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Japan vs Taiwan

On research quality in 2022-now, Japan ranks #16 in the world and Taiwan #24, of 189 countries. Japan stands higher in 23 of the 26 fields both publish in, Taiwan in 3.

Research profiles alike: 0.71very similar shapes of research, whatever their size. How it is measured

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Japan

World rank, 2022-now
#16
#17 all time
Works, 2022-now
558k
fractional
Top-10% rate
6.0%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
42%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Condensed Matter Physics, Structural Biology, Gastroenterology.

Taiwan

World rank, 2022-now
#24
#24 all time
Works, 2022-now
143k
fractional
Top-10% rate
9.7%
share of its work among the world's most cited
Open access
29%
of its works free to read

Strongest relative focus: Bioengineering, Hardware and Architecture, Otorhinolaryngology.

Who leads, measure by measure?

Taiwan leads on 5 of 9 measures: citation excellence for its fields, top-10% rate, citations per work, international co-authorship and growth. Japan leads on 4 of 9 measures: research quality, output, institutions in the world top 100 and open access.

Japan 45 Taiwan
  1. #16Research qualityworld rank of 189 countries, 2022-now#24
  2. 0.64×Citation excellence for its fieldsits top-10% rate against what its topics predict; 1.00× is as expected0.88×
  3. 558kOutputfractional works, 2022-now143k
  4. 6.0%Top-10% rateshare of its works among the world's most cited9.7%
  5. 17.2Citations per workall time, per fractional work18.9
  6. 1World top 100institutions it holds among the world's best 1000
  7. 42%Open accessof its works free to read, all time29%
  8. 12%Internationalof its works written with co-authors abroad, all time17%
  9. -5%Growthworks in 2022-25 against 2018-21; half a bar is no change+8%

A rank is drawn as its standing: the longer the bar, the nearer the top. Anything else is drawn against the larger of the two, and two values a hair apart are called level. Quality, citation excellence and the top-10% rate are explained in the methodology.

Who leads in each field?

Japan stands higher in 23 of 26 fields, Taiwan in 3. Japan leads most in Physics and Astronomy (#10 against #28); Taiwan leads most in Decision Sciences (#20 against #25). Each bar is that side's standing among all countries ranked in the field: the full bar is first place.

Japan 233 Taiwan
  1. #16Agricultural and Biological Sciences#30
  2. #22Arts and Humanities#33
  3. #13Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#24
  4. #26Business, Management and Accounting#22
  5. #13Chemical Engineering#22
  6. #14Chemistry#23
  7. #16Computer Science#21
  8. #25Decision Sciences#20
  9. #12Dentistry#15
  10. #15Earth and Planetary Sciences#27
  11. #17Economics, Econometrics and Finance#27
  12. #21Energy#26
  13. #16Engineering#26
  14. #20Environmental Science#25
  15. #22Health Professions#25
  16. #15Immunology and Microbiology#25
  17. #12Materials Science#23
  18. #14Mathematics#25
  19. #18Medicine#22
  20. #16Neuroscience#22
  21. #18Nursing#24
  22. #13Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics#19
  23. #10Physics and Astronomy#28
  24. #23Psychology#21
  25. #26Social Sciences#33
  26. #17Veterinary-

Standing is the percentile of world rank within each field, 2022-now; the printed number is the rank itself. A dash means the field is too small there to rank. How sides are compared.

The numbers behind each field

Click a heading to sort. The side that does better in a pair of columns is shaded: a lower rank, a higher rate, more works.

Field Japan rankTaiwan rank Japan top 10%Taiwan top 10% Japan worksTaiwan works
Agricultural and Biological Sciences #16 #30 6.4% 10.2% 16k 3.6k
Arts and Humanities #22 #33 9.5% 15.4% 5.2k 1.4k
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology #13 #24 5.5% 7.8% 41k 9.2k
Business, Management and Accounting #26 #22 6.2% 13.0% 5.2k 3.6k
Chemical Engineering #13 #22 4.8% 9.1% 2.5k 685
Chemistry #14 #23 4.8% 7.6% 12k 2.1k
Computer Science #16 #21 5.1% 9.8% 37k 13k
Decision Sciences #25 #20 5.7% 13.3% 2.9k 1.6k
Dentistry #12 #15 7.7% 13.0% 2.9k 782
Earth and Planetary Sciences #15 #27 6.7% 6.8% 8.7k 1.7k
Economics, Econometrics and Finance #17 #27 7.4% 9.6% 6.1k 2.1k
Energy #21 #26 6.9% 9.6% 3.6k 1.7k
Engineering #16 #26 4.6% 8.1% 94k 28k
Environmental Science #20 #25 6.0% 8.0% 21k 5.7k
Health Professions #22 #25 6.9% 13.8% 8.9k 2.6k
Immunology and Microbiology #15 #25 6.3% 8.0% 7k 1.8k
Materials Science #12 #23 4.9% 7.4% 27k 7k
Mathematics #14 #25 6.3% 12.9% 6.9k 1.5k
Medicine #18 #22 6.6% 10.5% 167k 36k
Neuroscience #16 #22 5.2% 8.3% 14k 3k
Nursing #18 #24 5.6% 11.3% 2.8k 657
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics #13 #19 6.5% 8.5% 2.6k 492
Physics and Astronomy #10 #28 7.4% 7.4% 22k 3.3k
Psychology #23 #21 6.2% 13.4% 14k 4.2k
Social Sciences #26 #33 7.1% 13.7% 27k 6.8k
Veterinary #17 - 5.0% - 773 -

What is each known for?

