SPIRIT was established in the Yoyogi campus in 1986. President Shigeyoshi Matsumae was appointed as the first director, and President Tatsuro Matsumae was appointed as the director from 1991. Succeeding him, Director Norio Matsumae, Director Naoto Yoshikawa, and Director Yoshimasa Suenobu has taken office since 2017until now. Founder Shigeyoshi Matsumae said, “Our generation must strive to build world peace and pass it on to the next generation. Academism who engage with educational and research activities should share their wisdom and play proactive roles learning from history. I myself experienced the devastation of two world wars, and … I founded SPIRIT and committed myself to contributing to peace at the university level”. Under the circumstances of the Cold War and temporary detent due to nuclear deterrence at the time of the establishment of SPIRIT, Shigeyoshi Matsumae and his colleagues who founded the institute had the following in mind; “to eliminate false peace based on the balance of military power and to build a true peace on the basis of mutual understanding and mutual trust between countries with the wisdom of humankind.” The scope of SPIRIT research activities was manifested as: ➀ to hold a meeting of presidents of research institutes for peace; ② to exchange with peace research institutes in various countries; ③ to conduct research on basic attitudes and policies for peace in various countries; ④ to conduct research on disarmament and arms control; ⑤ to conduct researches on means of peace maintenance, etc. but the late Shigeyoshi Matsumae, as the first director of this institute, placed the highest priority on organizing a conference of presidents of institutes for world peace. “ Shigeyoshi Matsumae also states that “To contribute to the world, Japan which is not blessed with natural resources, must become a nation of scientific and technological nation through innovative research and technological development. In the past, searching for scarce energy resources such as oil, Japan quested for these resources outside the country by force, which led to the bitter experience of the Second World War. Shigeyoshi Matsumae was seriously concerned about these experiences and believed that we should not to go to a war again and instead that we should coexist peacefully with the rest of the world, it was essential for us to have exchanges not only at the national level but also at the personal level and paved the way for its own private diplomacy through academic, artistic, and sports exchanges. SPIRIT was born as a research institute to contribute to world peace at the university level. In opening the institute, Shigeyoshi Matsumae, the director of Tokai University said “Our mission for peace is based on the founding spirit of Tokai University. Furthermore, Tokai University has pursued its efforts for peace by accumulating international exchanges in the fields of education, science and technology, culture, and sports. On the basis of the above and as a culmination of these achievements, we would like to revitalize the activities of the Strategic and International Research Institute for Peace”. (Peace Studies Institute NEWS LETTER, first issue). In the initial stage, the most important activity of the institute was the “Asia Pacific Rim Presidents of Research Institute Forum”. The Strategic and International Research Institute for Peace of Tokai University, in cooperation with other institutions within the university, worked hard to organize the first and second conferences of “Asia Pacific Rim Presidents of Research Institute Forum”. Since the third conference, the universities of the host countries have played a central role in organizing the subsequent conferences, which have been held 10 times over the past 20 years with great success.