Happy new year, everyone.
I sincerely hope that 2026 be a year filled with progress and hope for you all.

The world today is evolving beyond material abundance and entering into a new era of pursuing cultural value and sensitivity. While artificial intelligence and life sciences are opening up new possibilities, urgent issues remain, including wars and conflicts, divisions and exclusivism brought about by rapid globalization, demographic issues, and energy problems. Not only local communities and individual nations, but the entire international community requires people equipped with the ability to solve complex problems by integrating and synthesizing a diverse array of values. We must create new education and research that combines knowledge and sensitivity.

To accomplish this bold task, Ritsumeikan has formulated the R2030 Academy Vision, which describes the ideal shape that the Academy should take by 2030. At its core lies the creation of a world-leading next-generation research university and a next-generation inquiry-based learning academy, alongside the cultivation of innovative and emergent talent. Going forward, we will accelerate institutional development to become an Academy that contributes to the society of the future and expand our international intellectual networks.

Last year was a historical milestone in which we celebrated the 155th anniversary of the founding of Ritsumeikan and the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Academy. Reflecting on the founding spirit of “Freedom and Innovation” expounded by Nakagawa Kojuro, who took to heart the aspirations of our founder Saionji Kinmochi, we renewed our determination to never stop rising to the challenge. We will lead the way in solving regional and global issues through industry-academia-government collaboration, having been selected for several large-scale projects that tackle world-class research challenges, including the “SX Research and Development Site” and “Elemental Technology for Lunar Surface Infrastructure” projects funded by the Space Strategy Fund (Phases I and II, respectively) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Program for Forming Japan’s Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS). Furthermore, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, which celebrated its 25th anniversary, is accelerating its efforts to cultivate global talent under its vision of creating “APU Graduates possess the power to change our world.” We are also deploying outstanding education and inquiry-based activities at our affiliated schools while strengthening collaboration between the universities and the affiliated schools.

In 2026, we will enter the second half of the R2030 Academy Vision. This year marks a crucial turning point for the Ritsumeikan Academy to further deepen mutual collaboration, elevate our standards, and realize our goal of becoming a next-generation research university and a next-generation academy rooted in inquisitiveness. One symbol of this is the College of Arts and Design and the Graduate School of Science in Arts and Design that will open this April. Transcending conventional frameworks of education and research, we will pursue a new kind of future-oriented design studies. Grounded in the technology and sensibility of art, we will implement innovative education and research that bridges the natural sciences and the humanities and social sciences as we pioneer a new, globally relevant approach to design studies. Ritsumeikan will embody the mid-term plan's vision slogan of “Challenge your mind. Change our Future” and maximize the strengths of our comprehensive academy that spans the primary, junior high school, senior high school, university, and graduate levels to create a rich learning environment where diverse individual talents intersect and resonate with one another.

With an eye toward 2050, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Academy, we aim to become a world-class research university and academy rooted in inquisitiveness. We will generate new value, take on yet-unknown challenges, and work alongside young people to open new frontiers at the vanguard of knowledge. By feeding the outcomes of these efforts back into society and through real-world applications, we will continue to advance as an academy that demonstrates a strong global presence.

I look forward to serving you again this year.

Yoshio Nakatani
Chancellor
The Ritsumeikan Trust

January 1, 2026