Kohei Itoh, Keio University President, Named USJF Vice Chair

He will replace in that position Takeshi Niinami, CEO of Suntory Holdings Ltd. and Chairman of the Keizai Doyukai association of Japanese business executives. Niinami will leave the USJF board in October after 10 years of service.

Itoh is a pioneer in quantum computing, and a leader in fostering collaborative international research and education in Japan. His research team led the way to uncovering the physics needed for silicon-based quantum computing, which enabled industrialization by Intel Corp. and other leading companies. In 2018, Itoh established the Keio Quantum Computing Center and started close collaboration with IBM.

Itoh became president of Keio University in May 2021, and has accelerated Keio’s international activities and visibility. Under his leadership, Keio and Carnegie Mellon University have recently announced a new partnership on AI involving many leading U.S. and Japanese companies. He has also been known as an opinion leader on reshaping higher education in Japan.

"We conducted an extensive search to complete the difficult task of replacing Tak Niinami," said USJF Board Chair Lawrence K. Fish. "We are privileged to have found somebody with the stature of Kohei Itoh to help lead the Foundation into its next phase."

“Having lived in the U.S. partially in my high school years and fully in my five-year graduate studies, I consider the U.S. my second home," Itoh said. "I am so honored and excited to serve the Foundation that has been bridging future generations between the U.S. and Japan."

In addition to his leadership at Keio, Itoh has multiple advisory roles to the Japanese government. He is executive member of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation chaired by the Prime Minister, and he chairs the government's Quantum Technology Innovation expert panel.

Itoh received a bachelor's degree in physics from Keio in 1989, and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in Materials Science and Engineering in 1995.

The United States-Japan Foundation was established in 1980 with a mission of improving relations between the two countries. It has since given out more than $100 million in grants and oversees the US-Japan Leadership Program with a network of over 500 fellows from the two countries.

Itoh joins on the USJF board: Chair Fish, Wendy Cutler, Richard E. Dyck, Arfiya Eri, Colleen Hanabusa, James M. Kondo, Craig M. Mullaney, Santa Ono, Richard J. Samuels, Keiko Tashiro, Donna Tanoue, and Takeshi Ueshima.

For questions, please contact: info@us-jf.org