On the afternoon of October 31, 2012, Irish Minister of State for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock visited RIKEN, accompanied by a group of eight people including Ambassador of Ireland to Japan John Neary. This was part of a trip to Japan by Minister Sherlock to promote cooperation between the two countries.

The visit began with a welcome address and presentation on RIKEN by President Noyori, followed by an exchange of opinions, where the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between RIKEN and Ireland. The minister was particularly interested in the ties between RIKEN and industry, and said he has high expectations for cooperation in the area of life sciences. Following the introduction, the delegation was taken for a tour of the Enzyme Research Team in the Research Clusters for Innovation Biomass Engineering Program. Following an explanation of the research by Team Leader Keiji Numata, there was an interesting question-and-answer session and exchange of opinions.

In July of this year, preceding the visit, Ambassador Neary and Derek Fitzgerald, Director for Japan of IDA Ireland, came to RIKEN to meet President Noyori.