[Special Feature: New Year Dialogue] New Year Dialogue: The Role of Universities in the Post-Corona Era

Happy New Year. In last year's Mita-hyoron New Year's dialogue, I invited film director Katsuo Fukuzawa, and we talked about how we were looking forward to 2020 as the year of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. However, as it turned out, 2020 was overwhelmed by COVID-19, and the world fell into a state of national isolation—a reversal of globalization. In Japan, a state of emergency was declared, and Keio University was also greatly affected, having to switch to online classes and close the campus.

Furthermore, at the hospital in Shinanomachi, medical professionals literally risked their lives to continue the fight against the infectious disease. Keio's characteristic "jinkan kosai (society)" was affected, and the Mita-kai in various regions, which are symbols of "Shachu cooperation," could not be held at all for a year, and the Autumn Grand Mita-kai was finally cancelled.

While the situation remains far from the end of the pandemic, Dr. Nakatani, you graduated from the School of Medicine, went from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to the WHO, and are currently active as a Project Professor at Keio University's KGRI (Keio University Global Research Institute). Above all, you have fought infectious diseases for many years as Assistant Director-General at the WHO, and last year you served as Chair of the Executive Board. I would like to start by asking you to speak a little from your professional standpoint about how the COVID-19 situation in Japan and the world will progress.

What is often said about the new coronavirus is that it is a very cunning virus that exploits human weaknesses. However, regarding Japan's response, it is actually quite surprising that when comparing the mortality rates of advanced industrial nations, Japan's is by far the lowest. Looking at the number of deaths per 100,000 people, the highest is Belgium, and the highest among G7 countries is currently France. They have about 80 times as many deaths as Japan. Also, a characteristic of this pandemic is that advanced nations and BRICs countries have been heavily affected, whereas Africa has not been as impacted because of its younger population structure.

Furthermore, treatment has gradually evolved. Looking at national registry data since June, in Japan, if someone over 70 becomes severely ill and is hospitalized, there is still about a 10% chance of death, but the mortality rate has halved compared to before. We have also learned that if the condition is mild or moderate at the time of admission, almost no one under 70 dies.

Until now, global health has worked hard to create mechanisms to help developing countries. What this pandemic has made clear is that even in so-called advanced countries, the same situation as in developing countries can occur—where there are no effective drugs, or medical systems are overwhelmed and people cannot be hospitalized. Since Japan has an aging population, we were forced to have concerns that it could turn out that way. In that sense, I think the view of global health, which was previously thought of as a "story from the other side of the world," has changed dramatically. I think a major change is that many people felt, "This is our own problem," rather than just helping poor people as a charity.

This is a very significant thing, and right now, we are working hard to create a mechanism to help people in need all over the world, regardless of whether they are in developing or advanced countries.

So the risk is higher for advanced countries with aging populations.

That's right. However, what's interesting is that Japan has shown mysterious outcomes, sometimes called a miracle. Because the lockdown was also very soft, the economic downturn was lower compared to other G7 countries. Therefore, Japan's COVID-19 measures are harshly criticized as being loose or soft, but objectively speaking, they are not bad. However, that is the story up to now, and I believe we should guard against optimism regarding what will happen this winter.

There is a recently released report compiled by a private commission (the "Independent Investigation Commission on the Japanese Government's Response to COVID-19"). Quoting a high-ranking government official, it writes in a very interesting way: "It was a last-minute scramble, but the result was okay." In other words, the result was good, but because the systematic and policy intent is not clear, one of our concerns is whether such good luck will visit us again next time.

Furthermore, looking across the world, in terms of mortality rates per million people, there are countries with zero. Mongolia, Taiwan, Vietnam, etc. South Korea's mortality rate is also about half of Japan's.

As Yukichi Fukuzawa said, "Those who lack the spirit of independence will not care deeply for their country." I believe that countries where people thought for themselves and worked hard on countermeasures are producing good results.

I understand. You have seen how various types of infectious diseases spread and affect human society. From that experience, does it seem that a complete end to this COVID-19 will be difficult, and that instead of "post-corona," a state of "with-corona" will continue for a while?

I think it is exactly as you say. This COVID-19 is troublesome because it spreads in close connection with human behavior. People want to meet, talk, and interact. Because it is linked to these basic desires, it is quite difficult to suppress the infection. Therefore, we need to live in compromise with the virus.

