AY 2025 Graduate Commencement Ceremony Address

March 23, 2026

Professor Kohei Itoh

President, Keio University

Congratulations to all of you here today who have earned your doctoral or master's degrees. Your constant perseverance in your studies and research has brought you to this auspicious day. I also want to acknowledge and celebrate the family and other supporters who have aided you along your journeys.

The founder of Keio University, Yukichi Fukuzawa, wrote that freedom and independence are not simply handed down to us; rather, he emphasized, these are things that we must earn ourselves. Moreover, just because you "win" something once does not mean you have reached the finish line. What matters is maintaining your own freedom and independence through a lifetime of effort, and then sharing that freedom and independence with others. It was to that end that Fukuzawa advised us in his seminal book An Encouragement of Learning to continue learning and striving towards ingenuity. In other words, we must keep doing research.

Fukuzawa lived during the Meiji era, when the average male lived to be about 44 years old. That's about half of what a man's average life expectancy is today, which is 81 years. Fukuzawa began his studies around age 15. At three-eighths the average life expectancy back then, that would be like starting from age 30 today. From there he immersed himself in Dutch studies, or Western studies, and traveled to America, then Europe, then back to America again, publishing his book Things Western at the age of 31. To be 31 years old when the average life expectancy was 44 years is like being 57 years by the present day's standards. He committed himself to continuously learning about the world, to diligently developing his knowledge and expertise, and to pursuing his own studies. From there, he made great strides building up Keio Gijuku as a seat of learning. He also began publication of the newspaper he founded, Jiji Shinpō ("Current Times"), and continued his efforts to reform Japan through discourse until his passing at the age of 66. This means he devoted himself to both learning as well as developing Japan well into his later years. Time and again, Fukuzawa consistently stated that the strongest weapon to win one's freedom and independence is not a sword but a pen. In other words, what grants you freedom and independence is not power but learning; it is dialogue backed by scientific and empirical study. That is why Fukuzawa introduced to Japan the then-new concept of speechmaking; you may even say he introduced debate. He built the Mita Public Speaking Hall, which now stands as an Important Cultural Property for the country. There, he exhaustively held practice debate sessions together with the youths; this paved the way for the establishment of a democratic Diet.

Now, society and technology have changed dramatically compared to what they were 150 years ago during Fukuzawa's time, but the importance of committing yourself to lifelong learning and research has not changed. In fact, it is even more important now than ever. With the very low birthrate that Japan is facing today, companies are eager to recruit college students. In the present day, where one can conceivably live to over 80 years of age (perhaps in your case over 100 years), most Japanese university students may be in a hurry to start working in their early 20s, but you are this era's Yukichi Fukuzawa. Leveraging your graduate studies and research as a starting point, you will continue to learn and challenge yourselves to become independent throughout your lives, and to expand your knowledge and exchange relationships across the world.

In fact, all of you who are receiving your degrees today know better than anyone else that the research and studies you pursued in graduate school will be treasured for a lifetime.

First of all, you have demonstrated more curiosity than most and possess the ability to immerse yourselves completely in what you love. That curiosity is the driving force that moves society forward. Curiosity compels you to dive into your field of study and to explore various other disciplines and social issues. Curiosity is the key to knowing different people and making diverse connections. Without curiosity, there can be no new ideas or questions. People who ask good questions at lectures and comparable forums are invariably curious people. As a result of their curiosity, they accumulate a plethora of rich educational experiences and consequently demonstrate extensive knowledge and a high level of logical thinking. Curious people know also how to spark curiosity among others. They are interesting and persuasive when speaking because they can be in tune with others' inquisitive natures. They are also good writers. They are able to impress readers because they know how to craft their words to suit their audience. Curiosity leads to a proactive mindset in life. Curious people are able to do things rather than waiting around passively for things to happen. They grab hold of AI technology, too, with great curiosity while it continues to evolve rapidly.

The faculty and staff here all believe that your experience at Keio University will be the start of a "virtuous cycle" in your life. You have studied and researched with the best faculty at Keio. I believe that the advanced level of research conducted here at Keio will make itself especially apparent once you enter the workforce. You will be surrounded by some of the world's best minds as you work on your research and projects. At that time, you will be surprised to find that you are not lacking in abilities at all, and you will gain a great deal of confidence. You will then naturally go on to play important roles at the global level. True to the mission of Keio University, each of you will develop as leaders of all society. Leaders enhance each other through synergy. It is precisely this synergy that makes Keio's alumni network so strong. Moving forward, I hope that you will make full use of the Mita-kai alumni network and connect with graduates from other universities and people around the world to develop a more prosperous, peaceful, and rewarding world in the future. Continue to connect with Keio University as your alma mater. Even after your graduation, we will continue enhancing and updating the Keio University website, our social media contents, and other related platforms. Please make use of them and support your alma mater while keeping yourselves tuned to the latest news.

I hope, and indeed trust, that you will all contribute to academia and society on the world stage. The pen is mightier than the sword, and I hope that all of you will always keep the passion of the pen burning in your hearts to further advance our society. Congratulations once again on your graduation.