Ma Yun, Once 'Unfavored' by Xi Jinping, Transforms into a Japanese University Professor

Research in Agriculture and Food Production Sector Until October This Year
Previously Appointed as Honorary Professor at Hong Kong University and Tel Aviv University

Jack Ma (58), founder of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, has been invited as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo's "Tokyo College."

According to Chinese media Zhonghua Net and Bloomberg News on the 1st, the University of Tokyo posted an announcement on the Tokyo College website that morning stating that "Jack Ma has been appointed as a visiting professor." In this announcement, Tokyo College expressed expectations that Professor Ma will focus his activities on three main areas: specifically, ▲providing advice and support on key research topics at the University of Tokyo ▲conducting joint research and projects with University of Tokyo researchers in the fields of sustainable agriculture and food production ▲sharing his extensive experience and knowledge on entrepreneurship and management innovation through seminars.

Tokyo College was established by the University of Tokyo in 2019 to promote collaboration with overseas researchers. Jack Ma will serve as a visiting professor from this day until the end of October. Prior to this, Ma was appointed an honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong last month. The University of Hong Kong announced that Ma will focus on research in finance, agriculture, and corporate innovation as an honorary professor at the business school until the end of March 2026. Additionally, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), owned by Alibaba, Ma was also appointed honorary professor of innovation and technology at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

Jack Ma, a graduate of Hangzhou Normal University, worked as an English teacher before founding Alibaba Group. On September 11, 2019, exactly 20 years after founding Alibaba and on his 55th birthday, Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba Group, citing his desire to focus on education and philanthropy as the reason for his resignation. However, in October 2020, at a public forum held in Shanghai, Ma openly criticized government fintech regulations and then disappeared from the public eye for over two years. This led to some speculation about his disappearance, but later reports occasionally surfaced that he was staying abroad and dedicating himself to agricultural technology research.

Bloomberg reported, "Chinese authorities tried to persuade Ma to return to demonstrate government support for the business community, but Ma said he stepped down to focus on agricultural technology research and continued to stay overseas." It added, "According to sources familiar with internal matters, Ma told executives at Ant Group and Alibaba that he is committed to their success from afar and urged them not to be obsessed with his return."

Meanwhile, regarding Ma's "professor transformation," some view this as the end of his activities as an entrepreneur.

Oshadhi Kumarishiri of Lightstream Research told Bloomberg, "It seems that Jack Ma's career as an entrepreneur is over," adding, "Ma succeeded in business management, but he was previously an English teacher and said he wanted to return to teaching after retiring from business activities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.