The Impact of Military Technology Development on Innovation: Evidence from prewar and wartime Japanese secret patents

Atsuki Kotani, Kentaro Nakajima, Tetsuji Okazaki and Yukiko Saito

Discussion papers from Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)

Abstract: Innovations in military technology potentially drive significant societal transformations through applications to civilian use. This study aims to quantitatively measure the impact of military technology development on civilian innovation activities using prewar and wartime Japanese patent data from 1916 to 1945. By exploiting Japan's secret patent system, which classified particularly critical military-related technologies not disclosed to the public, we identify important technological developments. The result shows that the filing of secret patents led to a significant increase in the number of patents within the corresponding technological classifications. Furthermore, this effect is not limited to organizations that registered secret patents; a significant impact is also observed among organizations that did not register secret patents. This suggests that the development of militarily important technologies generates a substantial spillover effect on other organizations.

Pages: 16 pages
Date: 2025-09
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eti:dpaper:25093

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