Vice President's Message

Since its establishment, based on the founding ideals of “freedom and innovation,” the education at Ritsumeikan University has allowed students to acquire various skills and values that are synonymous with a private-school environment. Over the years, such efforts have cultivated and sent a wealth of human resources out into the world. However, in the coming years, we must also focus on education that develops creative individuals that modern society needs. With this in mind, we must not only encourage a high-level of classroom learning, but also actively involve students in cutting-edge research activities conducted by our laboratories, encourage students to expose themselves to new challenges, and produce individuals capable of facing and resolving the tough challenges in the real world.

In order to successfully produce such individuals, it is necessary to provide world-class, cutting-edge research centers at Ritsumeikan and further improve our current research standards so they match the highest of international levels. I believe that the individuals produced from these research centers will overcome the powerful tide of globalization, gain the potential to surmount overseas competition, and take on the future burdens of the world.

For those engaged in science and technology, it is important to teach students that although we are obligated to contribute to the development of humankind and fulfill the many needs of society, we must also recognize the critical importance of co-existing with nature. We are responsible for developing human resources that are capable of improving science and technology, while at the same time remaining aware of changes in the natural environment as they occur in the current generation’s changing global environment.

In order to keep up with the changes surrounding the university, Ritsumeikan has facilitated the development of its research activities through the establishment of various institutes for the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, including the Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization (R-GIRO) and Ritsumeikan Asia-Japan Research Organization. It is my sincere hope that research achievements obtained at Ritsumeikan University will contribute to the realization of a society where humans and nature can co-exist peacefully, as per the requirements of the 21st century.