The Japan Association of National Universities (JANU) held the “2025 German-Japanese University Leaders’ Meeting” online on December 4, 2025. This meeting was co-hosted by JANU and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK). A total of 108 high-level representatives from both sides, including university presidents and vice presidents, participated. Specifically, 60 participants from 32 institutions (National Universities and the Cabinet Office) joined from Japan, and 48 participants from 40 institutions joined from Germany, engaging in presentations and discussions on case studies.

The meeting commenced with opening remarks from Dr Teruo Fujii, President of JANU and President of the University of Tokyo, and Prof. Walter Rosenthal, President of the HRK. They expressed deep gratitude for the longstanding friendship between Japan and Germany and thanked all stakeholders involved in organizing the meeting. They conveyed their shared expectation that the meeting would provide a valuable opportunity for information exchange and learning regarding research security for both sides.

Subsequently, under the overarching theme of “Research security: Lessons learned and examples of good practice,” two dialogue sessions and a closing panel were held, featuring presentations and exchanges of views on their respective topics.

Dialogue I focused on “Implementing an institutional research security process – good practice and lessons learned.” Prof. Nobuhiro Hayashi, Vice President of Institute of Science Tokyo, and Prof. Hauke Heekeren, President of University Hamburg, shared concrete case studies that occurred at their universities and introduced e-learning materials regarding engagement with foreign institutions in international research collaboration.

Dialogue II addressed the topic “Balancing academic freedom and research security – how to get everyone within the university on board.” Dr Simone Rehm, Vice-Rector for Information Technology (CIO) of University of Stuttgart, and Prof. Tetsuo Sawaragi, Executive Vice-President of Kyoto University, shared insights on topics such as the necessity of institutional strengthening of research security and the differences in risk management structures between Japan and Germany.

The Closing Panel was themed “Implementing research security at universities: challenges, and perspectives.” The panel featured Mr. Yutaka Shimooka, Director for Critical and Emerging Technologies, Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, Prof. Jakob Edler, Executive Director of Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Prof. Takahiko Sasaki, Associate Executive Vice President (for Research Integrity) of Tohoku University, and Prof. Walter Rosenthal, President of HRK. They shared specific case studies and policy proposals regarding the fundamental challenge common to both Japan and Germany: how to manage risks and maintain international openness while strengthening research security and safeguarding core academic values such as “academic freedom” and “institutional autonomy.”

Finally, in their closing remarks, Kyosuke Nagata, Advisor of JANU and Chair of the International Exchange Committee and President of the University of Tsukuba, and Prof. Angela Ittel, Vice President of the HRK and President of Technische University Braunschweig, expressed their gratitude to the organizers, presenters, and all participants. They affirmed that the forum provided a constructive platform for discussing the critical theme of research security and served as an important step in strengthening the bilateral relationship between Japanese and German universities.