RIKEN

RIKEN, formally the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, is Japan's principal comprehensive scientific research organization. Established in 1917, it conducts basic and applied research across physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, genomics, engineering, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and computational science. Its main campus is in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, and its network includes major facilities in Tsukuba, Harima, Yokohama, Kobe and other locations in Japan, as well as international research relationships. The institute originated as a private foundation supported by government, industrial and Imperial Household funding. Its early purpose was to create a national scientific capability able to connect fundamental research with industrial development. During the 1920s and 1930s, RIKEN created a large network of commercial subsidiaries, commonly known as the Riken Concern, to commercialize technologies developed by its researchers. One of the companies associated with this historical network eventually became Ricoh, although modern RIKEN is a research institution rather than a commercial conglomerate. RIKEN was reorganized after the Second World War, first as the company Kagaku Kenkyūsho and later, under legislation passed in 1958, as a government-funded public corporation bearing the RIKEN name again. Its organizational and legal status changed in 2003, when it became an Independent Administrative Institution. It is now a Designated National Research and Development Institute, a category intended for Japan's leading publicly supported research bodies and granting them substantial operational autonomy while retaining government oversight and funding. RIKEN's facilities support both laboratory science and large-scale national research infrastructure. The RIKEN SPring-8 Center operates the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility and works with the SACLA X-ray free-electron laser. The Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science operates the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory, a major heavy-ion accelerator complex. The Center for Computational Science in Kobe has been associated with Japan's K computer and Fugaku supercomputers, while the Center for Brain Science, Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research and other units pursue research ranging from neuroscience and regenerative biology to personalized medicine and drug discovery. The institute has contributed to internationally recognized discoveries and research infrastructure. RIKEN-affiliated scientists Hideki Yukawa and Shin'ichirō Tomonaga received Nobel Prizes in Physics. A RIKEN team produced element 113, later named nihonium, and its discovery was formally recognized by international chemistry and physics bodies in 2015. The K computer became the world's top-ranked supercomputer on the LINPACK benchmark in 2011, and Fugaku subsequently became a leading system for scientific simulation, health research and artificial intelligence workloads. RIKEN is almost entirely supported by Japanese public funding and collaborates with hundreds of institutions worldwide. Unlike a conventional product company, its principal outputs are scientific discoveries, datasets, research tools, shared facilities, publications, patents, trained researchers and technology-transfer opportunities. Its public profile has nevertheless been shaped by both major achievements and controversies, most notably the 2014 STAP-cell episode, which resulted in investigations, retractions and the death of researcher Yoshiki Sasai. RIKEN remains an active national research institution with a broad mandate spanning fundamental science and practical technological applications.

