On July 5, 2024, Kick-off Symposium of the Program for Forming Japan's Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS) (organized by JSPS and co-sponsored by MEXT) was held at the Marunouchi Building Hall in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Approximately 1,000 people attended the event in person and online.

Dr. YAMAZAKI Koetsu, Chairperson of the Program Promotion Committee for J-PEAKS (the committee responsible for the program implementation, including open calls, screening, and progress management) and President of the Fukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation (F-REI), delivered a keynote speech and addressed expectations for the J-PEAKS program. Subsequently, representatives from the selected J-PEAKS universities presented their individual visions, outlined their management structures, and detailed their academic environmental improvement efforts based on their individual strengths and characteristics, as well as the specifics of their research.

In addition, regarding the Accompanying Support for the realization of the visions presented by the selected universities, TAKAMIZAWA Shiro, Director for Special Missions of the Policy Planning Department of JSPS, explained the structure of the accompanying team, which provides advice and suggestions to effectively promote the initiatives of the selected universities, as well as the details of the team's undertakings.

Following the conclusion of the symposium, an information exchange session was held exclusively for university personnel, during which opportunities for inter-university dialogue were actively facilitated.

The progress of the J-PEAKS program will be announced on the website. Please keep an eye out for further developments.