From May 18 to 25, 2024, at the 10th World Water Forum held on Bali Island, Republic of Indonesia, the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) exhibited its research achievements, including alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation and Subak research, and provided explanations to many visitors, including researchers, government officials, and students (from middle school to university).

On May 23, 2024, researchers from the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) participated in the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Expert Group Meeting on Irrigation Technology in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

On Monday, May 20, 2024, the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and the Embassy of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in Japan held the Japan-Bolivia exchange event "Bolivia Symposium: The Charms of Salar de Uyuni, Quinoa, and Llamas" in a hybrid format at the Tokyo Headquarters Annex of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).
An archived video of this event is now available on the YouTube "JIRCAS channel." For those who missed it, we invite you to watch the videos, which include simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and Spanish.

On Monday, May 20, 2024, the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and the Embassy of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in Japan held the "Bolivia Symposium: The Charms of Salar de Uyuni, Quinoa, and Llamas" at the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Tokyo Headquarters Annex (also available online).

The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) invites qualified postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers to participate in the Research Fellow Empowerment Initiative, which will be implemented under two research themes. This initiative aims to empower Japanese students and researchers through international experiences and collaborations with various partners at JIRCAS research sites abroad.

The “TSUKUBA SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PRE EVENT 2024,” a pre-event for Science and Technology Week, was held in Tsukuba City on Sunday, April 14. Research institutions and scientific communities in the city gathered to interact with visitors through exhibitions and talk events. 
On Monday, April 15, the “JIRCAS ONLINE Science and Technology Week Special Site” was launched, where mini-lectures and talks by JIRCAS researchers were streamed for a limited time. 

On Friday, April 26, 2024, the “JIRCAS Tour” from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was held for the first time. The tour was attended by 33 staff members of MAFF who came to observe the major research activities of JIRCAS. As part of the tour, they visited the experimental field where BNI-enabled wheat is growing.

The JIRCAS Fellowship Program FY2024 is now open and qualified applicants are encouraged to apply for the five selected research themes. The program offers a one-year opportunity to conduct research in Japan or at JIRCAS research sites abroad under the supervision of JIRCAS researchers.

As a newly adopted research topic (biological resources field) in FY2020 of SATREPS (International Science and Technology Cooperation Program for Responding to Global Issues), which is jointly implemented by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Agricultural Research's proposed project was accepted with some conditions.

On March 24–30, 2024, JIRCAS welcomed visitors from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) of the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines. Ms. Ma. Mitzi V. Mangwag, Board Member and Acting Administrator, together with Atty. Ignacio S. Santillana, Deputy Administrator, visited the Tropical Agricultural Research Front (TARF) in Ishigaki Island and JIRCAS Headquarters in Tsukuba. JIRCAS and SRA are collaborating on three projects: ‘Climate change measures in Monsoon Asia,' ‘Yama-Sato-Umi agroecosystem connectivity', and 'Tropical crop genetic resources.'

As part of activities to promote interest and understanding of science and technology, the research activities of JIRCAS will be introduced to the public in the form of mini-lecture videos during Science and Technology Week starting on Monday, April 15.

The Japan International Research Center Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) held a 6-day  international workshop on “Mangrove Management and Monitoring — Long-Term Mangrove Monitoring with Climate Change Risks” in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture and in Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands, Okinawa Prefecture.

Dr. KAWAI Kiyosada of the Forestry Division was honored with the 12th (2024) Young Scholar Award of the Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ Suzuki Award) at the 71st ESJ Annual Meeting.
 

Dr. SASAKI Kazuhiro (Senior Researcher, Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division) and his co-authors received the Best Paper Award for their research article, titled "Effect of drought stress on flowering characteristics in rice (Oryza sativa L.): a study using genotypes contrasting in drought tolerance and flower opening time", at the 257th Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan (CSSJ).

A JIRCAS-led project adopted in FY2023 under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program jointly implemented by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been officially launched with the conclusion of the Record of Discussions (R/D) with the counterpart country, signaling the start of formal joint research.