As record-breaking heat continues across Japan and around the world, the free online video “2050 Weather Forecast (Ver. 2),” was released at 1:00 p.m. on August 3. The video was produced by the 2050 Weather Forecast Production Committee, in which NHK Enterprises serves as one of the lead organizations. Dr. HASEGAWA Toshihiro, President of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), contributed to the project as an expert on food security issues.

The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) is pleased to announce that applications are now open for FY2026 under the International Collaborative Research Program (JIRCAS Fellowship). Eligible Researchers currently affiliated with research institutions in developing regions are encouraged to apply for one of the five selected research themes. 

From July 20 to 22, 2026, the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and the Research Organization for Agriculture and Food (ORPP) of Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) jointly hosted a “Workshop on Building and Implementing Environmentally Harmonized Crop Production Technology Packages” at KST Soekarno BRIN Cibinong, Bogor Regency, Indonesia.

On July 13, 2026, the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), in collaboration with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region (FFTC), held the international workshop entitled “2026 JIRCAS-NARO-FFTC Joint International Workshop on Soil Health and Multifunctionality: Integrating Science and Practice for a Sustainable Future” at the Tsukuba International Congress Center. 

On June 29, 2026, the “IRRI–MAFF CoolRice Project Kick-Off Meeting” was held at the headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Philippines. Dr. HASEGAWA Toshihiro, President of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), gave a presentation.

On Saturday, July 4, 2026, the Tropical Agriculture Research Front (TARF, locally “Nekken”) of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) held its 19th Open House. A total of 377 visitors, including families, visited the facility and participated in mini-lectures and a quiz stamp rally.

On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at Tsukuba Startup Park, three researchers from JIRCAS—Dr. OMORI Keisuke, Program Director (Information and Strategy Program), Dr. Marcy Wilder, Project Leader (Fisheries Division), and Dr. Kang Bong Jung, Senior Researcher (Fisheries Division)—participated as speakers in the event titled “TSUKUBA JOURNEY SESSION No.12 – From Research to Business: How JIRCAS Researchers Took the Step into Entrepreneurship.”

On Friday, June 12, 2026, Project Leader NAKAMURA Satoshi and Senior Researcher Papa Saliou Sarr (both from the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division) paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Mr. Jean Antoine Diouf, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal to Japan, at the Embassy of Senegal in Tokyo. During the visit, they introduced a new research collaboration between JIRCAS and the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA: Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles), and exchanged views on the outline of joint research activities and future prospects.

On June 2–3, 2026, the “Second ASEAN Consultation Workshop and Capacity Building on Regenerative and Resilient Agriculture Systems,” co-organized by the ASEAN Secretariat, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the European Union (EU), was held in Denpasar, Indonesia, with the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) participating at the invitation of the ASEAN Secretariat.

A review article led by Project Leader ISEKI Kohtaro of JIRCAS (Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division) on food security in the semi-arid regions of West Africa (the Sudan Savanna) has been published in the international journal Plant Production Science of the Crop Science Society of Japan (https://doi.org/10.1080/1343943X.2026.2682196).
This study summarizes the results of over a decade of field experiments and international collaborative research conducted by JIRCAS in partnership with the National Institute for Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA) in Burkina Faso.