The keywords that describe each side's research, by fractional works in 2022-now and weighted toward what it does more of than the world.

Japan

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's
All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology32k▲ 1.28×140 topics
  2. Inflammation21k▲ 1.54×83 topics
  3. Deep Learning18k▼ 0.85×85 topics
  4. Machine Learning14k▼ 0.67×97 topics
  5. Treatment12k▲ 1.59×52 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress12k◆ 1.15×63 topics
  7. Climate Change12k▼ 0.69×132 topics
  8. Chemotherapy11k▲ 2.6×25 topics
  9. Quality of Life11k▲ 1.17×61 topics
  10. Cancer11k▲ 1.24×59 topics
  11. Diagnosis10k▲ 1.78×41 topics
  12. Nanoparticles9,087◆ 1.14×44 topics
  13. Biomedical Applications8,930▲ 1.20×36 topics
  14. Cardiovascular Disease8,839▲ 1.23×39 topics
  15. Immunotherapy8,823▲ 1.94×19 topics
  16. Neural Networks8,643◆ 0.89×42 topics
  17. Risk Factors8,023▲ 1.16×37 topics
  18. Clinical Practice Guidelines7,936▲ 2.3×14 topics
  19. Management7,655▲ 1.52×40 topics
  20. Mechanical Properties6,915◆ 1.12×39 topics
  21. Prognostic Factors6,756▲ 2.5×14 topics
  22. Surgical Management6,288▲ 2.4×20 topics
  23. Neurological Disorders5,916▲ 1.64×20 topics
  24. Tumor Microenvironment5,642▲ 1.98×8 topics
  25. Genetic Mutations5,620▲ 2.0×23 topics
  26. Clinical Trials5,573▲ 1.32×19 topics
  27. Guidelines5,493▲ 1.84×13 topics
  28. Aging5,443▲ 1.58×19 topics
  29. Complications5,433▲ 1.73×17 topics
  30. Heart Failure5,273▲ 1.87×14 topics
  31. Radiotherapy5,136▲ 2.1×13 topics
  32. Neoadjuvant Therapy4,824▲ 3.2×5 topics
  33. Prognosis4,800▲ 2.3×9 topics
  34. Surgery4,267▲ 1.94×12 topics
  35. Survival Analysis4,083▲ 2.4×7 topics
  36. Echocardiography4,000▲ 2.3×8 topics
  37. Modernization3,683▲ 3.2×5 topics
  38. Molecular Characterization3,645▲ 3.3×6 topics
  39. Endoscopic Resection3,093▲ 4.9×2 topics
  40. Adjuvant Therapy3,069▲ 3.9×2 topics

Taiwan

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's
All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Deep Learning7,865▲ 1.41×85 topics
  2. Epidemiology7,791▲ 1.21×140 topics
  3. Inflammation5,362▲ 1.56×83 topics
  4. Machine Learning5,144◆ 0.95×97 topics
  5. Neural Networks3,546▲ 1.42×42 topics
  6. Oxidative Stress3,466▲ 1.30×63 topics
  7. Cancer3,041▲ 1.40×59 topics
  8. Cardiovascular Disease2,938▲ 1.59×39 topics
  9. Nanomaterials2,863▲ 1.69×21 topics
  10. Quality of Life2,852▲ 1.22×59 topics
  11. Biomedical Applications2,838▲ 1.48×36 topics
  12. Climate Change2,619▼ 0.60×126 topics
  13. Treatment2,563▲ 1.30×52 topics
  14. Nanoparticles2,557▲ 1.25×44 topics
  15. Graphene2,017▲ 1.85×12 topics
  16. Chemotherapy1,962▲ 1.71×25 topics
  17. Diagnosis1,924▲ 1.28×41 topics
  18. Convolutional Neural Networks1,880▲ 1.60×14 topics
  19. Metabolic Syndrome1,835▲ 1.40×24 topics
  20. Risk Factors1,826◆ 1.03×37 topics
  21. Nanocomposites1,805▲ 1.41×22 topics
  22. Energy Efficiency1,738▲ 1.16×44 topics
  23. Management1,711▲ 1.32×39 topics
  24. Biomarkers1,678▲ 1.49×18 topics
  25. Biosensors1,644▲ 2.1×12 topics
  26. Tissue Engineering1,615▲ 1.65×13 topics
  27. Energy Storage1,546▲ 1.47×12 topics
  28. Mortality1,483▲ 1.61×13 topics
  29. Immunotherapy1,478▲ 1.26×19 topics
  30. Aging1,473▲ 1.67×19 topics
  31. Semiconductors1,435▲ 3.0×6 topics
  32. Nanostructures1,432▲ 2.2×17 topics
  33. Immune Response1,407▲ 1.53×23 topics
  34. Clinical Practice Guidelines1,381▲ 1.55×14 topics
  35. Semiconductor1,171▲ 2.2×7 topics
  36. Thermal Management1,093▲ 2.1×8 topics
  37. Thin Films959▲ 3.1×10 topics
  38. Field-Effect Transistors920▲ 3.6×4 topics
  39. Solar Cells919▲ 2.8×7 topics
  40. Nanowires874▲ 3.8×5 topics

