Japan and Ireland – Cooperation in Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science
2026/9/9
Mr Colm O’Reardon, Secretary General of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (right), and Ambassador MIYAGAWA Manabu, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland (left)
On 9 September, Ambassador MIYAGAWA Manabu, accompanied by Ms ONOZAKI, Researcher at the Embassy of Japan in Ireland, paid a visit to Mr Colm O’Reardon, Secretary General of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Mr Keith Moynes, Assistant Secretary General, and Mr Alex Dowdall, Principal Officer. They exchanged views on further strengthening bilateral relations between Japan and Ireland in these fields.
The two sides reviewed the cooperation between Japan and Ireland to date in the fields of education, research, innovation, and science, including the 2022 Japan-Ireland Joint Statement by the leaders of the two countries and the visit to Japan by Mr James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, in July 2025. They also exchanged views on ways to further deepen cooperation in these fields, taking into account the Japanese Government’s signing on 30 July of an agreement on Japan’s association as a participant with Horizon Europe, as well as Ireland’s “Global Citizens 2030” strategy, announced in 2023, with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland in 2027 serving as an important milestone.
Ambassador MIYAGAWA also paid tribute to Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, listened to Mr O’Reardon and his colleagues’ views on priorities in the areas under the Department’s remit, and expressed his wishes for the success of the Irish Presidency.
The Embassy of Japan in Ireland will continue to strengthen its cooperation with the Department and work towards further developing relations between Japan and Ireland, as well as between Japan and the EU through Ireland, in these fields.
The two sides reviewed the cooperation between Japan and Ireland to date in the fields of education, research, innovation, and science, including the 2022 Japan-Ireland Joint Statement by the leaders of the two countries and the visit to Japan by Mr James Lawless, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, in July 2025. They also exchanged views on ways to further deepen cooperation in these fields, taking into account the Japanese Government’s signing on 30 July of an agreement on Japan’s association as a participant with Horizon Europe, as well as Ireland’s “Global Citizens 2030” strategy, announced in 2023, with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland in 2027 serving as an important milestone.
Ambassador MIYAGAWA also paid tribute to Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, listened to Mr O’Reardon and his colleagues’ views on priorities in the areas under the Department’s remit, and expressed his wishes for the success of the Irish Presidency.
The Embassy of Japan in Ireland will continue to strengthen its cooperation with the Department and work towards further developing relations between Japan and Ireland, as well as between Japan and the EU through Ireland, in these fields.