"Tough and Global UTokyo Students":
Cultivating Talented People Who have Intelligence and That Extra "It" Factor

President Hamada, the word "tough" is an inseparable part of your image. You started to say this word right after your election and have repeated it often since then. At one point, the number of times you used the word "tough" during your speech at one of the Spring Matriculation Ceremonies even became a trending topic on Twitter. Was there anything in particular that directly caused you to start using this word?

First, concerning my heavy use of the word "tough," I personally don't like using the same word repetitively because it makes me feel embarrassed. As president, however, I thought it necessary to use the same word over and over—even if it made people say "again?" —so that everyone could absorb the message I wanted to communicate. My aesthetic sense as a researcher in the humanities field makes me want to use other words after I've used "tough" once. Using synonyms, however, makes it more difficult for my message to leave a clear impression on people's minds. That's why I resolved to use "tough" over and over again, and I personally made sure that I was repeatedly using the word "tough" during my time as president.

So there was a strategic meaning to reiterating that word. Sometimes, when I would hear you say "tough," I couldn't help but think "there he goes again" …

My Repetitive Use of "Tough" was Intentional

Yes. I kept saying it, all the while knowing, "People must be thinking, 'Oh, there he goes saying that same thing again.'" (laughs) That's because the position of president requires me to behave differently from when I was a researcher.

Curiously enough, the more "tough" was repeated, the more agreeable the word became. As I got used to hearing it, my heart became kind of captured by its message…So, I would say that your strategy was a success.

That's good. (laughs) Next, I'd like to talk about the thing that influenced me to start using the word "tough." Although UTokyo students, of course, possess high-level intellectual abilities, not all of them are necessarily successful after graduation. There are, naturally, many students from other universities who are also talented with whom they have to compete. Moreover, there are quite a few UTokyo students who fall behind other universities' students when it comes to possessing and utilizing the comprehensive set of abilities demanded by society. This fact filled me with deep regret. I felt this way because, as I mentioned before, society's general respect for intellect and knowledge has been wavering these days. I was worried that the performance of these students may negatively affect how knowledge produced by the University of Tokyo is evaluated.

Of course, intellectual prowess is something that the University of Tokyo should be proud of as part of its identity. However, I wanted to go one step further to show that this excellence can be attributed not only to how high or low our average entrance examination scores are but also to our practical significance in society, by fostering students who can compete with students from other universities in academic performance as well as in terms of the extra "it" factors they possess. These "it" factors are the characteristics of self-determination, eagerness, communication skill and perseverance.

Personally, my usage of "tough" may be influenced by my experiences during my high school days of traveling all over Japan to chase after steam locomotives, which were still in their heyday. This also has to do with my promoting the Hands-on Activity Programs; if you interact with various types of people in many regions or receive help from them, you come to realize that lifestyles as well as each person's concept of happiness are not all the same. You then truly understand that what is important varies depending on the person.

I was well aware that I was able to grow and broaden my horizons thanks to my interactions with various kinds of people when I was young and traveling. If I had not had those experiences, I may not have started using the word "tough."

When I later heard that major universities in the U. S. actively provide opportunities for undergraduate students to study, do volunteer jobs and internships in overseas countries to help them think outside of the box, it reaffirmed my conviction that cultivating students' "it" factors—their special abilities—is important.

I heard that you like traveling by rail and mountain hiking. Have you been into these hobbies for a long time?

Yes. After traveling freely across Japan and experiencing tough times while walking in the mountains at my own risk and discretion, I was able to discipline myself intellectually and spiritually, as well as feel liberated with my horizons being broadened. I guess you could say that it gave me a sense that I could go on living no matter what.

So that sense you felt led to you promoting the Hands-on Activity Programs and the FLY Program (Freshers' Leave Year Program). If you want to change an organization, you must first change the mentality of its members. You have to work on those people and get them to share your ideas. Sure enough, it's important to be "tough."

To be"Tough," You have to Think and Act on Your Own, without Asking Others First

Sometimes, students would ask me what they should do to become tough. An honest answer would be that the first thing they have to do is not ask others what they have to do and instead think and act on their own. (laughs)

Asked whether the environment of today's Japan supports younger people in becoming tough, I would answer that that environment may be fading away. Under these circumstances, you cannot discover a path to becoming tough if you just stand silently on the sidelines. So, I thought the University had to offer some programs that could spur students into finding this kind of path.

