Dr. SUGIYAMA Masakazu, Director of the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), Dr. KOBAYASHI Hikaru, RCAST Adviser, and researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) and the Nippon Shokubai Co. visited the JIRCAS Tropical Agriculture Research Front (TARF) in Ishigaki City on May 20, 2022.

The University of Tokyo's Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) has been selected as a full-fledged research partner for the JST innovative platform for co-creation, COI-NEXT. As participating institutions of COI-NEXT, the Nippon Shokubai Co. and JIRCAS are planning to develop new agro-industrial Green Transformation (GX) technologies primarily targeting sugarcane by-products, and RCAST is developing renewable energy technologies.

During the visit, the participants observed the ongoing project on tropical crop resources and exchanged opinions on the utilization of genetic resources maintained at TARF, such as wild sugarcane and Erianthus species, and the potential of these resources to supply raw materials for a decarbonized society.