World Tech Rankings

JP

Japan

Japan ranks between 3rd and 33rd across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025.

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TechnologyRankIts neighbours in the rankingShare of the top 10%, from 2021 to 2025Its institution with the most credit

Wide-bandgap semiconductors

1stCN40.8%2ndUS18.6%3rdJP5.3%4thIN4.3%5thKR2.9%

Kyoto University0.5% of the top 10%

4–6tied, of 27

1stUS38.7%3rdDE11.5%4–6GB4.7%4–6JP4.7%4–6AU4.2%7–8FR3.5%

RIKEN0.8% of the top 10%

mRNA vaccines and therapeutics

4–5tied, of 70

1stUS38.7%3rdDE3.5%4–5CA3.4%4–5JP3.3%6thAU2.7%7thGB2.5%

Hokkaido University0.6% of the top 10%

Quantum computing

1stUS34.9%4thGB5.9%5thCH3.7%6thJP3.4%7thCA3.3%8–9NL3.0%

The University of Tokyo0.6% of the top 10%

Magnets and superconductors

5–6tied, of 58

1stCN35.0%4thIN4.8%5–6DE4.6%5–6JP4.6%7–8IT2.6%7–8CH2.6%

National Institute for Materials Science1.4% of the top 10%

Optical communication

5–6tied, of 54

1stCN38.8%3–4GB3.5%5–6DE3.2%5–6JP3.1%7thIN2.4%8thEG2.0%

The University of Tokyo0.4% of the top 10%

Post-quantum cryptography

7–8tied, of 59

1stCN20.4%5thKR4.3%6thGB3.4%7–8JP2.8%7–8DE2.6%9thAU2.5%

University of Electro-Communications1.1% of the top 10%

Advanced chip manufacturing

7–8tied, of 39

1stCN31.8%5thTW5.4%6thBE2.1%7–8JP1.7%7–8IR1.6%9–10HK1.3%

Yokohama National University0.5% of the top 10%

Small satellites

8–14tied, of 473.3 papers of credit

1stUS13.7%5–7NO3.1%5–7LU2.8%8–14JP2.6%8–14DE2.5%8–14AU2.5%

Kyushu Institute of Technology1.6% of the top 10%

8–9tied, of 50

1stUS27.5%6thIT5.0%7thCH3.2%8–9JP2.2%8–9ES2.2%10thKR1.6%

National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology0.6% of the top 10%

Quantum sensors

7–8tied, of 48

1stCN22.5%6thIT3.3%7–8NL3.0%7–8JP2.9%9–10AU2.4%9–10CH2.1%

National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology0.4% of the top 10%

Autonomous underwater vehicles

8–13tied, of 443.4 papers of credit

1stCN71.7%7thIN1.4%8–13CA1.0%8–13JP0.9%8–13DE0.8%8–13IL0.8%

Kagawa University0.4% of the top 10%

8–9tied, of 182.9 papers of credit

1stCN34.8%6–7IN5.2%8–9PL3.0%8–9JP2.9%10–12RU2.0%10–12TW2.0%

Nagoya University1.1% of the top 10%

Sonar and underwater acoustics

9–14tied, of 374.1 papers of credit

1stCN71.6%5–8AU1.6%5–8PL1.4%9–14JP1.1%9–14SG1.0%9–14PK1.0%

The University of Tokyo0.5% of the top 10%

Advanced robotics

1stCN31.5%7–8AU3.2%9thCH3.0%10thJP2.7%11thSG2.3%12thFR1.8%

The University of Tokyo0.6% of the top 10%

Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel

9–10tied, of 68

1stCN44.5%8thMA2.5%9–10KR2.2%9–10JP2.1%11–12IR1.7%11–12DE1.6%

Kyushu University0.5% of the top 10%

Electric batteries

11–13tied, of 89

1stCN68.0%9thIN1.3%10thSG0.8%11–13JP0.5%11–13SA0.5%11–13ES0.5%

University of Tsukuba0.0% of the top 10%

Perovskite solar cells

10–11tied, of 76

1stCN53.9%8–9BD2.0%10–11CH1.6%10–11JP1.6%12thAU1.5%13thPK1.0%

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University0.3% of the top 10%