Size is fractional works in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of the side's work against its share of the world's. Each word links to the topic it comes from most.

How has their output grown?

Japan has out-published Taiwan every year since 1980.

still counting50k100k150kJapan144k in 2025Taiwan38k in 20251990200020102020

Fractional works per year.

Their share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share, because all of science grows. Each line is a side as a percentage of every work published that year.

still counting5.0%10%Japan2.5% in 2025Taiwan0.65% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

The share of each side's works, year by year, that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. The average of all institutions is 10.0% (why not 10%).

still counting5%10%15%Taiwan10.0% in 2025Japan6.4% in 2025200020102020

A year with under 1% of the side's peak output is left out: a rate over a handful of papers says nothing. The latest years are still being cited.

Who holds more of the world's best institutions?

A country's average quality and the number of institutions it holds at the very top can disagree, and both are worth knowing. The counts are nested: an institution in the top 50 is also in the top 100.

Japan 41 level0 Taiwan
  1. 0In the world top 500
  2. 1In the top 1000
  3. 8In the top 5002
  4. 16In the top 1,0005
  5. #13Elite capacityrank among 204 countries#27

Institutions ranked on research quality, 2022-now. Elite capacity counts a country's institutions by their worldwide rank, weighted so a place at #1 counts for more than one at #480.

Which publishes more research, Japan or Taiwan?

Japan publishes 3.9× as much research as Taiwan in 2022-now (558k against 143k fractional works).

Whose research has more impact, Japan or Taiwan?

9.7% of Taiwan's research reaches the world's top 10% most cited, against 6.0% for Japan.

Is Japan or Taiwan growing faster?

Output in 2022-25 was +8% against 2018-21 for Taiwan, and -5% for Japan.

Which has more open access research, Japan or Taiwan?

42% of Japan's research is free to read, against 29% of Taiwan's.

Which has more world-class institutions, Japan or Taiwan?

Japan holds 1 of the world's top 100 research institutions and Taiwan 0; in the top 1,000 it is 16 against 5.

Which institutions lead in each country?

The highest-ranked institutions on each side on research quality, 2022-now. The percentage is each institution's own top-10% rate: the share of its works that are among the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. Every figure stands alone, so they do not add up to 100%.

Japan

  1. 1The University of Tokyo8.1% top 10% · 26k works
  2. 2Kyoto University7.5% top 10% · 16k works
  3. 3RIKEN11.4% top 10% · 4.7k works
  4. 4The University of Osaka7.0% top 10% · 13k works
  5. 5Nagoya University6.8% top 10% · 10k works
  6. 6Tohoku University7.6% top 10% · 14k works

Taiwan

  1. 1National Taiwan University9.0% top 10% · 14k works
  2. 2Academia Sinica9.7% top 10% · 4.1k works
  3. 3National Cheng Kung University9.1% top 10% · 8.4k works
  4. 4National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University9.3% top 10% · 8.4k works
  5. 5National Tsing Hua University9.3% top 10% · 5k works
  6. 6National Sun Yat-sen University9.4% top 10% · 3.2k works

The number is the rank inside the country. The track on each row is the top-10% rate; the tick is the average of all institutions, 10.0% (how it is set): teal above it, red below. The ranking is the quality score, which compares the rate with what each institution's own topics predict and adds a small reward for size, so the rates do not fall in order.

Who are the top researchers on each side?

The most cited researchers on each side, among those ranked.

Japan

  1. 1 Md. Rabiul Awual #6 worldwide 41k citations · 208 works
  2. 2 Ayyoob Sharifi #295 worldwide 23k citations · 468 works
  3. 3 A. S. Bell #544 worldwide 76k citations · 479 works
  4. 4 Noboru Mizushima #728 worldwide 143k citations · 420 works
  5. 5 Haoshen S. Zhou #1,003 worldwide 71k citations · 809 works

Taiwan

  1. 1 Gwo‐Jen Hwang #196 worldwide 39k citations · 649 works
  2. 2 Ming‐Lang Tseng #3,104 worldwide 30k citations · 538 works
  3. 3 Sung‐Fu Hung #3,573 worldwide 30k citations · 198 works
  4. 4 Jien‐Wei Yeh #3,654 worldwide 43k citations · 279 works
  5. 5 Chin‐Chung Tsai #5,063 worldwide 38k citations · 549 works

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