For example, while many young people have mild cases and many are asymptomatic, the elderly have a high risk of severe illness. Within that context, it is difficult to balance the economy and infectious disease measures.

Another issue that has emerged is the nature of national information management. China is a typical example; if an infected person appears, they thoroughly contain them and monitor contacts. There are cameras everywhere in the city, and if a contact goes out, the authorities are notified and the person is warned. Also, drones are flying, and individual movements can be tracked via GPS. South Korea also uses GPS to understand how infected people have behaved.

In this way, in addition to the compatibility of the economy and public health, an axis has emerged that asks how we should think about the restriction of freedom and human rights in a sense. I think this is one reason why advanced nations are struggling to suppress the virus.

As you just mentioned, the infection is spreading rooted in human behavior. However, at Keio University, the founder Yukichi Fukuzawa emphasized "jinkan kosai (society)" and left the words, "The most important thing in the world is the interaction and association between people. This is itself a field of study." I believe such thinking is the foundation of Keio University's development. Independent individuals who have mastered learning take the initiative to think about the direction they should go without being misled by worldly trends or rumors. And I think the fundamental idea of Keio University is that autonomous individuals connect through "jinkan kosai (society)" to create a free and equal society.

That "jinkan kosai (society)" part has been greatly affected by COVID-19. Therefore, another axis of Keio University, independence and self-respect—that is, autonomous spirit and action—becomes important. In short, even for infectious diseases, ultimately, individual awareness and sensible behavior are the two basics of countermeasures. I feel that after making these thorough, the challenge for the Shachu will be how to restore the aspect of jinkan kosai (society) in a new form.

That is an extremely important issue.

As you know, the history of Keio University is originally very deeply related to infectious diseases. When Yukichi Fukuzawa was studying at Ogata Koan's Tekijuku in Osaka at the end of the Edo period, cholera broke out, and his mentor Koan worked hard to provide treatment. Also, in 1858, the year Yukichi Fukuzawa came to Edo and founded Keio University, cholera was prevalent in Edo. This was also the year the Ansei Five-Power Treaties, so-called unequal treaties, were signed, and the idea that cholera was brought in from abroad became one reason for the rise of the movement to expel foreigners.

Furthermore, Yukichi Fukuzawa himself contracted typhoid fever twice, and because he wanted to train doctors, he established the Keio University Medical School in 1873 (closed in 1880).

In the Taisho era, Shibasaburo Kitasato inherited that will. When Keio wanted to create a School of Medicine and hospital, he rushed to help voluntarily and built the hospital as the first dean. Dr. Kitasato himself is called the "Father of Japanese Bacteriology" for his achievements such as identifying the tetanus bacillus and developing a treatment, and discovering the plague bacillus. He was a person who fought infectious diseases throughout his life.

I believe Keio University is a university with a very deep relationship with the fight against infectious diseases. Dr. Nakatani, you also graduated from the School of Medicine and eventually went to the WHO to struggle with infectious disease measures. I feel it overlaps with Keio's history.

Exactly 60 years ago, 1961, is remembered among us as the year the universal health insurance system was established. The reason why the mortality rate from COVID-19 was low in Japan this time was due to unique public health measures that sought voluntary behavioral changes from the public with simple messages like the cluster approach and avoiding the "3 Cs," but I think the existence of universal health insurance, which allows all citizens to receive medical care with peace of mind, was also very significant.

Another thing I think we must not forget about 60 years ago is the polio (infantile paralysis) epidemic. Polio began to spread from 1960, centered in Hokkaido, and became a nationwide epidemic the following year. Japan could not produce enough vaccines, creating a situation similar to now. Therefore, the government took extra-legal measures to allow the emergency import of live vaccines from Russia for vaccination, which rapidly suppressed the disease. The Minister of Health and Welfare at that time was Yoshimi Furui. And the Director of the Public Health Bureau was Takehisa Omura, a Keio graduate. That duo suppressed polio.

Therefore, regarding COVID-19, treatment has evolved considerably, and we are seeing wonderful progress in vaccine development. I hope that this year, even with-corona, we will be able to live our lives with peace of mind.

You just mentioned Keio graduates. Speaking of Keio graduates working hard in the midst of this, Takeshi Kasai is currently serving as the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific and is struggling there. Do you ever hear about how he is doing?