Although the University will take the lead at first by offering these programs, I don't think that we have to continue to always offer them. Rather, I want students to be able to come up with plans by themselves and gain experience outside the University. At the same time, I want society to raise its awareness and devise frameworks to support ambitious students who want to have many different kinds of experiences. I believe that from now on that this kind of awareness that youth need to be raised by society as a whole, as well as the framework to facilitate such an endeavor, are both necessary.

I believe that if the University continues to take the lead by actively promoting programs, society will also change for the better. I expect that if we continue to make efforts to offer these programs for about ten years, it would become unnecessary for the University itself to go out of its way to maintain them.

An alternative would be to maintain the framework of the programs and have students manage the programs themselves.

That's right. As you say, having students operate the programs themselves may be a desirable direction to work towards. The programs would gather momentum if society became more willing to accept that having students engaging in various activities outside the University is commonplace.

In fact, even primary and secondary education schools have started making efforts towards the development of students' capabilities regarding societal involvement while they also nurture students' intellectual abilities. I think it would be rather hard for teachers to encourage students, who have essentially always been kept in a school environment, to go outside of their school and interact with society. I imagine teachers as well as others involved with the schools are placing a lot of effort on devising ways to facilitate students' social learning. If this trend gains momentum, and educational initiatives to promote students' involvement with society become more popular, society would view efforts like our Hands-on Activity Programs and the FLY Program as ordinary aspects of education.

Let's move to the phrase "UTokyo students without borders," another catchphrase you use along with "tough." Could you tell us your vision of "internationalization" that the University of Tokyo should pursue?

My Initial Understanding of Globalization may have still been Naïve

When I created my ten pillars upon assuming the presidential post, I was certainly looking at the University from an internationally-minded viewpoint. Accordingly, I used phrases like "a world-leading center of knowledge" and "from the world to Japan, from Japan to the world" in my descriptions of them. Even now, I still remember having discussions over whether or not "internationalization" should have been included as one of the pillars when I was formulating my Action Scenario. You could say the fact that I purposely held such a discussion shows that I was still naïvely unaware of the rapid extent at which globalization was occurring.

The University of Tokyo is acutely aware that it is the top university in Japan and that it enjoys a solid presence worldwide in the natural sciences and a number of other disciplines. That's why I feel that my sense of urgency regarding internationalization was low. Of course the University had been carrying out many internationally-minded initiatives, such as signing academic exchange agreements with overseas universities, holding the UTokyo (previously Todai/UT) Forum, and having researchers engage in exchanges on the individual level. However, I believe that the University had not strongly considered enacting major changes that would affect the organization in its entirety, such as increasing the international mobility of students and conducting classes in English.

I think that each president of the University has made progress towards the University of Tokyo's internationalization in his own way. As an example, President Komiyama was strongly committed to increasing UTokyo's presence on the international stage during his time as head of the University. He worked to raise UTokyo's profile through the President's Council, which he founded, and active University participation in overseas conferences such as the World Economic Forum in Davos. Meanwhile, from the academic staff members' point of view, collaborating with researchers from overseas to work on projects in both the humanities and the sciences was seen as something that had naturally been done, which I think made them wonder why such an emphasis was being placed on internationalization all of a sudden. However, regarding education at the University, especially at the undergraduate level, this international aspect was not commonplace. There were some pioneering initiatives on the individual level, such as summer programs within the framework of AIKOM (Abroad In KOMaba, a study abroad program for students in the College of Arts and Sciences). Nevertheless, the University had not properly recognized the extent of the importance of sending students out from Japan to overseas.

The executive vice president in charge of the University's international affairs at that time was Professor Akihiko Tanaka, who is now the president of JICA. Professor Tanaka possesses an incredibly keen international sense. He had said that UTokyo must make great strides towards internationalization, and universities worldwide are moving to increase the international mobility of students. Hearing his opinion, I realized that not placing globalization at the forefront of the UTokyo's initiatives would prove to be fatal to the University. I thus incorporated the phrase "global campus" into my Action Scenario.

I never particularly went into detail about the meaning of the phrase "global campus." However, when I spoke to Professor Tanaka back then, my idea of a "global campus" was making the campuses of the world's universities into the University of Tokyo's campus. In other words, I was planning to send more and more UTokyo students to universities overseas and proactively incorporate this policy into the University's educational curriculum. The phrase "UTokyo students without borders" emerged as a result of these initiatives.

Students at the University of Tokyo will have to go on to compete with graduates from the world's top universities. There are, of course, a considerable number of distinguished students here who will take on all kinds of challenges on their own. However, on average, when students get into debates or discussions with students from overseas, they often feel weak or like they are at a disadvantage. I thought that if we didn't do something about that, we wouldn't be able to call ourselves responsible for our students' futures. Considering these circumstances, the particular topic of reinforcing students' international mobility resonated strongly with me.

