Happy new year, everyone.
We sincerely hope that 2025 will be a fruitful and wonderful year for all of you.

Last year saw leadership change hands in many countries and regions, and the world is on the verge of major change. With the inauguration of the new administration in Japan, the country has entered an important phase of drawing up a grand design for the future, which includes measures to combat a declining birthrate and aging population, economic and fiscal policies, the promotion of regional development, the transition to a decarbonized society, and discussions on the direction of foreign policy. On top of this, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The history of resilient recovery from unprecedented disasters must be passed on to the next generation, and systems must be developed to realize a safe and sustainable society.

Universities are expected to play a role in solving these kinds of social issues and in guiding and accelerating change for a better future. At Ritsumeikan, we need to bolster our distinctive strengths as an institution of higher education , especially our research capacity, which is the source of these strengths, and feed them back into more advanced education. We also need to create new value through practical applications including industry-academia-government collaborations and startup creation and develop the talent who will lead the next generation of society.

This year, we will celebrate the 155th anniversary of the founding of Ritsumeikan and the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Academy. It has been 155 years since our founder Saionji Kinmochi established a private academy called Ritsumeikan, and 125 years since his protege Kojuro Nakagawa founded the Kyoto Hosei School, a private school that was the predecessor of Ritsumeikan University. We aim to be a next-generation research university and next-generation inquiry-based learning academy that contributes to the realization of an ideal future society by confronting various social issues and tapping into our advanced capacity for research and inquiry without being bound by precedents or stereotypes.

On the Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, we plan to open the Ritsumeikan Advanced Cross-verse Innovation Commons (CVIC) and the Grassroots Innovation Center (GIC) this March. With these new facilities serving as hubs, we will deepen our research into health, longevity, and quality of life (QOL), fields for which we have primarily built up a track record at BKC, and we will further expand upon the creation of regional innovation through industry-academia-government collaboration as we aim to create social impact with an eye on Society 5.0.
The Osaka Ibaraki Campus, which was reborn under the Try Field concept, will further accelerate the gathering of know-how from industry, academia, and government and promote the evolution of diverse forms of both curricular and extracurricular learning, centering on the activities of the Ritsumeikan Innovation Network for Co-creation (RINC), and we will accelerate the development of diverse kinds of learning both in curricular and extracurricular programs.
Meanwhile, at Kinugasa Campus, we plan to open the tentatively named College of Arts and Design and Graduate School of Science in Arts and Design in AY2026. While pursuing a new kind of future-oriented design studies, we envision the development of education and research that transcends the boundary between the natural sciences and the humanities and social sciences based on the technology and sensibility of art.

In closing, we would like to thank everyone who has helped Ritsumeikan get to where it is today. As we continue to transform into a next-generation research university and a next-generation inquiry-based learning academy, we will strive to establish a global presence and contribute to society by leveraging our capacity for advanced research and education.

We look forward to serving you again this year.

Tomomi Morishima, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
Yoshio Nakatani, Chancellor
The Ritsumeikan Trust


January 1, 2025