On 10 November 2023 (Friday), The 16th International Special Conference on Regional Innovation and Cooperation in ASIA (RICA) was held at Ritsumeikan University Biwako Kusatsu Campus, Epoch Ritsumei 21. RICA is an initiative of universities and research institutions in four countries (Ritsumeikan University, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) in Thailand, Pusan National University in South Korea, and Jinan University in China). The first conference was held in 2006 at the BKC of Ritsumeikan University, and since then international conferences have been held annually on a rotating basis. Every year, a number of young researchers, including graduate students, as well as faculty members from various research institutions, participate and present their research. An important objective of RICA is to build a system of international educational collaboration at the postgraduate level, and a number of young researchers who will lead the next generation have been born from the participants in the conferences.

This time, the 16th conference featured a key session in the morning ("COVID-19 Pandemic and Responses against it in Asian Countries") with four research reports and discussions, followed by the breakout sessions, research reports were presented on a wide range of issues, including policy and the impact on local economies of the Corona disaster in South Korea, Thailand, China, Bangladesh and Japan. In the breakout sessions, 41 research reports were presented, including those by graduate students from the Ritsumeikan University's Graduate School of Economics. More than 100 participants, including some from overseas, attended the event, where a lively and meaningful Q&A session and discussion ensued. RICA plans to hold an international conference at Jinan University in China next year.