Meanwhile, compared to sending Japanese students overseas, I feel like I had somewhat set aside the task of bringing more international students to Japan from abroad at first. Outstanding international students had been coming to the University for graduate-level education since long before I became president, so perhaps my sense of urgency regarding this task was rather low.

This sense of urgency began to rise after we started the Programs in English at Komaba (PEAK, undergraduate programs taught entirely in English). Through starting that program, we gained a thorough understanding of how difficult it is to bring in quality students from overseas at the undergraduate level, how well we could compete with the world's top universities, and how UTokyo is compared with other universities. I believe that the experiences we have acquired here will be of great value to the University's future. It's important to recognize the fact that prospective students are comparing UTokyo with other universities worldwide and then making their decisions on where to go. I felt a strong sense of urgency that if we didn't realize that, we wouldn't be able to continue bringing in quality international students from around the world.

What do you think about UTokyo's unique position of being the top university among non-English-speaking countries?

The University of Tokyo is a Japanese university which has made great strides in research and education through the medium of the Japanese language. I believe that even when it comes to competing with the rest of the world, we should capitalize on the fact that we are a Japanese university and that we are a university located in Asia. We should also leverage the experiences we've had in strengthening the University through exchanges with the United Kingdom, the United States, the nations of continental Europe and a great number of other countries.

A Complete "Americanization" of UTokyo would not be Good for the Global Academic Climate

I think one aspect of language is that it works to define both the content and style of research and education. And English has unquestionably become the lingua franca throughout the world including within academia. Considering these circumstances, I believe that we should increase the number of classes held in English within the University's curriculums and ensure that all members of the University community are able to utilize English as a basic communication tool. However, the University of Tokyo has through to the present day has raised its academic standards by producing concepts, theories and ideas in the medium of Japanese, or by coming into contact with the diverse array of languages and knowledge from the various countries of the world, all the while learning and diligently engaging in self-improvement. It is my belief that continuing to expand upon this tried-and-true method of improvement will lead to making the University of Tokyo more attractive in this current age of globalization. By doing so, we will be able to create a kind of distinguished excellence—an academic "peak" —that differentiates us from universities overseas. I think that having the University of Tokyo change its research and educational style—for instance, becoming completely "Americanized" —would certainly not be a good thing for either the University or the global academic climate in general.

Communicating face-to-face with people from all over the world… now that's something that will make you "tough."

Yes; this interview has reinforced my belief that "toughness" and "being globally-minded" are two sides of the same coin.

You have spread your "tough and global" message to students with every opportunity you've had. How have students reacted towards your message?

Students who take on my message proactively tend to stand out, but I think there are also students who don't really have much of a reaction to what I'm saying. I guess that's only natural. After all, there are lots of students who are active members of society within Japan, and it's not necessary for all UTokyo graduates to be successful on the world stage. Nevertheless, even if graduates are working in Japan, I want them to be "tough and global"; I want them to be aware of the rest of the world. The meaning behind the phrase "tough and global" is not that students should all act in a certain way; rather, it's a message intended to awaken something within them.

I have consciously placed a strong emphasis on becoming "tough" as members of society. As a prerequisite to that, though, I would like students to cultivate a thorough sense of academic "toughness," which is something that has been one of the University of Tokyo's traditional assets. Before they graduate, I really want students to have the experience of utilizing their intellectual, emotional and physical abilities to the utmost in the pursuit of truth.

So I presume the student body is divided into two groups:students who took the University's message to heart and participated actively in programs arranged by the University, and students who did the exact opposite.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's better for society and the University to have different kinds of people doing different things, anyway. Nevertheless, it's better for the messages that the University puts out to be clear and precise rather than compromising. I had that thought in mind when I came up with "tough and global."

As the number of students who resonate strongly with your message increase, a "chemical reaction" will surely occur which will spread the message's influence throughout the entire University. I think that for the most part, Japanese education has placed value on making all students perform well on average. Perhaps taking more of a unique leadership approach where you use a great amount of strength to lift the poorly performing students up would be worth trying.

As Executive Vice President Toshikazu Hasegawa has said, there are also UTokyo students who are emotionally weak. One major challenge for us is to figure out how we can educate and aid in the development of these kinds of students. Since I have repeated the word "tough" so many times, I'm sure there are some people who have wondered what should be done to support the students who can't become "tough." This may seem contradictory, but precisely because I've emphasized becoming "tough" so much, efforts have emerged within the University to expedite care for those kinds of "weak" students.

So your "tough" message also led to diversity, I see.