President Nakano Participates in the Seventh U7+ Presidential Summit

The seventh U7+ Presidential Summit was held at the University of Ottawa, Canada, from April 22 to April 23, 2025, with the participation of President Satoshi Nakano of Hitotsubashi University.

 

U7+ is an alliance of the presidents of the world’s leading universities established under a Sciences Po initiative in 2019. The purpose of the alliance is to address pressing global challenges by engaging in active dialog and communicating its views and visions to the international community. The name “U7+” refers to universities in the G7 countries, along with universities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania. More than 50 universities are affiliated with U7+. From Japan, Hitotsubashi University, Keio University, Osaka University, the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, and Waseda University are members.

 

In preparation for the G7 Summit in Kananaskis in June 2025, the role of universities in advancing artificial intelligence (AI) is the central theme guiding the U7+ Alliance’s initiatives throughout the academic year and leading up to the G7 summit. In a communiqué entitled “The Role of Universities in Advancing AI,” 40 university presidents from 16 countries highlighted the role that higher education institutions should play in developing responsible AI. This document was officially delivered to the Canadian government.

 

President Nakano was one of the panelists in a session titled “Climate Change and Sustainability,” an issue identified as one of the priorities of the U7+ Alliance since its inception. He detailed Hitotsubashi University’s initiatives, including the launch of a program aimed at developing sustainability leaders in collaboration with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the company Jizoku, the first official venture of Hitotsubashi University, which aims to realize sustainable agriculture through solutions based on agriculture-derived carbon credits. In addition, he urged all U7+ universities to learn from each other’s experiences and strengths to create a richer and more inclusive sustainability model.

 

As a member of the U7+ Alliance, Hitotsubashi University recognizes the role that universities should play in the world and aims to advance research and education by strengthening international collaboration through the alliance’s global network of major universities.

The eighth U7+ Presidential Summit will be held in France in 2026.