************************
A study from the University of Tsukuba and Hirosaki University found that giving small amounts of money to many researchers is better for big discoveries than giving a lot of money to a few scientists. The study looked at about 180,000 life science and medical projects funded by the government since 1991. It checked how much money projects got and how many important papers they published.

The results showed that giving less than ¥5 million to many scientists helps them make big discoveries, like the creation of iPS cells. This is better than giving more than ¥50 million to a few researchers, who then published fewer important papers.

Ryosuke Oniwa, who led the study, said it’s better to give money to different researchers, not just those with past successes. This approach helps more in achieving innovative results, like those worthy of a Nobel Prize. (For further details, please refer to the September 26th edition of The Yomiuri Shinbun.)
************************

Notes
trillion 一兆;
retail industry 小売業;

******************
Japan’s first convenience store opened in 1969 in Toyonaka, Osaka. Today, the market is dominated by Seven-Eleven Japan Co., FamilyMart Co., and Lawson, Inc., which together control about 90% of the sector. Convenience stores in Japan are self-service and range in size from 30 to 250 square meters. As of 2022, there were 56,232 convenience stores in Japan, generating sales of nearly ¥12.2 trillion. The shift from traditional department stores to convenience stores and shopping malls began after the early 1990s economic downturn. Recently, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has become increasingly prominent in Japan’s retail industry.
******************