As part of the Japan Trade Mission organized by the World Trade Center San Diego, a delegation including GLORIA Todd, Mayor of San Diego; PETERS Scott, U.S. Congressman; PISANO Al, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego); and executives from San Diego-based companies visited the University of Osaka on Thursday, September 10, 2026. Representing UOsaka, HAYASHI Mikako, Executive Vice President; ITOH Chihiro, Vice Director of the Institute for International Initiatives; YAMAMOTO Beverly Ann, Regional Director of the North American Center for Academic Initiatives; and OBAYASHI Saori, Associate Professor, participated in a session held at the Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research (CiDER).

During the session, opening remarks were delivered by PETERS Scott, U.S. Congressman. This was followed by an introduction to UOsaka by Executive Director and Vice President HAYASHI Mikako. On behalf of UC San Diego Vice Chancellor PEEK-ASA Corinne, WAGA Miwako, Senior Director of International Innovation Outreach, then introduced UC San Diego and its initiatives.

A panel discussion was then held with OMASA Takeshi, Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering, and SONE Ichiro, Specially Appointed Professor at the Co-Creation Bureau, joined by GROSSMAN Tamar, CEO and Co-Founder of La Jolla Labs, and BRODERICK Kate, Chief Scientific and Innovation Officer of Artis BioSolutions, representing San Diego-based biotechnology companies.

Following the panel discussion, KANEDA Yasufumi, Executive Advisor to CiDER, introduced the center and guided the delegation on a tour of its facilities.

Some participants also visited the Institute of Laser Engineering for discussions with researchers and a tour of its facilities.
The subsequent networking lunch was also attended by KODAMA Ryosuke, Director of the Institute of Laser Engineering; SENTOKU Yasuhiko, Professor at the Institute of Laser Engineering; KINO-OKA Masahiro, Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering; and FUJIMOTO Kosuke, Professor at the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases.

The event concluded with remarks by Mayor GLORIA, who expressed his hope for further strengthening ties between the City of San Diego and the University of Osaka.

Through this session, participants confirmed not only the importance of strengthening inter-university collaboration between UOsaka and UC San Diego, but also the potential for industry-academia collaboration between the City of San Diego and UOsaka.