Policy Reforms, New University-Industry Links and Implications for Regional Development in Japan

This paper examines the changing roles of universities against current policy and institutional landscapes in Japan, given recent university reforms, the concentration of resources to the ‘elite’ institutions, and ‘regionalisation’ of science and innovation policies. The variety of forms of university-industry linkages and spatial relationships that universities are forming with regional stakeholders are illustrated. The development of a new research system in Japan throughout the 1990s has led to the emergence of new systems of innovation, in which university-industry linkages have been sought as a means to stimulate regional economic growth.