I talk with Mr. Kasai often. There are six regions in the WHO, and the Western Pacific region has the lowest number of deaths from COVID-19, despite having a population of 1.9 billion.

Mr. Kasai has been working on infectious disease measures for a long time. When I became the Director of the Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, he was the Assistant Director. At that time, bird flu occurred in Hong Kong. Margaret Chan, who later became the Director-General of the WHO headquarters and whom I also served, was the Director of Health in Hong Kong. I called her and asked if she could show the site to a young technical official of ours, and he went. Since then, Mr. Kasai moved to the WHO and has reached his current position through various roles. He is a pro among pros in infectious disease measures and has led the response to major infectious disease outbreaks in Asia in the 21st century. Every time I am told by high-ranking foreign government officials, "I'm glad Takeshi was there," I feel proud.

Also, he is a graduate of the same Shiki High School as I am, and his daughter successfully entered Keio's School of Medicine from an international school last year.

Is that so? Two generations of the family at Keio School of Medicine. At the School of Medicine, there is now something called the "Keio Donner Project," named after Dr. Kitasato's nickname "Donner" (meaning thunder in German), and this has also developed into a very large project.

I am currently working on the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) at Keio, and I had the opportunity to present a part of the "Donner Project" at an international seminar there. I think it is wonderful that basic and clinical medical sciences are working together on research, including the investigation of the so-called "Factor X"—why the mortality rate of Japanese people is low.

Looking at the overview of the "Donner Project," while one project tries to elucidate the virus, researchers with different specialties from a slightly different perspective are trying to create something else. Then, researchers and doctors are working hard to support the idea of doing it together. It has become such a complex and very large project.

In this way, it's not just a few specialized researchers working on it, but various surrounding researchers participate, and it grows into a large project. I think that is very typical of Keio University.

I believe Keio has a special tradition and potential for comprehensive problem-solving. Solving the challenges of each era—this is the spirit of Yukichi Fukuzawa to open up civilization, our DNA. For COVID-19, I think such comprehensive strength, or the fusion of powers from different fields, will become very important, so society's expectations for Keio must be high.

Also, Keio's influence is significant internationally. South Korea has implemented very skillful measures and is trying to reform its organization to integrate information, infectious disease measures, and R&D. When I go to hear such stories, the speaker is often a graduate of Yonsei University, which has a long history of exchange with Keio, and more than once I have been able to build an immediate rapport by asking, "Are you from Keio?" The South Korean-elected member of the WHO Executive Board is also like that, and the Minister for Health at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo spoke nostalgically about the time they studied abroad at Keio.

That is a happy story.

Also, when Mr. Kasai was becoming the Regional Director for the Western Pacific, I visited Pacific island countries with him as part of the election campaign. Then, even in the embassy of a small southern island, there was a female Keio University alumni who helped us greatly. When I asked why she was there, she said with sparkling eyes that she had been doing cutthroat work at a foreign bank, but she came here to re-examine what human value really is. In addition to tradition, I am moved time and again by the fact that many comrades are all over the world.

I think Keio's strength is not just having a network of Keio University alumni, but that each alumnus, even if they are not Keio graduates, creates connections with various people, and new networks are formed around them to realize new things.

That's right. My grandfather was a career bureaucrat who graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, but he was enormously influenced by Fukuzawa's thought. His boss was someone who graduated from Keio Futsubu School and then the Faculty of Law at the Imperial University, so I think that was the influence. Therefore, in my house, there are three sets of "Fukuzawa Zenshū (The Collected Works of Fukuzawa)." The "Taisho Edition Fukuzawa Zenshū" inherited as a legacy from my grandfather's library, the Showa edition "Fukuzawa Yukichi Zenshū" purchased by my mother (Kinko Nakatani, former professor at the Faculty of Law), and then the "Fukuzawa Yukichi著作集" that I bought.

Now, because of COVID-19, I try not to use public transportation as much as possible and move by car, but I walk every night to avoid lack of exercise. Just walking is boring, so when I walk while listening to the audiobooks of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" or "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," I truly feel that Yukichi Fukuzawa's thoughts speak to us living in the 21st century with contemporary value.

I hear stories everywhere that there are Keio fans even among those who are not from Keio. When I greet various people, many say that their child was actually taken care of at Keio.

For example, when I met the current Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Kong Xuanyou, upon his appointment, he said his daughter had experience studying abroad at SFC and knows Keio well.

