Their Majesties, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, undertook a state visit to the Philippines from January 26-30, 2016. As part of the state visit, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) hosted the Imperial Couple for an overview of the institute’s global rice research initiatives at the IRRI Headquarters in Los Banos, Laguna on January 29, 2016. At that time, the Emperor showed interest in long-term partnerships and joint research between Japan and IRRI. Dr. Keiichi Hayashi, Sub-Project Leader and Senior Researcher of Crop, Livestock and Environment Division, and currently dispatched from JIRCAS to IRRI, introduced collaborative projects of Japan and IRRI to His Majesty.

Details of the visit are available at http://irri-news.blogspot.jp/2016/01/japans-imperial-couple-tours-irri.html.