Empirical support for significant university-industry linkage in Japan

The university-industry linkage is considered a key to innovation today. In an earlier study, this author analyzed the linkage in Japan using university-industry coauthorship as a measure. The finding of that study went against the common view of the university-industry linkage in Japan as weak. In fact, it showed a strong and rising linkage. In this paper, additional empirical evidence is introduced in support of the earlier finding. In particular, three major claims against the earlier finding are considered. The first of these is that the linkage in Japan does not compare favorably to the linkage in the United States. The second is that Japan´s bubble economy, rather than any significant transition, was the main driver of the rise in coauthorship. Finally, the third claim considered is that the rise in coauthorship is due to Japan´s dissertation doctorate system rather than to a meaningful innovation-relevant change