Science Tokyo and MIT officials and faculty discuss initiative synergies, deeper collaboration to strengthen connection between Boston and Tokyo

Science Tokyo President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Naoto Ohtake and his delegation visited Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on June 10, 2025, meeting with President Sally Kornbluth and other MIT leaders and faculty to discuss deeper collaboration between the two institutions.

Following its establishment in October 2024, Science Tokyo has been fundamentally reforming its approaches to learning, research, and the creation of impact. The Institute’s vision for the future includes a new integrated research framework in the form of the Visionary Initiatives (VIs), the development of a sustainable, globally connected ecosystem, and enhanced collective efforts to solve tough worldwide challenges with like-minded partners around the world.

During the one-day visit to the Cambridge-based institution, Ohtake introduced to his MIT counterpart the new Science Tokyo vision and VIs, noting several parallels to the presidential Special Initiatives at MIT. He touched on various areas in which the institutions could work in closer cooperation while exploring ways to jointly fund these undertakings, for example through an academic-industry-government consortium. Kornbluth replied that MIT could certainly benefit from international collaborations with Science Tokyo, and noted that there are many ways to incentivize interactions between faculty.

In response to comments from Consul General Seiichiro Takahashi from the Consulate General of Japan, who accompanied the Science Tokyo delegation, Kornbluth also acknowledged Japan’s clear commitment to science and technology.

Fruitful talks were held with other MIT members throughout the day. Ohtake, Executive Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Kotaro Inoue, Executive Vice President for Institute Strategy and Executive Vice President for Research and Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Tetsushi Furukawa, and Senior Aide to the Executive Vice President for Institute Strategy Noriko Ito met with MIT’s Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer (recently announced as MIT’s next provost) Anantha P. Chandrakasan to discuss how initiatives are funded at MIT, and how potential joint initiatives could be supported in the future. In response to Ohtake’s explanation of Science Tokyo’s new vision-based approach to education and research, Chandrakasan, who is also MIT’s dean of engineering, shared some of the changes taking place in the MIT learning environment.

The Science Tokyo delegation also discussed potential medical-engineering collaborations with Professor Elazer R. Edelman and met with Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) Director Alex Shalek and Whitaker Professor in Biomedical Engineering Martha L. Gray.

Managing Director Bill Aulet from the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship spoke with the Science Tokyo delegation about entrepreneurship and startup support. Conversations about support for budding entrepreneurs were also held with CEO and Managing Partner Katie Rae of The Engine Ventures, a venture capital fund and MIT spinout that invests in the next generation of Tough Tech founders.

Additionally, the delegation met with representatives from Corporate Relations and the MIT Technology Licensing Office.
Ohtake and his team also toured the facilities of MIT.nano with Director Vladimir Bulovic.

These discussions all aimed to seek out potential deeper cooperation between researchers at Science Tokyo and MIT, following the latest developments. In addition to exploring collaboration in the field microelectronics with MIT Professor Tomas Palacios, Science Tokyo is working with Professor Michael A. Cusumano of the MIT Sloan School of Management in the area of entrepreneurship.

Upon his return to Tokyo, Ohtake commented on the recent MIT visit. “I have a deep respect for MIT and its ongoing esteemed initiatives, and I was intrigued to notice similarities in some of our approaches. Science Tokyo is now in a unique position to drive significant change. Therefore, I hope we can continue to deepen our discussions with MIT, forge concrete pathways for stronger collaboration and a bridge between the innovation hubs of Boston and Tokyo, and ultimately, create innovative solutions together,” he said.

Science Tokyo was established in 2024 following the merger between Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), but its predecessors have a history of collaboration with MIT that extends back several decades. For example, Tokyo Tech and MIT co-launched the Robocon International Design Contest in 1990. A year later, Tokyo Tech’s Department of Control Engineering signed an international cooperation agreement with MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

More recently, Tokyo Tech’s School of Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, and School of Environment and Society signed an academic student exchange agreement, which included tuition waivers and credit transfer systems, with MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, in 2019. Nuclear energy collaborations between the institutions began in 2006, when Tokyo Tech’s Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors concluded an agreement with MIT’s Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems.

The roots of both Science Tokyo and MIT lie in technical ingenuity, a strong and reliable connection to industry, and the practical application of science and technology to improve human lives. Both institutions take a hands-on approach to education and research. Science Tokyo and MIT are hubs of individual talent and entrepreneurial spirit that value curiosity, exploration, and discovery, but understand the critical importance of a collective approach when seeking to create global impact.

Today, Science Tokyo plays a central role in the creation of an innovation ecosystem in Tokyo and Japan, and is eager to extend this momentum to global collaborators who share its vision of a better, brighter future.

Note: All academic and professional titles are as of the time of the meetings.

• Visionary Initiatives ― Shaping the future with science
• Science Tokyo Founding Symposium: What is Science?
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology