A View of Studies on Bibliometrics and Related Subjects in Japan

This article surveys studies on bibliometrics and related subjects in Japan. Reviewed articles are classified according to the following categories: (a) studies on bibliometrics—including bibliometric laws, citation studies, scientific communication, and software tools for bibliometrics; and (b) application of bibliometrics—including policies for scientific research, bibliometrics and information retrieval, and databases in oriental languages. An interesting characteristic in the Japanese studies is that databases of texts in oriental languages such as Japanese and Chinese have been developed. Applications of fuzzy set theory to document retrieval using bibliometric techniques are also observed. We emphasize the models and methods used in common between bibliometrics and other fields of sciences.