Abstract
The aim of this article is to present an overview of how Japan has affected the international science community with their creation and use of internationally co-authored articles. The analysis ahs been carried out on three levels, from macro to micro, i.e.: country-level, laboratory-level, and scientist-level. Trends and patterns in international collaboration between Japan and 97 nations, according to eight large divisions of scientific disciplines for the period 1981-1986, using data from the Science Citation Index are presented. Relationships between Japan and its largest partners are described, and Japan專 position in the collaborative activities of different countries are delineated. Collaboration with Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, France, and China are observed at a laboratory-level. Furthermore, a frequently cited scientist is analysed as a case study for the observation of the international network. One of the major findings has been that internationalization in science progressed in Japan during the period under study. The increase of international activity gradually altered Japan's scientific relationships with other countries, establishing more equilibrium between Japan and the USA, Western Europe, and other Asian Pacific countries. Collaboration patterns between Japan and each of the other countries are not similar, but rather each relationship is characterized by different fields of science.
