On July 9, 2025, the San Francisco Office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Ritsumeikan University signed a letter of intent regarding cooperation on projects on the West Coast of the United States.

The letter outlines the areas of cooperation between the JETRO San Francisco and Ritsumeikan University with the aim of promoting human and intellectual exchange and furthering the activities of both organizations. Based on this, both parties will flesh out the details of a variety of projects on the West Coast of the United States.

Ritsumeikan University opened its San Francisco Office in 2024, and in May of the following year, we held an event at the Japan Innovation Campus in Silicon Valley, California to commemorate the office’s first anniversary.

[Event held to commemorate the first anniversary of the opening of the Ritsumeikan University San Francisco Office]
https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/news/detail/?id=1064

The JETRO San Francisco Office provided Ritsumeikan University with generous support both in establishing our San Francisco Office and holding the first anniversary event. With the signing of this letter of intent, we expect to combine the local business network of the JETRO San Francisco Office with the research and education achievements of Ritsumeikan University to create new academic and industrial partnerships on the West Coast of the United States.

Going forward, Ritsumeikan University will continue to use its San Francisco Office as a hub for collaboration in a wide range of fields on the West Coast, including research and education, the promotion of industry–academia partnerships, and the cultivation of innovative and emergent human resources.