A bibliometric analysis of the scholarly impact of early Subaru Telescope-based publications

Abstract Bibliometric methods provide valuable tools for assessing scientific productivity and impact across disciplines, yet their application in astronomy journals remains relatively limited. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of Japanese astronomy publications before and after the commissioning of the Subaru Telescope, a major national investment in observational infrastructure. Using data from Scopus and SciVal, we examine peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1996 and 2007 by authors affiliated with Japanese institutions, focusing on field-normalized citation indicators such as the Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and the share of publications in the top $10\%$ most cited globally. Subaru Telescope-based publications are identified through cross-referencing with official telescope publication lists and are compared against national and global benchmarks. The results show that Subaru Telescope-based publications, while accounting for less than $10\%$ of Japan’s total scholarly output in astronomy, consistently achieved FWCI values above 2.0 and a significantly higher proportion of highly cited papers. This indicates that the Subaru Telescope substantially enhanced Japan’s research visibility and impact, especially during its early operational years. This study demonstrates the utility of bibliometric evaluation in capturing the academic return of large-scale research facilities and contributes to broader discussions on research infrastructure in astronomy.