R&D; Spending to Be Flat at Major Japanese Firms

Depressed by cuts in profit forecasts and a gloomy economic outlook, some high-tech-focused Japanese companies are preparing to freeze spending on research and development.

The sharp competition for world markets between the United States and Japan has been marked by U.S. concern that American firms lag the Japanese in R&D; spending.

Electronics giant Hitachi Ltd. is unlikely to spend more on R&D; in fiscal 1992 than the $3.17 billion it budgeted for this fiscal year, which ends March 31, a spokesman said.

He blamed the present harsh economic climate. Up to now, he said, the company has annually increased R&D;, which now stands at 10.3% of sales. Ten years ago, R&D; was 6%.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also said its R&D; spending will be flat--about the same as 1991’s $1.47 billion. It has had annual rises of around 10% the last decade.

The budget spent on fast-growing areas such as fuel cells, flat panel displays used in portable computers and high-density application-specific integrated circuit chips for consumer and other electronics products will expand at the expense of other fields, a spokesman said.

Japan’s No. 2 auto maker, Nissan Motor Co., said that after several years of spending increases, it will hold R&D; in 1992 to its 1991 level of $1.93 billion.