This brief report, written for the 11th US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Education Interchange (CULCON) held in June 1982, surveys and summarizes joint US-Japan policy research carried out at research institutions and universities from 1979 to mid-1982. While not comprehensive or exhaustive, the survey does reveal several trends characterizing joint policy research over the period examined.

The author notes a relative paucity of joint policy research projects on bilateral economic relations, as well as a trend for Japanese participation to be less than equal to that of the US side (factors constraining Japanese participation in joint policy research are explained). Also, much industry-specific research makes no attempt to connect to the larger context of US-Japan economic relations and, further, to the multilateral global context. Finally, the author describes a joint research project carried out by the Japan-US Economic Relations Group, or Wisemen’s Group, offering it as a model of future joint research efforts.

Appendix A lists policy research projects and survey research conducted from 1979 that formed the basis for this report’s conclusions. Appendix B is a selected bibliography of books and reports published in 1979–1981 on Japan-US economic relations.