"The Language Barrier" Delays Innovation: The True Cause of the "Half Delay" for Japanese Technology Reaching the U.S.

Research Focus: What Was Investigated and How

The stage for this research is "patents." Unlike academic papers or conference presentations, patents organize technical content (sometimes in a roundabout way) as legal documents, and citation relationships are relatively easy to track. The research team collected cases where American inventors cited inventions originating from Japan, focusing on the time until the citation occurred.

The key factor was a change in the U.S. patent system. At a certain point, patent information under application began to be published earlier, creating a situation where technical information accessible in English increased (or was expedited). Researchers used this system change as a "natural experiment" to compare how the "citation of Japanese-origin technology in the U.S." changed before and after the change.

The data consisted of 2,770 cases where U.S.-based inventors referenced Japanese inventions. The conclusions drawn from this are clear.

• Language barriers can explain about half of the delay in the citation of Japanese-origin knowledge in the U.S.

• The effect is significant for companies that find it difficult to internalize translation capabilities (those with small R&D scales or little involvement in the Japanese market)

• Interestingly, the suggestion is that early English access is more effective for inventions considered high-quality (high impact).

In other words, translation delays are not merely "administrative delays" but influence the competitive conditions of who can reach the next invention.

The structure of "large companies can overcome, but small and medium-sized enterprises find it difficult"

Here lies a counterintuitive point.

"If the technology is truly valuable, won't someone translate it and spread it?"
This intuition is half correct but also a half pitfall.

The research shows that translation is more likely to benefit those who have the capacity to translate rather than happening "spontaneously." Large companies can hire professional translators, employ personnel who can read Japanese materials, or gather information at local bases. Thus, the language barrier is a "cost" but not a "fatal wound."

On the other hand, translation is burdensome for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.

• Translation costs weigh as fixed expenses

• The narrower the technical field, the more precision in terminology is required

• Determining "which patents to translate" also incurs costs

As a result, R&D tends to gravitate towards information easily accessible in English, and the "buds" of linguistically distant regions are overlooked. When this accumulates, the international flow of technology becomes skewed towards capable companies and countries.

Is "targeted translation" more difficult for high-quality inventions?

Another interesting point is that "the effect is stronger for high-quality inventions."
Logically, important inventions would be translated first. However, reality is not that simple.

The reason lies in the difficulty of "translation discernment." Patents immediately after filing have uncertain value. Moreover, patent documents prioritize claiming the scope of rights over readability, making content comprehension costly. What is needed here is:

• Understanding of technology

• Understanding of patent writing

• Ability to foresee potential
  This is quite a luxurious skill set.

The research suggests that there are situations where such "targeted translation (prioritizing and accurately translating valuable items)" is difficult, which is why policy changes that provide early English access particularly boost the dissemination of valuable inventions.

SNS Reactions (Organized by Points of Discussion)

This topic, involving elements of "translation," "patents," and "Japan to overseas," tends to diverge into different points of discussion on social media. The prominent "reaction types" can be organized into the following trends in post content.

1) The "In the End, English is Too Dominant" Group

• As scientific and technological communication concentrates in English, achievements from non-English-speaking regions "arrive late"

• While less visible to English-speaking regions, non-English-speaking regions always face "dual tasks" (research + translation)
  This is perceived as a structural issue.

2) The "Won't AI Translation Solve This?" Group

• If machine translation and generative AI reduce translation costs, the problem should rapidly shrink

• However, since patents are legal documents, the risk of mistranslation is significant
  This is a set of expectations and cautious opinions. Particularly in fields where "accuracy is crucial," optimism is less prevalent.

3) The Group Responding to "The Impact is Greater on SMEs"

• Global competition widens disparities not only in financial power but also in "language access"

• Supporting SMEs might be more effective with information infrastructure (translation, search, summary) rather than just subsidies
  This connects to discussions on policy and industrial support.

4) The "Are Patents Even Being Read?" Group

• Patent documents are hard to read, too numerous, and contain a lot of noise

• Yet, "genealogy of technology" remains through citations, making them strong subjects for analysis
  This is a common reaction within the engineering community.

※ Notably, immediately after the article's publication, the comment section on Phys.org was not active, indicating that discussions are more likely to disperse across social media and external communities.

So, What Changes Would Speed Up "Dissemination"?

The direction suggested by the research does not end with simply "increasing translations." The key point is "who benefits."
If the effect is significant for companies with poor translation capabilities, the following forms of policy or systems become realistic.

• Public Translation and Summary Infrastructure: Patent offices and public institutions provide early translations of a certain quality

• Strengthening Search and Classification: Not only translation but also increasing "discoverability" (visualization of synonyms, technical classifications, citation networks)

• Quality Assurance Mechanisms: A hybrid of machine translation and expert review to reduce mistranslation costs

• "Translation Capability" Support for SMEs: Instead of subsidies for translation itself, fostering a system (literacy) that enables in-house decision-making

The important point is that leaving translation to "private efforts" makes those who can translate increasingly advantageous. Researchers view "early publication and early English access" as a public good precisely for this reason.

Conclusion: Language is Not "Culture" but "Infrastructure"

Language differences are often discussed as cultural differences. However, in the field of innovation, language is not culture but infrastructure. Just as logistics are hindered if roads are undeveloped, knowledge distribution is hindered if translation is delayed. And this delay does not occur equally. Those with resources cross first, while those without are left behind.

If the world truly wants to accelerate the pace of research and invention, merely "increasing excellent inventions" is not enough. Ensuring that excellent inventions are "readable" and reach the necessary people at the necessary time—supporting this obvious need might become the next competitive edge.

Source URL

1. General Explanation and Research Overview
   https://phys.org/news/2026-02-language-barriers-international-diffusion-knowledge.html

2. Abstract of the Paper (Sample size 2,770, language barriers explain about half of the delay, key points on the attributes of affected companies)
   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41652157/

3. Journal (Nature Human Behaviour) Guide to the Relevant Paper (Short Introduction by Editorial Staff, Publication Date Information)
   https://www.nature.com/nathumbehav/articles?year=2026

4. Related Event Information (RIETI: Summary of Language Barriers and Knowledge Diffusion as Event Report)
   https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/22102502/info.html

5. Related Working Paper (RIETI Discussion Paper: Detailed PDF)
   https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/22e074.pdf