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.

We have opened applications for research staff positions commencing on 1 October 2026.

The application period runs from 10 June 2026 to 3 July 2026. Please apply via the JREC-IN Portal.

The fertilizer application technology “P-dipping,” developed by JIRCAS, was featured at a hands-on event organized in collaboration between JIRCAS and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tsukuba during the Rice Planting Festival held at JICA Tsukuba in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, on May 16, 2026. This initiative aimed to provide an opportunity for the general public to experience the technology through actual practice while raising domestic awareness. Approximately 150 people attended the event.

On May 18, 2026, seven members of a SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) project in Indonesia visited JIRCAS. During their visit, they paid a courtesy call on JIRCAS Vice-President YANAGIHARA Seiji and engaged in discussions aimed at further strengthening future collaboration.

On May 18, 2026 (Monday), a total of 21 participants, including 12 trainees, 2 accompanying staff members from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tsukuba, and 7 staff members from JICA Headquarters, visited JIRCAS as part of the FY2026 thematic training course titled “Prospective Agricultural Technologies as Solutions to Climate Change.” This course aims to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to utilize agricultural technologies that contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.