8–11tied, of 77

1stUS32.2%8–11NL1.6%8–11CA1.6%8–11JP1.5%12thIT1.4%13–14AU1.1%

The University of Tokyo0.5% of the top 10%

Hyperspectral imaging

10–12tied, of 54

1stCN71.4%8–9GB1.0%10–12CA0.9%10–12JP0.8%10–12HK0.8%13–18MO0.6%

RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project0.3% of the top 10%

Large language models

1stCN27.4%10thCA1.7%11thSG1.6%12thJP1.4%13thES1.2%14thSA1.1%

The University of Tokyo0.2% of the top 10%

Advanced aircraft engines

13–19tied, of 472.0 papers of credit

1stCN64.6%7–11NZ1.2%12thCH0.9%13–19JP0.6%13–19HK0.6%13–19IR0.5%

Nagoya University0.3% of the top 10%

Hypersonic flight

12–17tied, of 282.4 papers of credit

1stCN65.9%9–11GB0.8%12–17IQ0.7%12–17JP0.7%12–17IL0.6%12–17NZ0.6%

Kyushu University0.3% of the top 10%

Quantum communication

14–15tied, of 57

1stCN28.9%11–13CH2.0%11–13DK1.9%14–15JP1.3%14–15SG1.3%16–17IL1.1%

The University of Tokyo0.4% of the top 10%

High-performance computing

14–21tied, of 452.6 papers of credit

1stUS36.3%11–13HK1.3%11–13SE1.1%14–21JP1.0%14–21SA0.9%14–21NL0.9%

RIKEN Center for Computational Science0.7% of the top 10%

Genome sequencing

13–14tied, of 59

1stUS33.6%10–12HK1.3%13–14IN1.2%13–14JP1.1%15–18DK1.0%15–18FR1.0%

The University of Osaka0.1% of the top 10%

Advanced composites

12–14tied, of 68

1stCN50.8%12–14FR0.9%12–14CA0.9%12–14JP0.9%15–18SA0.8%15–18PT0.8%

The University of Tokyo0.3% of the top 10%

Supercapacitors

14–15tied, of 86

1stCN46.3%13thAE0.9%14–15MY0.8%14–15JP0.8%16thHK0.7%17–18CA0.6%

Kyoto University0.1% of the top 10%

Nuclear fission power

14–17tied, of 64

1stCN43.3%12–13IR0.8%14–17AE0.7%14–17JP0.7%14–17SA0.6%14–17BE0.6%

Tokyo Institute of Technology0.2% of the top 10%

Hydrogen by electrolysis

13–16tied, of 83

1stCN53.0%13–16PT0.9%13–16FR0.9%13–16JP0.9%17–20TW0.7%17–20NL0.7%

Tohoku University0.1% of the top 10%

Satellite navigation

14–16tied, of 45

1stCN56.1%14–16IR1.0%14–16BR0.9%14–16JP0.9%17–18CH0.8%17–18SI0.7%

Chiba Institute of Technology0.2% of the top 10%

Synthetic biology

15–19tied, of 554.4 papers of credit

1stCN45.7%15–19SE0.7%15–19IT0.7%15–19JP0.7%15–19MX0.7%15–19BR0.6%

RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science0.2% of the top 10%

17–19tied, of 464.0 papers of credit

1stCN46.2%16thNL0.9%17–19CA0.7%17–19JP0.6%17–19AE0.5%20–22BE0.4%

National Institute for Materials Science0.1% of the top 10%

16–32tied, of 411.3 papers of credit

1stCN77.0%16–32LU0.3%16–32TR0.2%16–32JP0.2%16–32VN0.2%16–32SA0.2%

Tohoku University0.1% of the top 10%

6G and advanced wireless

18–19tied, of 80

1stCN39.9%16–17TW1.3%16–17GR1.3%18–19JP1.2%18–19FI1.2%20thTR0.9%

Tohoku University0.5% of the top 10%

16–20tied, of 73

1stCN55.5%16–20PK0.5%16–20AE0.5%16–20JP0.5%16–20DK0.5%21–24EG0.4%

National Institute for Materials Science0.1% of the top 10%

Electronic warfare

20–23tied, of 230.1 papers of credit

1stCN81.0%4–19GR0.2%20–23LB0.1%20–23SA0.1%20–23JP0.1%20–23LU0.1%

NTT (Japan)0.1% of the top 10%

New antibiotics and antivirals

22–23tied, of 82

1stCN30.3%17–21ZA1.0%17–21RO0.9%22–23JP0.8%22–23RU0.8%24–28MY0.7%

The University of Tokyo0.2% of the top 10%

Additive manufacturing

22–24tied, of 90

1stCN34.0%22–24CH0.7%22–24PL0.7%22–24JP0.7%25–26BR0.6%25–26IE0.6%

The University of Osaka0.2% of the top 10%

Drones and swarming

23–26tied, of 81

1stCN52.2%23–26ES0.6%23–26ET0.6%23–26JP0.6%23–26QA0.6%27–29DZ0.5%

Tohoku University0.1% of the top 10%

Distributed ledgers

26–29tied, of 103

1stCN20.6%21–24TW0.9%25thEG0.8%26–29JP0.7%26–29PT0.7%26–29NO0.7%

Waseda University0.2% of the top 10%

29–33tied, of 104

1stCN14.8%29–33IE0.5%29–33FI0.5%29–33JP0.5%34–36QA0.4%34–36DK0.4%

Outside the top 30

Nara Institute of Science and Technology0.1% of the top 10%

Critical minerals processing

No credit in the top 10%.

Inertial navigation

No credit in the top 10%.

Directed energy

No credit in the top 10%.

Neighbours are the countries ranked just above and below. Ranks are shown as a range where shares are equal to one decimal place. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method

Where Japan is in the top three

Pilot

Each paper sorted into one sub-area by an AI model reading its title and abstract, then credited as usual. On 200 hand-labelled papers it chose the same sub-area, or a defensible second, 92% of the time. Shown where the sub-area has at least 30 papers in the top 10% and the country at least five papers of credit.

3rdDiamond, aluminium nitride and other ultra-wide-bandgap materialsWide-bandgap semiconductors, 37 papers; behind United States 37.3% and China 26.0%17.2%
3rdPower modules, packaging and thermal managementWide-bandgap semiconductors, 78 papers; behind China 40.1% and United States 24.4%8.2%
3rdNd-Fe-B permanent magnetsMagnets and superconductors, 79 papers; behind China 58.1% and Germany 8.3%7.6%
3rdFree-space optical links (terrestrial, satellite, aerial)Optical communication, 147 papers; behind China 25.6% and United States 6.4%6.0%
3rdLipid nanoparticle chemistry, formulation and stabilitymRNA vaccines and therapeutics, 198 papers; behind United States 34.0% and China 15.1%5.6%