RIKEN's origins can be traced to proposals for a national scientific research organization made in the early twentieth century. In 1913, chemist Jokichi Takamine advocated the creation of such an institution, and businessman and public figure Shibusawa Eiichi subsequently helped advance the idea. Following a resolution by Japan's Diet in 1915, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research was established in March 1917 as a private foundation. Its early funding came from a mixture of government, industrial and Imperial Household sources. Mathematician Baron Dairoku Kikuchi served as its first director, and the original laboratories were located in Tokyo's Komagome district. Under its third director, Masatoshi Ōkōchi, RIKEN developed an unusual mechanism for converting scientific research into industrial activity. In 1927, Ōkōchi organized a group of affiliated companies known as the Riken Concern. These companies commercialized products and technologies derived from RIKEN research and returned financial benefits to the institute. By 1939, the network had grown to approximately 121 factories and 63 companies. One of its descendants became Ricoh, although Ricoh and modern RIKEN are separate organizations. The institute's work was affected by the Second World War. RIKEN laboratories were involved in Japan's wartime nuclear research, including work connected with the army's atomic-bomb program. The Komagome facilities were damaged by United States bombing in April 1945. After the war, Allied forces destroyed RIKEN's two cyclotrons in November 1945. The occupation authorities dissolved the original private foundation, and the organization was reconstituted as a company called Kagaku Kenkyūsho, commonly shortened to Kaken. A 1958 law restored the RIKEN name and established the organization as a government-funded public corporation. In the 1960s it moved from its original Tokyo site to a substantial campus in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, where its headquarters remain. From the 1980s onward, RIKEN expanded from a primarily physical and chemical research body into a broad national network. New centers were created in Tsukuba for life sciences, at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom for muon research, at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States, and at Japanese sites including Harima, Yokohama and Kobe. These additions broadened its work into genomics, brain science, developmental biology, medical science, accelerator physics and computational research. In October 2003, RIKEN became an Independent Administrative Institution. This legal form gave it more managerial autonomy than a conventional government department while preserving public funding and periodic governmental evaluation. It was later designated a National Research and Development Institute, reinforcing its role as a strategic institution for Japanese science and technology. RIKEN's research record includes several internationally significant achievements. Its affiliated scientists Hideki Yukawa and Shin'ichirō Tomonaga won Nobel Prizes in Physics. Researchers at the institute created element 113 in experiments conducted in 2004 and later confirmed the observation through additional events. The discovery was recognized internationally in 2015, and the element was named nihonium. RIKEN has also hosted or operated large-scale facilities that serve users beyond the institute, including the SPring-8 synchrotron, SACLA X-ray free-electron laser and the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory. Computational science became another major pillar. RIKEN participated in the development and operation of the K computer, which ranked first in the LINPACK world supercomputer list in 2011. Its successor, Fugaku, was developed as a national-scale system for advanced simulation and data-intensive research. Together with its work in life science, artificial intelligence, materials, photonics and medicine, this infrastructure supports RIKEN's model of combining investigator-led research with shared national capabilities. The institution also experienced a serious reputational crisis in 2014. Papers reporting STAP cells, a purported method for inducing pluripotency through environmental stimulus, were published and then challenged over research-data and image issues. Investigations led to retractions and criticism of the institute's oversight and research culture. Yoshiki Sasai, a senior RIKEN scientist involved in the work, died by suicide. The episode prompted broad discussion in Japan and internationally about research integrity, institutional accountability and the pressures surrounding high-profile scientific results. Today RIKEN operates as a large, publicly funded, multidisciplinary research network. Its activities range from fundamental discoveries to shared infrastructure, biological resources, computational platforms and collaborations with hundreds of overseas and domestic partners. It is not a conventional consumer brand or listed corporation; its brand represents Japan's national scientific capacity and its contribution to global research.

• 2020

  Fugaku entered public attention as a leading supercomputer

  [4]Fugakuriken.jp

  Fugaku emerged as the successor to the K computer and a platform for large-scale scientific computing.

• 2015

  Nihonium discovery recognized

  [6]Nihoniumen.wikipedia.org

  International scientific unions recognized RIKEN's discovery priority for element 113.

• 2011

  K computer became the world's fastest supercomputer

  [5]K computeren.wikipedia.org

  The K computer reached first place in the LINPACK benchmark.

• 2003

  Independent Administrative Institution reorganization

  [1]Rikenen.wikipedia.org

  RIKEN received a new legal status with greater administrative autonomy under public oversight.

• 1963

  Move to Wako

  [1]Rikenen.wikipedia.org

  RIKEN began relocating its principal operations to the Wako site in Saitama Prefecture.

• 1958

  RIKEN became a public corporation

  [1]Rikenen.wikipedia.org

  Legislation restored the RIKEN name and reorganized the institute as a government-funded public corporation.

• 1927

  Creation of the Riken Concern

  [1]Rikenen.wikipedia.org

  Masatoshi Ōkōchi created a network of companies intended to commercialize RIKEN research.

• 1917

  RIKEN was established

  [1]Rikenen.wikipedia.org

  The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research was founded as a private foundation in Tokyo.

• 1913

  Proposal for a national research institute

  [1]Rikenen.wikipedia.org

  Jokichi Takamine proposed establishing a national scientific research organization in Japan.

Japan's flagship government-funded comprehensive research institute, combining frontier basic science, national research infrastructure and application-oriented innovation.

