Hitachi has said it will double the size of its R&D activities outside Japan as part of a plan to restructure research in telecoms, power and industrial systems.
The expansion of R&D will take place in Europe, China, America and Asia.
As a result its overseas R&D activities will increase from 150 to 300 staff during the next fiscal year.
It plans to recruit 90% of staff at its R&D centres locally.
In Europe, Hitachi will strengthen its initiatives for leading edge research in the area of spintronics, centred on the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory.
A focus in Europe will be railway and power systems.
Hitachi will also open a R&D base for IT related research in India in 2011.