Dean's New Year Message for 2026

New Year's Greetings from Hitotsubashi ICS!

As we welcome the beginning of 2026, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to our global community of students, alumni, partners, and friends of Hitotsubashi ICS.

This year, I would like to reflect on three themes that continue to define Hitotsubashi ICS: knowledge, education, and our enduring mission of “Best of Two Worlds.”

Advancing Knowledge Creation

 In 2025, Hitotsubashi ICS experienced a profound loss with the passing of Professor Jiro Nonaka, one of our founding members and a global pioneer in knowledge creation theory. Professor Nonaka remained active until the very end, and his legacy continues to inspire our research, education, and institutional direction.

To honor his contributions, Hitotsubashi ICS has preserved his workspace and library as a Knowledge Room on our Chiyoda Campus, and a dedicated Jiro Nonaka Collection will soon be available at the campus library. In our MBA program, we have started offering a Wise Leadership course based on Jiro’s unique approach to leadership development, which is rooted in his research on philosophy, leadership, and knowledge creation.

Looking ahead, in September 2026, Hitotsubashi ICS will establish an endowed research laboratory on knowledge creation, made possible through collaborations with partner companies. The laboratory will bring together distinguished scholars, including Professor Patrick Reinmoeller, Professor Georg von Krogh (ETH Zurich), and Professor Shinobu Kitayama (University of Michigan). Through this initiative, Hitotsubashi ICS aims to further advance interdisciplinary research at the intersection of knowledge, leadership, culture, and innovation.

Our Dean’s Guest Speaker Series will continue to explore knowledge, innovation, and leadership, including the growing impact of AI on organizations. In addition, Hitotsubashi ICS Professor Suzuki Satoko is leading the effort to edit a special issue on knowledge creation theory and business applications, reinforcing our role as a global thought leader.

Reimagining Education in the Age of AI

Education remains at the heart of Hitotsubashi ICS. As AI becomes fully integrated into business and society, the roles and responsibilities of leaders are rapidly evolving. In response, Hitotsubashi ICS is updating its curriculum and teaching approaches that become even more critical in an AI-enabled world. In last year's Dean's New Year message, I noted that motivation, collaboration, and imagination would become even more important as AI becomes more widely used. I still believe this to be true.

Our goal is to prepare globally minded leaders who can bridge theory and practice, technology and humanity, and diverse perspectives across cultures.

“Best of Two Worlds”. Our Enduring Mission

 Since 2000, Hitotsubashi ICS mission has been "achieving the best of two worlds," a goal that is becoming increasingly important as the world becomes more complex and divided.

Hitotsubashi ICS is a boutique school with a powerful global footprint, connected through international networks such as GNAM and our worldwide alumni community. We thrive through both strong internal collaboration and the “strength of weak ties” created by visiting faculty, partners, and global collaborators.

Organizations evolve as people move on and new members join, yet identity endures through shared values. At Hitotsubashi ICS, such values as excellence, integrity, imagination, inclusiveness, and initiative continue to guide us. Our aim is to remain an intellectually vibrant and welcoming place where people choose to engage, contribute, and grow together.

As Dean, my mission is to ensure that Hitotsubashi ICS remains a hub of ideas, dialogue, and global connection.

I thank you for your continued support and engagement, and I wish you a fruitful and inspiring year ahead!

Prof. Emi Osono
Dean, Hitotsubashi ICS
Hitotsubashi University Business School,
School of International Corporate Strategy