| The prevailing image of Japan in western media and academia is of a mercantilistic nation reluctant to enter into reciprocal trade and technology relationships. Yet, in 1989, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) opened all its R&D programs to foreign participation on more liberal terms than those offered even now by government technology programs in the United States and Europe. This dissertation explains why MITI opened its research programs to foreign participation, and the potential benefits of this opening to both Japanese and foreign researchers.;The dissertation tests theories of policy formulation in Japanese trade and technology policy against case-studies of MITI's most controversial international programs: (1) the Human Frontier Science Program, (2) the Real World Computing Program, and (3) the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Initiative. The record of these cases suggests that bureaucratic politics and techno-national ideology have not been decisive factors driving internationalization. The role of foreign pressure, while important, has been exaggerated by studies that fail to specify both Japanese and foreign preferences regarding the themes and organization of collaborative research projects. Although given much less attention in political science than business-management studies, scientific and technological factors have often been the most important force driving internationalization.;In addition to discussing the forces driving the internationalization of MITI programs, the dissertation addresses the related debate over the economic functionality of these programs. While the perceived success of the VLSI program in the late 1970s generated enthusiasm in the west for the Japanese model of collaborative R&D, MITI failures during the 1980s were interpreted as massively dysfunctional attempts to force an anachronistic industrial policy on reluctant firms. This dissertation argues that MITI has learned from past mistakes and is adapting effectively to its role of promoting frontier research from a position of decreased leverage over firms. The increased breadth and flexibility of contemporary MITI programs complement the long-term research interests of Japanese firms and, depending on the technologies involved, offer important opportunities for foreign firms and governments to engage the "capitalist developmental state."... |
