On February 13, 2026, a commemorative ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the JSPS Nairobi Research Station was held at the Embassy of Japan in Kenya. The event, conducted in a hybrid format, was co‑hosted by the Embassy of Japan, JSPS, and the Eastern Africa JSPS Alumni Association (EA JSPS AA). The event welcomed approximately 70 participants from Kenya and Japan, including representatives from research‑funding agencies, universities, and research institutions in both countries, as well as members of the Embassy of Japan in Kenya, the EA JSPS AA, the JSPS Tokyo Headquarters, and the JSPS Nairobi Research Station.

The JSPS Nairobi Research Station was established in 1965 as a base for Japanese researchers conducting field studies in Africa. Among JSPS’s ten overseas offices, it has the longest history and has served for more than half a century as JSPS’s sole base in the Sub‑Saharan African region.

The ceremony opened with warm remarks delivered by distinguished speakers, including H.E. Ambassador MATSUURA Hiroshi; JSPS Executive Advisor Prof. MIZUMOTO Tetsuya; Prof. Abdulrazak Shaukat, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Science, Research, and Innovation of Kenya; and Prof. John Collins Onyango, an executive member of the EA JSPS AA. Prof. Mizumoto expressed his gratitude to those who have supported the Station over the years and thanked everyone who attended the ceremony. Ambassador Matsuura, Professor Abdulrazak, and Professor Onyango also delivered thoughtful congratulatory messages.

The program featured a keynote lecture by Prof. YAMAGIWA Juichi, Director- General of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) and a former Director of the JSPS Nairobi Research Station, and Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University, who spoke on Japan–Africa research collaboration, drawing on his extensive experience studying wild gorillas across Africa. This was followed by commemorative research lectures delivered by Prof. ICHINOSE Yoshio, Professor Emeritus at Nagasaki University, and Prof. FUJIHARA Tsutomu, Professor Emeritus at Shimane University.

Ms. HARAGUCHI Nozomi, Deputy Director of the JSPS International Program Department, provided an overview of the new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) concluded in November 2025 between JSPS and the State Department for Science, Research, and Innovation. She also announced that a new bilateral exchange program with the State Department is scheduled to open for applications in due course. The ceremony also featured messages from former Directors of the JSPS Nairobi Research Station and researchers from both Japan and Kenya who have long been associated with the Research Station. Reflecting on the Station’s history and expressing hopes for its continued development, they offered congratulatory remarks that added further depth to the diverse program. Finally, Dr. YAMANE Yumi, Director of the Nairobi Research Station, expressed her aspirations for further advancing academic exchange between Japan and Kenya—and more broadly between Japan and Africa—building on the momentum of this commemorative ceremony. With her remarks, the event concluded in an atmosphere of camaraderie and warm interaction among the participants.