How Did Japan’s Patent Filings Change in 2024?

Following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan’s domestic patent filings have been on the road to recovery. In 2024, the number rose to 306,855, up from 300,133 in 2023. Back in 2022, some expected filings to stagnate at around 299,000, but the figures have now reached levels comparable to 2019, before the pandemic-related drop.
While we hope to see further growth in 2025, global economic uncertainty—such as tariff increases introduced under the Trump administration—may pose challenges to Japan’s economy and could affect this year’s filing numbers. We will have to wait for the JPO’s 2026 Status Report to see the outcome.
On the other hand, the number of patent registrations—a figure which indicates how many patents were granted after an appeal for review—has declined to 200,284 from 2023 levels, although it seems to have stabilized since 2022 without a sharp decline.

Filings from German Applicants in Japan Show Limited Growth

According to figure 1-1-5, which lists the number of patent applications by the country/region of the applicant, Germany continues to maintain its lead among European nations. However, in the global ranking, the positions have remained unchanged since South Korea overtook Germany in 2022. While South Korea’s filings have been gradually increasing, Germany’s have hovered in the high 5,000 range—5,700 in 2022 and 5,878 in 2023—and even saw a slight decline in 2024. Although this trend is not unique to Germany, as filings from the United States also fell compared to the previous year, we cannot help hoping to see Germany’s numbers somehow recover again in the future.

Looking at the number of patent registrations, only a single German company—Robert Bosch GmbH—appeared in the top 10 foreign registrants of Japan in 2024. With a steady increase in granted patents, Bosch made a comeback to the rankings, climbing to 10th place from 13th in the previous year.

Notably, Bosch recently announced its acquisition of Johnson Controls Hitachi Air Conditioning, one of the business units of Hitachi. With record-breaking hot summer days becoming more frequent across Germany and Europe, measures to cope with this extreme heat—and also to address global warming—are in high demand. We will be watching to see how such developments influence future patent filing trends.

What Lies Ahead for Patent Filings?

How might the number of patent applications evolve in the coming years? In terms of the overall volume worldwide, filings have continued to show a slight upward trend so far. However, upon examining the trends for China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and the EPO, we see that all but China appear to remain largely unchanged.

In Germany, Chancellor Scholz’s “traffic light coalition” (“Ampelkoalition”) has come to an end, and a new government led by CDU party leader Friedrich Merz has taken office. With potential turmoil stemming from tariff policies under President Trump, coupled with existing domestic political and economic crises, the direction of Germany’s economy remains uncertain. We will be monitoring how the situation might affect patent filings in the near future.

Turning briefly to application trends in Germany by Japanese companies, we have observed a recent increase in Paris Route applications filed solely in Germany, as opposed to EP or PCT filings. Of course, at transeuro, we handle Japanese-to-German translations for such applications, so the future trajectory of the German economy is of great interest to us. Additionally, we continue to follow the impact of the Unitary Patent system, which began in Europe in 2023.

Finally, it is worth noting that in Japan, operation of the non-disclosure system for patent applications began under the Economic Security Promotion Act in May 2024. In September 2024, the JPO published an explanatory manga titled “Key Points of the Non-Disclosure System for Patent Applications Explained Through Manga,” which was intended to help businesses understand the system.

We will always remain attentive to domestic and international patent trends and systems, and strive to provide services that meet our customers’ needs by staying up to date with the latest information.
Should you have any questions or translation requests regarding patent specifications / office action responses (or other kinds of documents), please feel free to contact us at any time.