Innovation Activities and Regional Med-TechPartnerships in Japan
Susanne Brucksch, Social Science & Innovation Studies
Background
Despite the decline in innovation activities since the 1990s, Japanis currently experiencing a rise of ikō renkei (, med-techpartnerships) at the interface between academia, industry andhospitals. These partnerships follow a different mode ofinnovation compared to conventional university-industry linkages() as they are medical need-driven instead of technology
seed-driven. However, while there is no clear definition of ikōrenkei,
thetermpointstoboundaries
betweenmedicine/engineering, or clinical workplace/manufacturing.

Source:Compiled on the basis of
JFMDA 2012, Internet.

Import-export ratio of Japan, 2011 (Unit: Billion Yen)

Research QuestionØ How far does the institutional context and STI policy in Japaninfluence the emergence, structure and innovation activities of
med-tech partnerships in Japan?
Ø Which role do intermediary organisations such as regional
matching-hubs play in fostering med-tech partnerships?

Case II: Medical Device Development Promotion Center (Koriyama)Ø 2005: established as intermediary organisation, since 2016
operating of a clinical R&D and testing site (most advanced inJapan) with 55 employees with various specialisations
Ø purpose: reviving the economy in the Fukushima region
Ø renting-out of highly specialised med-tech laboratories andtraining rooms to hospitals, companies and students
Ø medical lectures (up to 200 attendees), trainings, exhibitions
Ø strategic partnering and establishing of contacts withcollaboration partners within and across the region
Ø proximity to the Kanto region is an incentive to attract highly
qualified human resources (Shinkansen Station)

Concluding Remarks

By employing a multiple-actor perspective, this research explores
cases of med-tech partnerships in Japan and their innovation
activities. This exploratory study consists of an interview study
with central actors of academia, industry and medical institutions
regarding single cases of med-tech partnerships. In addition, it
investigates the institutional contexts by paying particularattention to boundaries: national and regional authorities, social
insurance, and support schemes throughout the field of study.

Matching-hubs provide resources, knowledge and regional
infrastructure for knowledge-based innovation. They improve theopportunity structure for med-tech partnerships within andacross the region. They attempt to develop alternatives todeclining industries and population in their region. Moreprecisely, they foster strategic partnering and networks toovercome boundaries and increase collaboration.
In addition, networks and strategic partnering between centerregions and periphery seems to be important as well as between
regional centers and local communities. Nevertheless, while
HAMIQ goes beyond a prefectural vision of economic
revitalization, the Medical Device Development Promotion Center
retains the focus on the prefectural economy.

Preliminary Findings

References

Case I: HAMIQ - Healthcare and Medical Device Industry in K(Q)yushu
Ø 2013: initiated top-down by METI and the Cabinet OfficeØ strategic partnering within and across the Kyushu region(: “all Kyushu” as regional cluster)Ø information, consultation, networking, subsidies, matching
events, seminars, trainings
Ø platforms (madoguchi) within clinics and hospitals
Ø strategic matching with partners in the central regions iscrucial (large firms, esp. the University of Tokyo)§ Collins, Stevens, W. (2008): “Knowledge Clusters and the Revitalization of Regional Economics in Japan: A Case
Study of the Biomedical Industry in Kobe”, Prometheus 26/1 (Mar 2008), 111-122, DOI:
10.1080/08109020701846066.
§ Croisant, Jennifer L.; Smith-Doerr, Laurel (2008): “Organizational Contexts of Science: Boundaries andRelationships between University and Industry”, E.J. Hacket, O. Amsterdamska, M. Lynch, J. Wajcman (eds.):
The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies: Third Edition. MIT Press: 691-718.
§ JFMDA (The Japan Federation of Medical Devices Associations) (2012), Iryô kiki sangyô no kokunai seisan dôtai
gaiyô: Yakuji kôgyô seisan dôtai tôkei nenbô (Outline of domestic production of the medical engineering
industry: Annual report about dynamic statistic on the medical industrial production (2011),
http://www.jfmda.gr.jp/main_outline/index.html (Oct 2014) (accessed Jul 2014)§ JFMDA (Ikiren) (2015): Sangyō kurasutaa shōkai shiriizu: Ikiren nyuusu 76-go kara 89-go made, Tokyo: Nihon
iryō kiki sangyō rengōkai (Ikiren, JFMDA).
§ Jonas, Michael (2005): “Brücken zur regionalen Clusterforschung. Soziologische Annäherung an einökonomisches Erklärungskonzept”, Zeitschrift für Soziologie (34, 4, Aug 2005), 270-287.
§ METI (n.y.), Industrial Cluster Policy,
http://www.meti.go.jp/english/policy/sme_chiiki/industrial_cluster_en.html (accessed: 25.10.2017)

Data and Method

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