• High-performance computing · 2020

  Fugaku

  Fugaku is a national-scale supercomputer associated with RIKEN's Center for Computational Science. It is designed for large scientific simulations, data analysis, computational medicine, artificial intelligence and other workloads requiring very high computational throughput. Its role is primarily as shared public research infrastructure rather than a commercial product sold under a consumer brand.

• High-performance computing · 2011

  K computer

  The K computer was a Japanese supercomputer developed and operated through a national research program involving RIKEN. It became the world's fastest supercomputer on the LINPACK benchmark in 2011 and entered full operation in 2012. The system supported research in climate, materials, life science, astrophysics and other computational fields before being succeeded by Fugaku.

• Synchrotron radiation facility

  SPring-8

  SPring-8 is a large synchrotron radiation facility operated through RIKEN's Harima research activities. It provides intense X-ray beams for studying materials, proteins, chemical reactions and biological structures. The facility serves researchers from universities, public laboratories and industry, making it one of RIKEN's most important shared scientific infrastructures.

• X-ray free-electron laser

  SACLA

  SACLA is an X-ray free-electron laser facility associated with the RIKEN SPring-8 Center. It enables ultrafast and high-resolution investigations of matter, chemical processes and biological structures. Like SPring-8, it is a user facility supporting research by external scientific teams as well as RIKEN investigators.

• Accelerator research facility

  Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory

  The Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory is a heavy-ion accelerator complex at the Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science. It produces rare isotope beams for nuclear-physics research and helps scientists investigate the structure of atomic nuclei, nuclear reactions and the origins of elements.

• Biological research resources

  RIKEN BioResource Center

  The BioResource Research Center preserves and distributes biological materials and associated information for research. Its resources support work involving model organisms, cells, genetic materials and other biological systems, helping researchers reproduce experiments and develop new studies.

• 2014

  STAP-cell research controversy

  RIKEN was at the center of an international controversy after papers describing stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency were challenged over data and image issues. Institutional investigations followed, the papers were retracted, and the episode raised questions about research supervision, verification and scientific integrity. Yoshiki Sasai, a senior scientist involved in the work, later died by suicide.

  Source

Read more

• 2015

  Recognition of element 113 discoveryOther

  Background

  RIKEN researchers had produced and subsequently confirmed observations of a previously unknown chemical element.

  Action taken

  International chemistry and physics unions formally recognized the discovery priority and later accepted the name nihonium.

  Aftermath

  The recognition made nihonium the first element discovered and named through a Japanese research institution.

  Source

• 2011

  K computer benchmark leadershipOther

  Background

  Japan pursued a national effort to build a leading general-purpose supercomputer for scientific research.

  Action taken

  The K computer was brought into the LINPACK ranking and achieved first place.

  Aftermath

  RIKEN strengthened its position as a center for national computational science and later developed Fugaku as the system's successor.

  Source

• 2003

  Transition to Independent Administrative InstitutionStrategy

  Background

  Japan reorganized major public research organizations to provide greater managerial flexibility while retaining public accountability.

  Action taken

  RIKEN changed its legal status from a public corporation to an Independent Administrative Institution.

  Aftermath

  The institute gained greater operational autonomy while continuing to receive public funding and government evaluation.

  Source

• 1927

  Commercialization through the Riken ConcernStrategy

  Background

  RIKEN sought a mechanism for turning laboratory discoveries into industrial products and for generating resources connected to research.

  Action taken

  Masatoshi Ōkōchi established a network of affiliated companies to commercialize RIKEN technologies.

  Aftermath

  The network expanded substantially before the Second World War and included companies that later became historically associated with Japanese industry, including Ricoh's predecessor organization.

  Source

1. 1Rikenen.wikipedia.org
2. 2RIKEN official websiteriken.jp
3. 3RIKEN Presidentriken.jp
4. 4Fugakuriken.jp
5. 5K computeren.wikipedia.org
6. 6Nihoniumen.wikipedia.org
7. 7Stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotencyen.wikipedia.org