On May 27, 2025, Ritsumeikan University held an event at the Japan Innovation Campus in Silicon Valley, California, to commemorate the first anniversary of the opening of its San Francisco Office.
With overseas offices in countries including the United Kingdom and Vietnam, the opening of the San Francisco Office in February 2024 brought the total number of Ritsumeikan University’s overseas offices to seven. It was established to promote research and education collaborations, mainly on the West Coast of the United States. Professor Masato Miyake, Vice President of Ritsumeikan University, serves as the Director of the San Francisco Office, and he has visited Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley to engage in an ongoing exchange of ideas on the development of new educational programs. Ritsumeikan University, which is a member of the Japanese University Network in the Bay Area (JUNBA), a networking organization for Japanese universities with offices in the United States, is also promoting collaboration with other JUNBA member institutions.

The event attracted 26 participants from a wide range of academic, government, and business organizations, including the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science San Francisco Office, and the JETRO San Francisco Office.
On the day of the event, five faculty members gave lectures in English on a variety of topics, including an introduction of Ritsumeikan University, presentations on the latest research findings in fields such as space and food, and a presentation on the outcomes of the study abroad programs that Ritsumeikan operates on the West Coast of the United States. After the lecture, a networking event was held, and the participants actively exchanged information and mingled with each other.

The JETRO San Francisco Office provided us with generous support in establishing our San Francisco Office and holding this commemorative event. Going forward, Ritsumeikan University plans to continue to use the San Francisco Office as a base for deepening ties with academic institutions and companies on the West Coast of the United States and for developing research partnerships in a wide variety of fields, including space, food, and startups, as well as study abroad programs.