Japan

In terms of technologically powerful economy in the world, Japan has positioned itself as the second after the US, and the third-largest economy in the world followed by the US and China. The Japanese economy has had its ups and downs over the past decade, with GDP growing less than one percent in five of the last 10 years. Japan has been adversely affected by a number of events including the Asian economic crisis in 1998, the tech bust of 2000, and the global economic slowdown during the 2001-2003, and 2008-2009.

Electronics Industry
The fields in which Japan enjoys relatively high technological development include semiconductor manufacturing, optical fibers, optoelectronics, video discs and videotex, facsimile and copy machines, industrial robots, and fermentation processes. Japan lags slightly in such fields as satellites, rockets, and large aircraft, where advanced engineering capabilities are required, and in such fields as computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), databases, and natural resources exploitation, where basic software capabilities are required.

Nanotechnology 
The Japanese Government invests heavily in nanotechnology, viewing its successful development as a key area of the economy; and it is a priority area under the national Science and Technology plan.Government agencies and large corporations are the main sources of funding for nanotechnology in Japan, and most research activities are grouped in relatively large industrial, government, and academic laboratories. “Nanotechnology and Materials” has been designated a priority area under the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan (2006-2011); it had the same priority status in the first and second plans. Other priority promotion areas are Life sciences, IT and Environmental sciences. Japan is likely to overtake the United States in terms of government funding for nanotechnology over the next few years.