Address of the President of the University of Tokyo
At 2012 Fall-Semester Diploma Presentation/Graduation Ceremony
On behalf of all the staff of the University of Tokyo, I would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all of you who have been awarded a doctor’s, master’s, professional, or bachelor’s degree by the University. I would also like to congratulate your families, who supported you while you studied or engaged in research, and are present here today to witness your academic achievements.
The total number of students completing their postgraduate courses by the autumn of this year is 493. Of which there are 262 doctor’s degree graduates, 193 master’s degree graduates, and 38 professional degree graduates. There are 250 international students, who account for about a half of the total. 44 undergraduate students have also graduated.
Many of you will now go out into society, while others will continue their research. Unfortunately, the current environment surrounding us, both in Japan and around the world, cannot be described as friendly. In Japan, despite the fact that enormous efforts need to be devoted to national reconstruction after the great earthquake, the state of the country’s finances remains difficult. Rapidly declining birthrates and an aging population have the potential to undermine the vitality of society. Economic growth has remained low for many years. Japanese society is not alone in facing such difficulties. Many societies that are now enjoying growth also face numerous challenges, not only economic but also in relation to the environment, energy, social inequality, safety, and individual freedom.
It is my wish that you all receiving a degree today will continue to develop and seek to excel, so that you can contribute to overcoming these challenges, and play leadership roles in creating a new era. I make this wish because you will need to continue to acquire more knowledge and wisdom, if you are to respond successfully to the dramatic changes that the new era brings. A thirst for knowledge was at the root of your decisions to study at the University of Tokyo. Now, you have acquired the internal resources and strengths needed to sustain your progress based on the extensive foundation of knowledge accumulated during your time at the University.
You are expected to use those strengths to develop further. To this end, there are two kinds of consciousness to which I would like to draw to your attention. One is to have a conscious sense of crisis. In other words, you need to cast a critical eye and scrutinize yourself to fairly judge if the extent to which you have developed until now can continue supporting you tomorrow. While changes that come with the passage of time threaten our existence slowly, crises that can have an immediate impact are often hidden deep in our minds. A crisis itself is of course dangerous, but it is equally dangerous if one is not conscious of its existential threat.
Taking an example from our own backyard, at the University of Tokyo today we believe that a sense of crisis is very important for the pursuit of advanced education and research activities. The University has maintained its academic competitiveness at a high level, supported by a pool of knowledge accumulated during a history of over 130 years, and the positive social and economic environments surrounding the University. The University of Tokyo is a huge organization, and it has become familiar with success. It is, therefore, quite natural to think that our influential position in the academic world will remain unshakable as long as we carry on doing what we have always done. However, the tide of globalization is rising, allowing people, goods, and services to flow freely around the world. Japanese society as a whole is also undergoing dramatic changes, both economically and socially. Under these circumstances, we must ask ourselves with a keen sense of crisis: “If we are to sustain our position as one of the world’s top universities, can we carry on as we have always done in the past?” We must re-evaluate whether the systems and ways of thinking that we have always assumed to be best are still relevant.
When considering the ideal University and considering the ideal society, our thoughts and aspirations tend to be constrained by entrenched systems and frameworks. Faced with a difficult situation, we try to maneuver around problems within the structures of conventional systems, while attempting to improve those systems only partially. This happens often. If everything is going fairly well, we tend to become complacent. But, in doing so, we lose opportunities to undertake essential reforms. At a time when society is changing so radically, we can soon find ourselves lagging far behind our peers, unless we have a critical eye to question the validity of our existing systems and perceptions. I sincerely hope that you will not fall into such a trap as you travel the paths to become key players in creating a new era.
The second point I think is important for your continued self-improvement, is to have a consciousness of others. You must have had various experiences while at the University. Among these, one of the most influential must have been connected with the Great East Japan Earthquake. In the critical aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant accident, I believe many of you asked: “What can I do to help the people stricken by the disaster?” Always keep that thought in your mind, as you undertake further research, or apply the results of your research in society. That is one way to be conscious of other people. There is no doubt that continued awareness of the devastation brought by the great earthquake will have significant impacts, directly or indirectly, on your research and the way you approach each day of your lives.
The need to be conscious of others is not necessarily limited to matters related to disasters. It also applies to the way you connect with the community at large. Those of you joining the corporate world will inevitably be asked to be more conscious of other people than you are at present. You will interact with senior staff, colleagues, and customers, who will all be strangers to you, and who may be very different from the people you knew at the University. I would like you to enjoy such encounters and have them feed your further growth as a human being and a member of society. You may be bewildered at first to encounter people whose ways of thinking and values differ from yours, and people who approach life in a different way from you. However, as you move on to interact with those people, you will find yourself drawing upon previously unknown internal strengths. This process, which will continue throughout your lives, is the essence of personal development, and it all starts with an empathy with others.
I would like those of you who plan to remain at the University and continue research also to be conscious of others. They may be in your inner circles?perhaps researchers in other academic fields. Please try to be conscious of these people and fields. Among the various kinds of issues we face today, whether social or academic, many can be solved by having people from several different fields join forces, rather than being tackled by people from a just one specialized field. This moment in time, when you receive academic degrees, marks one of the turning points of your academic careers, so it offers you an excellent opportunity to re-evaluate your ability to empathize with others. Your ability to expand your expertise will also be further enhanced if you not only pursue your specialized fields of study, but also take a broader view and explore other fields.
We are indeed in an era when problems are characterized by their diversity and unpredictability. However, as you know from your experience studying in a faculty or researching at a graduate school, overcoming difficulties always leads to something new and exciting. As you grow to become leaders in creating a new era, it is my sincere hope that all of you will overcome every challenge that rises up before you.
I wish you all good luck in the future.
Junichi Hamada
President
The University of Tokyo
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