Technical Webinar on Updated Japanese Intangible Investment Estimates

The technical webinar took place on 16 February 2026 at 13:00 CET, as part of the Global INTAN-
Invest programme. The webinar opened with remarks by Anmol Grewal (World Intellectual Property
Organization), who highlighted the importance of updated Japanese estimates for the Global INTAN-
Invest Database. The session was chaired by Filippo Bontadini.

Key findings were presented by Tsutomu Miyagawa (Gakushuin University), based on joint work with
Konomi Tonogi (Rissho University) and Takayuki Ishikawa (Kanagawa University). The updated
estimates follow the 2025 methodology and are fully aligned with the Global INTAN-Invest
classification of intangibles. A major revision to Japan’s System of National Accounts (SNA), including
updated supply-use tables and a shift to 2020 constant prices, resulted in a substantial upward
revision of GDP and software investment. Software investment now accounts for roughly one third
of the GDP revision, while total intangible investment reached 69 trillion JPY (€371 billion) in 2020
constant prices.

International comparisons show that, despite strong growth in software investment,
Japan’s overall capital formation growth remains the lowest among major advanced economies.
The presentation was followed by comments from members of the Technical Advisory Board and
Steering Committee, including Jonathan Haskel (Imperial College London) and Jorrit Zwijnenburg
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The webinar concluded with reminders
of the upcoming technical webinar on Philippine estimates (2 March) and the 3rd Global INTAN-
Invest Conference, to be held 7 - 8 May in Rome.