Speech Text

To all of you who are receiving your doctoral or master's degrees today, I offer you my most heartfelt congratulations. The culmination of your studies and research has been compiled into outstanding theses worthy of your degrees. I would also like to extend my warmest congratulations to all the family members and guardians who have offered their support and helped you to arrive at this important milestone.

(At first, let me introduce my colleagues on the stage, who have helped you come this far. On the right, Professor Shuichi Adachi of Faculty of Science and Technollogy, who will be delivering a congratulatory speech representing all the faculty members and staff of Keio.)

I believe that your experience at Keio University will serve as a starting point of a virtuous cycle in your life, in other words, setting you on a continuous spiral of growth and improvement. You have reached this day after studying and conducting research with some of the best faculty and staff in the world, who I believe are this institution’s greatest assets. Many of the alumni who received their degrees from Keio University say that when they go out into the world, they reaffirm the value of their education at Keio. I am confident that you will do well among the best and the brightest in the world, continuing to advance the methodology of learning and research that you have established here at Keio, and taking on important positions as leaders of societies around the world. The alumni networks of Keio and other universities have often converged to contribute to the advancement of global academia and businesses. Throughout your lives, you will demonstrate the Keio spirit of pursuing ideals for the betterment of society and become central figures in your own communities, countries, and the world.

For the past year and a half, COVID-19 has severely limited your learning and research. I understand that many of you were unable to access the research environment you had envisioned, and struggled to complete your degrees. Over 60% of today's graduates are international students, and this is why I am delivering this message in English, because there has never been a more difficult time for you. Nonetheless, you have persevered.

As I said earlier, you will serve as leaders of our society, so it is our hope to stay connected and to deepen constructive relationships with you as you each begin active careers around the world. As the pace of social change will continue to accelerate, we will need you to update us on the world situation, to help advance education and research at Keio University. Please remain connected with Keio by subscribing to Facebook, Twitter and on Instagram of Keio University Global in English and/or in Japanese. The keio.jp email address given to you will remain valid after graduation. Therefore, I would like to ask that you please keep checking your account so that you can read e-mails sent to your keio.jp address. We will continue to send you updates from Keio.

For those of you who have received your doctoral degrees, you will now be addressed as "doctors”. If you are a researcher, you will be digging deep into your fields of expertise. To push the frontiers of academia, you will need to be at the forefront of research, collaborating and competing with experts from around the world. There is a phrase in Japanese of one being so immersed in something as to "forget to eat and sleep”. Every first-class researcher goes through a process of ultimate concentration and continuous thinking about a single research project. New ideas and results obtained through this process will advance academia and take the world's knowledge to the next level. If I could give you one piece of advice, the choice of research topic is the most important element that differentiates a successful project with significant outcomes and impacts, from those with ordinary results. In addition to your own curiosity and abilities, I urge you to work on a topic that will have great impact on the advancement of knowledge. Such topics very often require an extra level of imagination, creativity, and learning. I trust that you will exhibit your Keio spirit by taking on the challenge and lead the academic world to new heights!

Many of you will serve the global community as businessmen and women. Try to imagine where you will be 50 years from now. Fifty years may seem far off in the distant future, but if we are able to preserve world peace and protect our environment, most of you will be alive and well. The kind of society you will be living in will depend on how you shape it going forward, a reflection of your day-to-day efforts and actions. I hope that 50 years from now, we can be proud to say that the society we have helped to create, has allowed us, our children and grandchildren to live happy, comfortable lives, and that human dignity and basic human rights will be protected in every corner of the world.

The future of the world and this planet depend on you. Please make your contribution to shaping a good society. I hope you will be able to demonstrate your Keio spirit to the fullest.

Congratulations, and good luck.