- On December 10, 2025, Keio University (Tokyo) and OpenAI officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on integrating artificial intelligence into education, making Keio the first Japanese university to form a strategic partnership with the developer of ChatGPT.
- The signing ceremony was attended by Keio President Kohei Ito and OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. The two parties agreed to build a learning and research ecosystem where students and faculty proactively learn, create, and critically evaluate AI.
- Mr. Ito emphasized: “AI knowledge will become a foundational skill in all fields – from humanities, social sciences, medicine, business, to engineering. The goal is for every Keio student to understand and apply AI to expand their creative capacity and independent thinking.”
- The cooperation focuses on three main directions:
- Creating a comprehensive AI learning environment – where students can use AI as a tool for study and research.
- Promoting collaborative research between Keio and OpenAI, especially in the humanities and social sciences, where AI can suggest new approaches humans might not have thought of.
- Establishing an ethical framework and governance for AI in academia, ensuring transparency and responsibility when using generative tools.
- While specific projects have not been disclosed, Keio has identified the immediate priority challenge as how AI can support research in the social sciences and humanities.
- Mr. Kwon stated that OpenAI is “deeply honored to partner with Keio – a university with a tradition of educating many leaders in Japanese business, politics, and culture,” and affirmed: “Education is central to OpenAI’s mission – ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.”
- Previously, in April 2024, Keio had partnered with Carnegie Mellon University (USA) to develop an advanced AI system, supported by SoftBank, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
- Keio has also implemented an AI student lab, where top AI students are paid to mentor their peers on developing and applying AI tools, creating a continuous cycle of “learning – teaching – spreading AI skills” within the university.
📌 Summary: Keio University (Japan) and OpenAI officially signed an MOU to cooperate on integrating artificial intelligence into education, making Keio the first Japanese university to form a strategic partnership with the developer of ChatGPT. The immediate priority is how AI can support research in the social sciences and humanities, followed by establishing an ethical framework and governance for AI in academia, ensuring transparency and responsibility when using generative tools.
