The mission of the Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) is “To realize a new paradigm of communications that enriches people’s lives.” Communication is an extremely important element of human society. The focus of research and development at RIEC is information and communication technology (ICT). Throughout its history, ICT has radically changed methods of communication, enabling people to exchange information in ways that overcome human limitations of speed, quantity, and quality. The forms of communication in today’s world have expanded from “person to person,” to “person to thing,” and to “thing to thing,” expanding the limits of space and time, and enable ever greater diversity. All of the activities of RIEC are aimed at contributing to the prosperity of Japanese academia and society and more broadly to the welfare of human society, with the ultimate goal of helping to shape a thriving and advanced information society.

On the other hand, we are now faced with a situation that compels us to adopt a different approach and more diverse strategy for securing the resources to enhance our research environment and initiatives. In 2024, Tohoku University was accredited as Japan’s first “University for International Research Excellence,” which will allow it to enjoy a higher operating budget. At the same time, however, the university’s social responsibility will also be greater. This means that the burden of public expectations will also be higher, requiring the university to upgrade its functions and produce more valuable research findings. Despite this change in circumstances, the focus of our research pursuits will remain unchanged. We will continue to address real-world challenges that necessitate prompt solutions and to promote basic research with a view to future applications, with the ultimate goal of building a better information society. For many years, we have boldly opened up new frontiers of information and communications, creating essential technologies that pave the way to the development of new industries and practical applications through industry-academia collaboration. Simultaneously, through these efforts, we have strongly promoted education and human resource development. We will continue striving to produce groundbreaking innovations in the field of information and communications that genuinely help to enhance human well-being and communication.

Since it was established in 1935, RIEC has produced world-leading research in magnetic recording systems, semiconductor devices, optical communication technologies, and other technical fields that form the foundation of modern information and communications. Constantly building on these achievements, we have remained active as a research center for information and communications, steadily accumulating fruits of research for the benefit of society. To pursue our research, we operate a wide variety of specialized laboratories for investigating materials, devices, communication methods, networks, computing, human information, and software. Furthermore, these are organized with systems that facilitate organic collaborations between researchers, enabling the fusion of hardware and software technologies, collaboration with other institutions in the humanities and sciences, and industry-academia cooperation. Following a restructuring in April 2023, RIEC is made up of three research divisions, two research facilities, and two centers. The three research divisions conduct research with a long-term perspective; the two research facilities pursue research with medium-term goals, with a view to real-world implementation of research findings; and the two centers conduct short-term research projects focused on practical applications through industry-academia collaboration with researchers both inside and outside RIEC. The three research divisions are Computing System Platforms Division, Information Communication Platforms Division, and Human and Bio Information Systems Division, with the research fields of Acquisition of Super Computing Power, Building Information Infrastructure like Air, and Creation of Super Intelligent Systems based on Understanding of Human nature, respectively. The two research facilities of RIEC are the Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics, which carries out comprehensive and intensive research into nanotechnology-based materials (e.g., spintronics) and device technologies, and the Laboratory for Brainware Systems, which aims to build intelligent integrated systems that break down the technological barriers to current information processing capacity, such as power consumption and computing power limits. RIEC’s two research centers are the Research Center for 21st Century Information Technology (IT-21 Center), and the Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces, launched in April 2023. These centers were established with special funding support from the national government for the purpose of exploring and developing the essence of richly human communication.

In 2010, RIEC was accredited by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a Joint Usage/Research Center for collaborative research in information and communications technology. This status enabled RIEC to play a leading role in the research community, both inside and outside of Japan, by promoting scientific and technological research in the field of information and communications. To this end, we conduct joint project research with external researchers. Through these kinds of projects, which aim to promote collaboration with researchers from national, public, and private universities, as well as private-sector companies, RIEC has produced a great deal of fruitful research. We are now promoting projects as part of our fourth medium-term plan, which takes effect in 2022. The Joint Usage/Research Center program is constantly being improved to adapt to the needs of the times. Currently, it provides priority support for internationalization, support for young researchers, and industry-academia collaboration. As a result, the number of participants has been growing over the past several years. In 2024, more than 130 projects were adopted. We will continue to develop the program further in the areas of collaboration with industry, international development, and projects that offer young researchers the opportunity to play a central role.

The importance of some of our past research achievements has led to the establishment of new academic organizations. For example, when Tohoku University was awarded the special status of “Designated National University” in 2017, the spintronics research led by RIEC faculty members was positioned as one of four world-class research centers in the future plan of the university. Other new academic organizations include the Center for Science and Innovation in Spintronics (CSIS), dedicated to state-of-the-art spintronics research, the Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems, which aims at building an industry-academia collaboration consortium, the Graduate Program in Spintronics, which aims at developing international human resources, and the Center for Spintronics Research Network (CSRN), which focuses on promoting domestic collaborative research.

In October 2011, the Research Organization of Electrical Communication (ROEC) was established under the leadership of RIEC for the handling of information and communications in the event of a disaster. As one of eight major projects promoted by the Tohoku University Institute for Disaster Reconstruction and Regeneration Research, the role of ROEC is to promote research and development to build disaster-resistant information and communications technology under industry-academia-government collaboration. Since 2022, ROEC has been working toward the integration of disaster science and information and communications under the International Research Institute of Disaster Science.

In 2016, the Advanced Institute of Yotta Informatics, a project that makes use of both humanities and sciences to address questions of information quality, was recognized as a priority center for interdisciplinary research by Tohoku University and began its activities. In 2024, the institute was renewed as a new research center called the Advanced Institute of So-Go-Chi (Convergence Knowledge) Informatics.

The current construction work to renovate former Building No. 2 is scheduled for completion by the end of October 2025. The new building will feature spaces based on new concepts, such as an open innovation space. We plan to make maximum use of these spaces to continue our vigorous efforts to promote and strengthen industry-academia collaboration.

In 2025, the Research Institute of Electrical Communication is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Everyone at RIEC is committed to further growth and development, toward the creation of a new communication paradigm. We greatly appreciate and look forward to your continued support and encouragement.