cooperative control of two electric motors. The system is fully electric and can also be automatically switched to hybrid mode as required.
BYD's DM hybrid system is also being continuously optimized and upgraded, and its DM-p platform has achieved a theoretical thermal efficiency of 43.04%, setting a new record in the world. With their leading hybrid technology, Japanese and Chinese brands are leading the development trend of new energy vehicles.
Biotechnology has yielded fruitful results
Biotechnology is another key area of Japan's scientific and technological development. In cutting-edge fields such as antibody drugs and regenerative medicine, Japanese biotechnology companies have achieved outstanding R&D results.
Taking RIKEN as an example, the Institute's Research Center for Generative Regeneration Science publishes more than 130 high-level papers in the world's top journals every year, and enjoys a pivotal position in the field of developmental biology.
Japan is also a global leader in the large-scale production technology of bio-derived products. By combining the achievements of basic sciences such as applied mathematics, physics, and chemistry, Japan is pushing biotechnology to new heights.
Outstanding achievements in cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology
Artificial intelligence (AI) is regarded as a cutting-edge technology that leads the development of science and technology, and Japan's research results in this field are also very impressive.
In the classical field of artificial intelligence, such as problem solving, pattern recognition, expert systems, etc., Japanese scholars have made important achievements. In terms of emerging deep learning theories and inference algorithms, Japan has also kept up with the world's cutting-edge pace and made a series of breakthroughs.
For example, the deep cross-media learning method proposed by Peking University significantly improves the accuracy of cross-media retrieval. In the field of artificial intelligence technology such as Chinese information processing, biometric recognition, and machine translation, Japan has also ranked among the world's advanced levels.
The Japanese government attaches great importance to the cultivation of AI talents, and has formulated a series of policies and measures to strengthen AI education, establish a multi-level talent training system, and promote in-depth cooperation between industry, academia and research. This has laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of Japan's AI industry.
Second, the rise of Japan's scientific and technological strength challenges the hegemony of the United States
The U.S. is ahead, but the gap is narrowing
While the United States remains a global leader in science and technology in many of these areas, Japan's rapid catch-up has challenged America's dominance like never before.
Taking artificial intelligence as an example, although the United States still has advantages in computing resources, basic theories and application scenarios, Japan's breakthroughs in key technologies have been remarkable. If Japan can continue to invest more and maintain its innovation vitality, it may catch up with the United States in the near future.
In the field of semiconductors, although American companies maintain a leading position in chip design, Japanese companies have begun to show their advantages in manufacturing processes and materials. If the Japanese government's supportive policies are appropriate, the revival of Japan's semiconductor industry is just around the corner.
The Japanese government strongly supports scientific and technological innovation
What supports the rise of Japan's scientific and technological strength is the strong support and guidance of the Japanese government in the field of scientific and technological innovation.
On the one hand, the Japanese government has introduced a series of policy measures to provide a favorable environment for enterprises to innovate. For example, in the field of artificial intelligence, the Japanese mainland has launched policy documents such as "AI Strategy 2019" and "AI Strategy 2021", which list the cultivation of artificial intelligence talents as a top priority.
On the other hand, the Japanese government is also investing heavily in finance. Taking the semiconductor industry as an example, the Japanese government has provided a huge subsidy of 330 billion yen to Rapidus, hoping to revive the glory of Japanese semiconductors through this "national team".
Japanese companies have a strong global patent portfolio
In addition to the strong support of the government, Japanese companies themselves are also increasing investment in scientific and technological innovation, and actively deploying patents on a global scale.
In the field of robotics, for example, Yaskawa Electric and Fanuc are two Japanese companies that rank first and second in the world in terms of the number of patent applications, respectively. This has laid a solid foundation for the technological leadership of Japanese robot products.
In the field of artificial intelligence, Japanese companies such as Sony and Hitachi also have a large number of patent reserves, which are ready for future technological breakthroughs.
Japanese technology companies are gaining global influence
Relying on strong technological strength and global layout, the global influence of Japanese technology companies is also increasing day by day.
Taking the automotive industry as an example, Toyota and Honda, the two major Japanese automakers, enjoy high recognition and market share in the global market for their hybrid models. Especially at the moment of high oil prices, the advantages of hybrid models have become more prominent, and Japanese brands have won more market opportunities.
In the field of robotics, Japanese companies such as Fanuc, Yaskawa, and Nachi Fujikoshi occupy almost half of the global industrial robot market. With the acceleration of industrial automation, the global influence of Japanese robot companies is bound to increase day by day.
The rapid development of the scientific and technological strength of the island nation of Japan is shaking the long-standing scientific and technological hegemony of the United States. Japan, which leads the world in many cutting-edge fields, also has strong policy support and a global layout, which will undoubtedly bring unprecedented challenges to the United States.