President's activities 2026
Memorandum of Understanding between RIKEN, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), and Shimadzu Corporation (May 12, 2026)
On May 12, President Gonokami attended a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between RIKEN, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM)—the international organization through which states work together on matters related to metrology—and Shimadzu Corporation, at Shimadzu Corporation’s Shimadzu Tokyo Innovation Plaza, to begin an exploratory collaboration on optical frequency standards (OFS).
(From left) President Makoto Gonokami; Director Annette Koo, BIPM; President and CEO Yasunori Yamamoto, Shimadzu Corporation.
Related link: MOU with BIPM and Shimadzu on collaboration toward redefining the second
Discussion on cooperation between RIKEN and EU (April 2, 2026)
President Gonokami, Jüri Ratas, Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), and other members of the European Parliament discussed cooperation between RIKEN and the EU in areas such as quantum technology during their visit to RIKEN’s Wako Campus. Executive Vice President Kyoko Nozaki and RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing Director Yasunobu Nakamura joined them in the meeting.
Members of the European Parliament delegation with RIKEN executives
(Front row, 3rd from left: President Gonokami and MEP Ratas, 3rd from right)
Related link: European Parliament delegation visits Wako Campus
Discussion on cooperation between RIKEN and France (April 1, 2026)
President Gonokami discussed cooperation between RIKEN and France in areas such as AI and quantum technology with French Ambassador for AI and Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz and CNRS Research Professor Emeritus Alain Aspect, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022, during their visit to the RIKEN Wako Campus. RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing Director Yasunobu Nakamura and Hidetoshi Katori of the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics joined them in the meeting.
From left: Dr. Katori, Dr. Nakamura, Ambassador Chappaz, President Gonokami, Dr. Aspect, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Bordes of the French Embassy
Revision of MoU with National Cancer Center Japan (February 18, 2026)
President Gonokami signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with President Hiroyuki Mano of National Cancer Center Japan to further consolidate the research infrastructure, technological capabilities, and expertise possessed by the two institutions, accelerate solutions to medical challenges with high societal demand, and enable the widespread utilization of results both domestically and internationally, including “pharmaceutical research and development and related fields.”
From left: National Cancer Center Japan President Hiroyuki Mano, President Makoto Gonokami
Related link: RIKEN and National Cancer Center Japan revise Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate solutions to medical challenges
Video Message Sent for the Ceremony Commemorating the Final Run of RHIC (February 6, 2026)
President Gonokami sent a video message to the ceremony commemorating the final run of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the United States.
Collaborating with BNL since 1995, RIKEN has spearheaded spin physics research through the construction of proton polarizers and the large-scale PHENIX detector at RHIC. These efforts have deepened our understanding of quarks, gluons, and nucleon spin through the PHENIX, STAR, and spin programs, thereby contributing to advances in nuclear physics.
In the video message, President Gonokami expressed his deep appreciation for the dedication of all those involved in the RHIC project. He also referred to the central role of the RIKEN BNL Research Center (RBRC) as a hub of collaboration and to its contributions to the training of early-career researchers. Looking ahead to the Electron–Ion Collider (EIC) project being promoted by BNL, he highlighted future prospects for RIKEN–BNL collaboration aimed at elucidating multiscale quantum dynamics by connecting low-energy and high-energy nuclear physics.
Associate Laboratory Director Abhay Deshpande (left) during the screening of the President’s video message
Darío Gil, the U.S. Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Science (left) at the ceremony (Photo by Brookhaven National Laboratory/Kevin Coughlin)
Darío Gil, the U.S. Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Science (right) and Interim Laboratory Director John Hill (left) officially ended the operational era of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (Photo by Brookhaven National Laboratory/Kevin Coughlin)