Recently, a person named Mitsuo Otsuka, who was a Vice Admiral of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, became the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Djibouti after retiring. He is said to be the first ambassador from a Self-Defense Force background. He came to Keio for a courtesy visit. I had seen news before about Self-Defense Force ships being dispatched for anti-piracy measures, and I wondered what his relationship with the Juku was. It turned out that in Djibouti, there is a school called "Fukuzawa Junior High School" built with Japanese aid in 1995, so he wanted to visit Keio University before taking up his post.

The origin of the name "Fukuzawa" is said to come from when the Minister of Education of Djibouti visited Japan before the start of the junior high school's construction. The Minister himself suggested the name of Yukichi Fukuzawa, saying, "Japan's modernization is a model for our country, and I would definitely like to have the name of a Japanese educator for the school name." It is also said to be derived from the Arabic dialect spoken in Djibouti, "Fouko-Sawa" (meaning "opening together"). When I talked about whether Keio should send some books to Fukuzawa Junior High School, he finally said that his child is actually at Keio.

Everyone seems really happy to say that someone in their family is related to Keio and feels an affinity for Keio. There, a new human network expands again. I think this is a precious asset for Keio University.

Speaking of Africa, which you just mentioned, there is a school called "Sakura Girls' Secondary School" established in Arusha, Tanzania, centered by the late Professor Emeritus Sumiko Iwao. In the summer just before Professor Iwao passed away, she invited me to go with her because she wanted to do something model-like for school health there.

At that time, I couldn't go because I had a business trip for an audit of the WHO emergency aid program. Since two former Tanzanian colleagues are retired in Arusha, I said I would negotiate for one of them to become the school doctor, but Professor Iwao passed away and it remains an unfulfilled promise. Therefore, once the borders are opened, I intend to go to Arusha and fulfill that promise.

Dr. Nakatani, you have been at Keio since the Yochisha Elementary School. Keio's integrated education is a characteristic educational system that is rare in Japan and probably in the world. Looking back as someone who grew up in it and has worked for international organizations, what is your evaluation of integrated education?

My daughter also received Keio's integrated education. I have nothing but very good feelings toward integrated education. I feel that I was taught timely things at each period, not by force but in a gentle way.

In Yochisha, to be honest, I didn't study much and just ran around. After school, I did club activities, but that wasn't enough play, so I played kick-the-can in the field at the back of the school grounds, got kicked out by the janitor, and went home kicking the can all the way to Meguro. As the saying goes, "First build a robust body, then cultivate the mind," I think I had a really good experience in terms of health and physical development for doing my work.

During my Yochisha days, on Saturdays, I would sometimes stop by Mita and go home with my mother, who was a teacher at the Faculty of Law. In a child's eyes, the Mita hill was truly a "mountain" from which you could see Tokyo Bay. I saw Sei'ichiro Takahashi walking in Japanese clothes. Also, in Yochisha, there is a 1,000-meter swim that is still done today, and Shinzo Koizumi was watching it. He had been injured in the war, and I thought he was a big and scary teacher. But he did feel kind. I have such memories.

After Keio Futsubu School, I went to Shiki High School. The reason was that Matsutaro Wadaki from the Faculty of Business and Commerce was the principal at the time, and since it was a period when my mother was to be sent to study abroad, she seemed to want to place me with a teacher she could trust, including for lifestyle guidance. Here too, I was able to enjoy a very fulfilling youth.

I was also in the Faculty of Law at first, so I was taught by Professor Kinko Nakatani. The Professor Nakatani in my memories was a very elegant and kind teacher. Before an exam, she would look back exactly on the key points of what we did this term, and then give the exam, so it was easy to understand. She taught in such a polite way. At that time, many professors were very much "great professors" who didn't write much on the board and gave lectures nonchalantly with a text in hand, but Professor Nakatani was someone who put effort into teaching methods and education, and I remember being taught very carefully.

She was close friends with Mitsuo Toshimitsu, a legal historian who was my mentor. When Professor Toshimitsu was looking for a place to stay while rebuilding his house, she said, "Toshimitsu-san, come to our place," and introduced an annex on the grounds of her house near Tetsugakudo, and I remember we carried the luggage there.

