The Ritsumeikan Trust (Kyoto, Japan; Chancellor Yoshio Nakatani) has been selected for the Next-Generation Open Innovation Program for which the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) put out a public call for applications. By way of the selected project, entitled “RIMIX-SX Startup Creation Hub”, which is built on the Ritsumeikan Impact-Makers Inter X (RIMIX) entrepreneurship and commercialization support platform, Ritsumeikan will promote the real-world application and commercialization of research outcomes in the space sector and seek to build an ecosystem in Kansai that supports the creation and growth of space-sector startups.

The RIMIX-SX Startup Creation Hub (Project leader: Professor Shinichi Nakasuka) will support space-sector startups by promoting open innovation in collaboration with companies, venture capital firms, financial institutions, and other partners. Its activities will also include support for commercialization and fundraising, access to facilities and equipment needed for research and development, and strategic intellectual property management. With these initiatives, Ritsumeikan will contribute to solving social issues through the use of space technologies and creating new industries.

Ritsumeikan has already undertaken a range of initiatives via RIMIX, including entrepreneurship education for learners from elementary school through graduate school, support for the commercialization of research seeds, and investment in startups. Ritsumeikan is also developing its education and research infrastructure in the space sector. This includes the Research Center for Space and Earth Exploration (ESEC), the Lunar Frontier SX Hub, which was selected for support under the Space Strategy Fund, and the tentatively named Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space, which is scheduled to open in April 2028. (Plans for the graduate school are provisional and remain subject to change.)
By drawing on these strengths and taking an integrated approach spanning talent development, research, and commercialization, Ritsumeikan will work to build a space-sector startup ecosystem originating in Kansai.

I am deeply honored that Ritsumeikan has been selected for MEXT’s Next-Generation Open Innovation Program. This program represents an ambitious effort to accelerate the real-world application of research outcomes in the space sector and translate them into the creation of new industries and value. Ritsumeikan will bring together the strengths it has developed in education, research, and industry-academia collaboration to advance talent development, research, and commercialization in an integrated manner. By creating an environment in which space-sector startups can continually emerge from Kansai and take on challenges on the global stage, we will contribute to solving social issues and developing the regional economy while aiming to realize our goal of becoming a “next-generation research university that creates new values of harmonious coexistence.”

Space development around the world is undergoing a major shift from government leadership to private-sector leadership, ushering in an era in which startups drive innovation. In Japan, however, the key issue is establishing mechanisms that enable outstanding technologies to be commercialized and developed into viable industries. This program will draw on Ritsumeikan’s research capabilities and talent development functions, as well as its extensive networks with companies, investors, and financial institutions, to support the creation and growth of startups in the space sector. By producing a successful model in Kansai and building an ecosystem that attracts aspiring innovators, we hope to contribute to the development of Japan’s space industry.