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Waseda University President Aiji Tanaka visited two U.S. universities at the end of July 2026 – The Ohio State University (OSU) and Yale University. At both universities, he was able to meet with senior leaders and faculty members to discuss future research and education collaboration, new initiatives, and the current state of university administration. For his visit to The Ohio State University, President Tanaka was accompanied by Hayato Yamana, Vice President for IT Strategies, and Hirotaka Matsuoka, Dean of the Faculty of Sports Sciences.

The Ohio State University

On July 27, the delegation from Waseda University attended a luncheon with research and international affairs officials from OSU, including John Horack, Vice President for Research; Steve Ringel, Senior Associate Vice President for Research; and Kaya Sahin, Vice Provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs; and discussed possibilities for research exchange and collaboration.

From left, Dean Matsuoka, Rita Koryan, Kaya Sahin, John Horack, President Tanaka, Steve Ringel, Vice President Yamana

Following the luncheon, President Tanaka and Vice President Yamana attended a meeting with Prof. Raghu Machiraju, Assistant Director of Operations at AI^(X) Hub, a collaborative hub dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence research and innovation across disciplines at OSU. After receiving a briefing on interdisciplinary research and education utilizing AI, those gathered discussed further developments and the possibility of collaboration between the two universities.

Meeting with Prof. Raghu Machiraju

They also met with Prof. Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, Co-Director of the Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering (CQISE), and Ginger Breon from the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) to gain insights into OSU’s cutting-edge research and initiatives related to information infrastructure.

With Ginger Breon of the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation

The following day, Dean Matsuoka met with OSU officials and professors from the College of Education and Human Ecology, including Dean Erik Porfeli, to introduce each university’s recent initiatives in sports science and education and discuss possibilities for exploring new areas for collaboration.

Following his visit to OSU, President Tanaka visited Yale on July 29 and 30. On the first day of the visit, he had a meeting with Prof. Steven Wilkson, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), in which the two officials reflected on the universities’ longstanding partnership in the areas of the humanities and social sciences and discussed future collaborations in education and research. On the second day, he met with Prof. Peter Salovey, former President of Yale and visiting university professor and recipient of an honorary doctorate from Waseda University. President Tanaka reported on recent developments at Waseda and the two exchanged views on the current state of higher education in the United States and approaches to university administration. It was a valuable opportunity to gain insights and advice from Professor Salovey, who has long been a leader in U.S. higher education, regarding changes in the university environment and university administration.

With Professor Salovey

Looking Forward

Throughout President Tanaka’s eight years as President of Waseda University, he has placed great value on the university’s relationships with his alma mater of The Ohio State University as well as Yale University, which has a longstanding partnership with Waseda, and worked to deepen these relationships while maintaining dialogue with representatives from each university and taking inspiration for reform and transformation at Waseda from the research and educational strengths, as well as innovative initiatives in university administration, possessed by the two institutions. Even after the completion of President Tanaka’s term, one can hope that this visit will lead to further collaborations, building on the strong foundations of partnership established thus far.