Come to think of it, my impression from that time was that the Faculty of Law had many female teachers. I learned later that when female students entered Keio after it became a university under the new system, a group of female students who would later become Keio faculty members entered together. In 1946, Professor Reiko Itami entered the Faculty of Letters; in 1947, Professor Yasuko Hitomi entered the Faculty of Law; and in 1948, Professor Nakatani and Professor Akiko Yonezu entered. Those people led the faculty as female teachers during the same period.

I think this is actually not a coincidence. Yukichi Fukuzawa was a person with very enlightened ideas for the time and advocated for women's rights and gender equality. Also, even now, Keio has the highest number of female faculty members among universities in Japan. Therefore, I think we have consistently practiced education with an awareness of women being able to play active roles in society.

You spoke about my mother, but it's the first time I've heard she was a kind teacher. Whenever I met Ryutaro Hashimoto, he always told me, "I had a terrible time with your mother and almost failed." However, I think she must have had a very happy life as a Keio teacher because she maintained good lifelong relationships with her seminar students. Even after retiring from Keio, students from her seminar who were particularly close would come to the house and read books together. My mother looked forward to that very much.

She was particularly close to the female members from the early period of the seminar. My wife and I affectionately called the three who came often the "Three Old Ladies," but when my wife first got married, she said, "I've married into a difficult house with four mothers-in-law" (laughs). Being able to maintain such a good relationship throughout her life, I am grateful to the Three Old Ladies and deeply felt that being a university professor is a wonderful profession.

Also, when I use English for work, what I think was good as a backbone is that the wife of Professor Koichi Miyazawa, a criminal law expert, was very good at English, so on Saturdays I would go to the Miyazawa residence and study Maruzen grammar books. In that sense, I really grew up within the Keio family.

After entering society, I joined the Ministry of Health and Welfare and walked a path that had almost nothing to do with Keio University. It was basically a world with many people from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law, but at every turning point, I was helped by Juku seniors. In the ministry, there were graduates of the Juku School of Medicine, and when I became Assistant Director-General of the WHO, the ambassador in Geneva was Ichiro Fujisaki (later Ambassador to the US). The next was Shinichi Kitajima, and both ambassadors were Keio University alumni, and they gave me very good guidance.

Mr. Fujisaki has been participating in Keio's certified evaluation as an external committee member for the past few years. He is someone with very deep knowledge and interest in education. He has also served as the chairperson of Kitakamakura Joshi Gakuen for a long time.

When I went to greet him when he was an advisor at Sophia University, he showed me photos of successive US presidents in which he also appeared. Just as I was about to ask, "At which Madame Tussauds was this taken?" he forestalled me by saying, "These are all the real ones," and we had a big laugh.

Previously, I received a book from you recording the fight against leprosy, and it was a very impressive story. Could you also touch a little on the efforts against leprosy?

The catalyst for me entering the path of international health was actually leprosy. When I graduated from the School of Medicine and became a resident, I happened to see a poster for a leprosy seminar at Nagashima Aiseien in the Seto Inland Sea during summer vacation, and I went to this seminar. The Director of Nagashima Aiseien at the time was Dr. Shigetaka Takashima, a graduate of Keio School of Medicine, and I had heard him speak in public health lectures. More than that, it was significant that Mieko Kamiya, a psychiatrist and the translator of Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations," was at Nagashima Aiseien. Latin was compulsory in the School of Medicine, and Marcus Aurelius was used as part of the text. I was interested in what kind of environment such a famous translation was produced in.

In the School of Medicine at that time, we were taught that leprosy is an intractable infectious disease, so patients are isolated in national sanatoriums. However, what we learned at the seminar was that research and development of combination drugs that allow leprosy to be treated on an outpatient basis was progressing under the coordination of the WHO. Hearing such stories, I thought international health was a very interesting and stimulating field, and before I knew it, it was the first vivid experience of what would become 40 years of activity going back and forth between Japan and abroad.

Furthermore, as a legal scholar, my mother strongly recognized the inhumanity of the "Leprosy Prevention Law." On the other hand, a person in public health thinks about the balance between public interest and the restriction of human rights—tending toward public interest or generality—and as a result, there is a danger of violating human dignity, so I think it is a field where one must never fail to reflect. I can speak in such a mature way now, but 30 years ago, due to youthful indiscretion, there were times when I had disagreements with my mother, so it is a field with deep personal memories.

Come to think of it, I also remembered something. Professor Nakatani is a master of criminal law, but she actually has an excellent paper in the field of legal history titled "Historical Sketch of the System of Heavier Punishment for Killing Lineal Ascendants."

