Japan’s SBIR Scheme

Following the SBIR program in the U.S. in 1982, a similar program has been enacted in Japan in 1999, officially known as the Law for Facilitating Creation of New Business, but often referred to as the Japanese SBIR programme. Japan’s SBIR scheme aims to increase opportunities for SMEs with technology development capability, to receive support for their R&D, and to support the commercialization of outcomes from such activities, based on the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Business Enhancement Act. This monograph highlights a peculiar characteristic of the Japanese SBIR scheme compared to the U.S. program, namely Japan’s SBIR recipients are relatively old.