Rice is a staple food in Japan, and the scenery of rice fields is a traditional image of the Japanese countryside. It is not surprising then, that the country’s researchers have made great efforts towards rice research and that the Japanese people are proud of the high quality rice grown in the country. I am seeking to improve rice in Africa by using the knowledge obtained from Japanese rice research. I found that hybrids of African and Japanese rice grow vigorously. However, these inter-specific hybrids do not produce seeds because of a harmful interaction between genes of the two species. I am investigating the molecular mechanisms of seed sterility in inter-specific rice hybrids in order to overcome that problem.