Since the Meiji era, killing a lineal ascendant was punished more heavily than ordinary murder, and under the provisions of the Criminal Code, there were only the death penalty and life imprisonment. However, there are many tragic cases of killing a parent due to unavoidable circumstances, and particularly for women, there are cases where there is great room for extenuating circumstances. In 1973, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that the provision for heavier punishment for killing lineal ascendants in Article 200 of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional, as it violated equality under the law as stipulated by the Constitution. I learned about that in constitutional and criminal law classes when I was a student.

Years later, after I started talking about the family system and penal system of the Ritsuryo codes in my classes, I read Professor Nakatani's paper carefully. She traced the history of killing lineal ascendants in pre-modern law starting from the Chinese Ritsuryo to the Japanese Ritsuryo, the Kamakura Shogunate, and the military laws of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Next, she traced the compilation process from the Meiji Shinritsu Koryo to the Kaitei Ritsurei and the old Criminal Code, carefully analyzing the changes in the provisions for killing lineal ascendants in each draft. Not only that, she was thorough enough to compare in detail with civil law starting from Roman law, common law, and the laws of various modern foreign countries. Until then, it was said that Japan's provision for heavier punishment for killing lineal ascendants was the result of the adoption of Western law such as the French Criminal Code in the Meiji era, but the Nakatani paper corrected such a one-sided view and clarified that it was a so-called blend of Japanese and Western law, strongly influenced by the feudal family system rooted in the Ritsuryo codes.

Moreover, I remember being even happier to notice in the postscript the name of my mentor: "The part concerning the Ritsuryo is due to the suggestions and assistance of my dear friend Professor Mitsuo Toshimitsu. I am grateful for his friendship."

Returning to the topic of COVID-19, universities have also started online classes and online meetings. I have held several meetings via Zoom at the APRU and WEF (World Economic Forum) presidents' meetings to discuss how to overcome this crisis. The common understanding among the heads of the world's universities is that hybrid-type education and research will likely become the mainstream in the future. If used well, whether for education and research or international exchange between researchers, it can be done efficiently and extensively. The challenge is how to improve this precision and what kind of common platform to create.

Keio must also properly adapt to the global standards of the new era that will be created in that way. On top of that, it is necessary to show Keio's unique characteristics. Looking at Keio University's education and research now, do you have any thoughts on how it should be in the future?

I can state with certainty that COVID-19 will accelerate existing trends and expand challenges in all fields. Including education, digitalization has been progressing, but it is clear that it will accelerate and expand.

Two years ago, when we had an APRU meeting at the National University of Singapore, I had the opportunity to participate in a lecture at the joint medical school with Duke University in the US, which had been newly established at the National University of Singapore. That was very impressive. Basically, there are no lectures. Students are told to watch a video beforehand and then come to the classroom, where it is a thorough intellectual stamina exercise in problem-solving. They have buttons at hand to answer quizzes, and if they get them wrong consecutively, they are judged as not having studied. Along with that, individual guidance is given, such as telling them to think about the next challenge or to read this.

The National University of Singapore had already started the hybrid-type lectures that are now beginning to appear. I think such teaching formats will progress as the new normal from now on, but what I think will be difficult for universities is that it also costs money—to put it simply, educational resources—so investment in such soft aspects will likely be a major challenge from now on.

全く同感です。今おっしゃったのは反転授業という形で、十分に予習をしてもらって、教室では議論を中心にすることで、その授業が機能していくということですね。加えて、教室に集まっている学生とZoom等で受けている学生、両方に授業を行うという意味での混合型、ハイブリッドもありますね。

もちろん対面型の教室でも質問や議論はできます。しかし、オンライン型でやるとチャットを使うなど同時多発的な議論が生まれるし、いろいろな新しい効果の発見もありました。それを今度はどう対面型とうまく組み合わせて教育の向上につなげるか。それがこれからの大学の方向性になると思います。それには確かにシステムやセキュリティの強化やいろいろなインフラ整備に相当な投資が必要ですね。

私が今、施設関係の方にお願いしているのは意識の切り替えです。デジタルとアナログ融合の時代には、1つの建物を建てると、それと同じぐらいの額のソフト面とかシステムとか、IT系のお金が必要だし、そのぐらいのつもりで施設をつくっていかなければ追いつかない。施設をつくれば、その建設費と同じものを投入する覚悟で教室や研究所をつくっていくつもりでお願いしたいと言っています。

