Akito Arima, who served as president of RIKEN from 1993 to 1998, passed away on December 6 at the age of 90.
Dr. Arima, who was a nuclear physicist by training, focused on the international expansion of RIKEN during his tenure. His achievements included the opening of RIKEN Facility Office at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the United Kingdom and the RIKEN BNL Research Center at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the United States.
In addition, he devoted his efforts to the establishment of a number of strategic research centers such as the Brain Science Institute (BSI), now the Center for Brain Science (CBS) and the SPring-8 synchrotron facility in Harima. These centers are still at the core of RIKEN’s research structure.
In addition to his work at RIKEN, he also served as president of the University of Tokyo, president of the Japan Association of National Universities, Minister of Education, and Minister of State for Science and Technology. In these various roles, he made great contributions to the development of science and technology as Japan prepared to enter the 21st century.
President Matsumoto issued a statement regarding the passing of Dr. Arima, saying, “We would like to express my deepest condolences to former president Arima. All of the RIKEN community will continue to work hard to further develop the foundation he laid during his tenure here and in various other roles. We would like to express our deepest sympathy and condolence to our former leader.”