Activity Report
Booth Exhibition of the Listings of Societal Issues at the MiRaI Forum (November 27)
Mitsubishi Research Institute hosted the MiRaI Forum as an opportunity to envision the future we aspire to and to foster the co-creation of a prosperous and sustainable society. This year’s forum featured the topic of Green Transformation (GX) and welcomed more than 200 participants.
At the networking session, an exhibition booth was set up for the “Listings of Societal Issues (LSI) 2025.” The LSI2025 was published in March this year, which included and analyzed societal issues, divided into thirty themes under seven focus areas, that can be resolved through innovation. Each of the themes is presented from three perspectives: “What is wrong?” “What needs to be done?” and “How to do it?” In addition, it also introduced practical ways on how to utilize the LSI, such as applying it to medium or long-term company strategy planning and new business development.
*The forum was named MiRaI, meaning “future” in Japanese, to serve as a place where Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) explores and discusses the future together with the guests.
New Article Published in the ICF Deep Tech Column: How Robots will Transform Living Spaces and the Future of Cities: Hand Design and Soft Robotics as Keys to Real-World Implementation of Robots (December 2)
Imagine that one day you might pick up your cafe latte from a robot at a convenience store before heading to work!
Next-generation robots that combine AI and remote operation technologies are drawing growing attention as solutions to societal issues such as declining birthrate, aging population, and labor shortages.
From robot hands capable of highly precise movements to soft robots that enable safer and quieter construction sites, startups are emerging to develop robots that work in harmony with people and support society.
We are now standing at the gateway to a future where humans and robots live side by side. Discover this exciting potential in our latest column:
https://www.mri.co.jp/knowledge/column/20251202.html (in Japanese)
Activity report of the Japan CDR Coalition
– COP30 Briefing Session (November 27)
The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) was held in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025, and four researchers from Mitsubishi Research Institute participated in the event.
The Japan CDR Coalition organized a briefing session featuring the MRI participants, who provided an overview of the key agreements reached and the negotiation dynamics at COP30, while also sharing first-hand impressions and experiences from the conference venue.
Please refer to the meeting report below.
https://icf.mri.co.jp/j-cdr/information/cop30eventreport/ (in Japanese)
– Japan CDR Coalition hosted a Side Event along with DeCarbon Tokyo 2025 (December 2)
DeCarbon Tokyo 2025, supported by the Japan CDR Coalition as a partner, was held in Tokyo from 3 to 4 December, bringing together key players in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry around the world.
Ahead of the main conference, the Coalition also hosted a side event, which welcomed around 30 participants from Coalition member companies, as well as CDR suppliers and registry and verification organizations that later participated in DeCarbon Tokyo 2025. The event provided a forum for participants to gain up-to-date insights into various CDR approaches and to engage in active discussions and exchanges of views.
Details of the event report will be made available on the ICF website at a later date.
Upcoming Activities
Event addressing loneliness and isolation (Part 2) (February 13, 2026)
In May 2025, an event on “Addressing loneliness and isolation: Toward a Society Free of Unwanted Loneliness” was co-hosted with Ibasho Chat.org, a nonprofit organization and supporting member of ICF.
A second session of this event will be held next year, which will introduce specific initiatives by local governments and companies, sharing the effectiveness as well as challenges of current countermeasures, and exploring sustainable solutions together.
Details of the event will be announced later.
New ICF Members
From November 14 to December 11, 2 organizations joined ICF.
《Current list of ICF members》
https://icf.mri.co.jp/member/ (in Japanese)
Notice of New Year Holidays
The Office of Mitsubishi Research Institute will be closed from Friday, December 26, 2025 to Monday, January 5, 2026.
We wish all ICF members happy holidays and a wonderful New Year.