それは素晴らしいお考えですね。Zoomの会議は楽じゃないかと思う人がおられますが、それは大間違いで、オンラインだからこそ中身を充実させなければいけないし、プレゼンテーションの仕方も工夫しなければいけない。講義をする教員以外のサポートの方々の配置もずいぶん変わるのではないでしょうか。例えば、ビデオの収録をストレスなくサポートしてくれるような技術の方が必要になってくるでしょう。

5月にオンラインで行われたWHOの総会などを見ても、むしろ途上国のほうが先進国よりも一生懸命やるし、きれいに撮るのです。ルワンダとか、デジタル先進国を目指そうという国は非常にきれいな画面で中身もよかったです。日本も中身はとてもよかった一方、画像の質はちょっと残念でしたが、今は大幅な改善がみられています。

国の政策としてのソサエティ5・0では、サイバー空間とフィジカル空間が融合するような社会で幸福を目指すと言っています。であれば、サイバー空間にもフィジカル空間と同じぐらいの資金を投入して、設備を整備していかなければそれはできないので、やはり国を挙げてやっていく必要があるだろうと思います。

ただ慶應の場合には、そうした先進的な取り組みの一方、今まで伝統の中で培ってきた教育、人材育成も大事です。特に重要なのは、先ほどから申し上げている通り、慶應義塾は人間関係で成り立っていると言ってもいいような大学なので、キャンパスにおける仲間との触れ合いや教職員との交流の機会をどのように再構築していくかです。

「人間交際」を大切にする教育によって、財界、政官界、芸術界、スポーツ界、学界、法曹界、医療界等、社会のあらゆる分野をリードする人材を送り出してきたと思うのです。これが慶應の特徴ですので、これをきちんと守ってさらに発展させるという方向に頑張っていかなければいけないと思います。

そのモデルができたら素晴らしいですよね。教育論としても素晴らしいし、社会への貢献になります。考えてみると、今、私たちが相手をしている学生は大体20歳ぐらいで、彼らが一番活躍するのは、これから30年後、2050年頃でしょう。だから、そういう方々が活躍する社会、そこで生きて文明を開いていけるように、未来から逆算したバックキャスティング思考で指導をしなければいけないと思います。

2050年と言うと、日本の人口は1億人を切るし、経済規模もたぶんインドネシアより小さくなる。今は太平洋の時代ですが、その頃はインド洋周辺の国、そしてアフリカの人口が増える。このようなシフトの中で慶應義塾がグローバルな大学として発展していくためには、塾長の手腕は今後とても重要ではないかと思います。まさに時代の変わり目だと感じます。

そうですね。時代をつくるということですね。「災い転じて福となす」と言いますが、このコロナ禍を逆にチャンスと捉えて、教育や研究や医療に、インフラをきっちりと再構築、土台を強化してさらに発展するということだと思います。

福澤諭吉先生の『学問のすゝめ』第五編には、「進まざる者は必ず退き、退ざる者は必ず進む」という言葉がありますね。その言葉がまさに今の時代に現実感をもちます。

ぜひそういう方向に向かって頑張りたいと思います。

もう1つ、働き方改革ということが社会で言われています。大学にとっても教職員、特に職員の働き方が大きく変わっていくので、それに向けたいろいろな制度改革をしなければいけないと思っています。女性活躍ということでいうと、慶應義塾は教員も女性が多いですが、職員部門でも幹部に割と女性が多い。しかし、中堅層ぐらいの管理職が少ないので、これはまだ育児支援などいろいろな面で支援策が必要で、女性が力を発揮できるように慶應内部の働き方改革を加速していかなければいけないと思っています。

ぜひお願いします。そうしなければ、慶應を出た有能な女性が皆外に行ってしまいます。

実際、国際機関で働いている慶應の卒業生は女性が多いのです。例を言えば、ビル＆メリンダ・ゲイツ財団の日本常駐代表、WIPO（世界知的所有権機関）のリーガルオフィサーで日・米両国の弁護士資格も持っている方も女性塾員です。それから先輩としては、国連退職者のOB・OG会があるのですが、会長を文学部社会学科を出られた伊勢桃代さんが長らく務められてきました。

国際機関は日本よりもガラスの天井がない感じで、日本人職員の7割近くが女性ではないでしょうか。国内を改革しないと、海外のほうが働きやすいと感じて、優秀な人材こそどんどんブレーンドレインをしてしまうのではないかと恐れます。

本当にそうですね。2017年は世界銀行女性CEOのゲオルギエヴァさんが慶應に来られて講演してくださり、学生にもっと国際機関へいらっしゃいというお話をしてくださった。2019年にはドイツのメルケル首相も来られて学生といろいろな討論をしていただいたのです。

その中で女性が役員とか、リーダーとして活躍する上で何が必要か、とある女子学生がメルケル首相に問いましたら、もし将来管理職やリーダーの話がきたら、とにかくためらわずに引き受けなさいというアドバイスをされていた。この話のポイントは、女性自身の意識をさらに変えていくということもあるけれど、ためらわないですむようなサポートシステムをつくっていかなければいけないということです。

「30％Club」というイギリス発祥で企業の役員の女性を30％にすることを目指している団体があります。日本では「30％Club Japan」がつくられていて、そこのバイスチェアが慶應の卒業生で評議員・理事もお務めいただいている後藤順子さんです。後藤さんが「30％Club Japan」の創業者である只松美智子さんとお2人で私を訪ねてこられ、「30％Club Japan」の中に大学のグループをつくるので、参加してくれないかというお話でした。同じく塾員で義塾常任理事の岩波敦子さんのお勧めもあり、それはぜひということで私も「30％Club Japan」に名前を連ねているのです。

参加した以上は慶應義塾でも30％の目標を達成しなければいけないので、大変なことを引き受けてしまったと思うのですが、慶應卒の女性は皆元気が良いし、いろいろなところで頑張っていますので、塾長としても一緒に頑張っていきたいなという気にさせてくれますね。

女性の感性はこれから非常に重要になると思います。私自身、ボスはたいてい女性で充実した職業人として活動できました。WHOではマーガレット・チャンさんでしたし、厚生省でも横尾和子さんといって、社会保険庁の長官をしてから最後は最高裁の判事になった方が上司でした。彼女からは本当にいろいろ教えてもらいました。猛烈に仕事をされる方でしたが、いつも葉書を持っていて、少しの隙間時間に、「昨日はありがとうございました」と葉書を書いているのです。非常にヒューマンな方でした。

そういう心遣いは本当に心に響きますよね。昨年、連合三田会会長が交代して、医学部出身の菅沼安嬉子さんが会長になられた。就任早々、連合三田会大会も自粛せざるを得なくて大変だったのですが、菅沼会長は、会員を励ますメッセージを発信したり、医療支援や学生支援の募金活動に力を入れて下さっています。今後も三田会をどのように盛り上げるか、いろいろ考えていかれると思うので大変期待しています。

今年は塾生たちも大変な目に遭ったわけですが、1つうれしかったのは、そういう中で塾生がいろいろな工夫をしてくれたことです。SFCでは1、2年生の有志が先端技術を駆使してバーチャル七夕祭を実現した。三田祭も三田のリアルの会場と観客をオンラインでつなぐハイブリッド型で開催されましたし、医学部では学生が大変詳細な感染防止ガイドラインをつくって、それを全塾協議会の学生がウェブ上で公開しました。制約の多い中で体育会の各部も輝かしい戦績をあげてくれました。

ただ大変だ大変だ、と言っているのではなく、いろいろな工夫をしてできることをどんどんやっていく。そういう気風がいろいろなところに見られたのはうれしく思っていますし、そういう塾生がもっと活躍できるようにしていかなければいけないと思います。

最後に1つ、新春ですので景気のいい話をしますと、いろいろな伝統の蓄積の上に次の進化を目指すという意味で、2021年の春には三田キャンパスに2つのミュージアムができます。一つは「福澤諭吉記念慶應義塾史展示館」と言い、慶應が過去に蓄積してきた学術史と、それから創立者福澤諭吉と慶應義塾を日本の近代化の中に正確に位置付けていくことを目指す展示館です。もう1つは「慶應義塾ミュージアム・コモンズ（KeMCo）」という、デジタル技術をふんだんに使って、アナログとデジタルの融合した学術コンテンツを展示配信することで、新しい教育、研究発信の拠点にするものです。

慶應義塾の培ってきた広い意味での人文学の蓄積と、先端的な技術、これを人文学か科学かという2項対立ではなく、両者が上手く融合して力を発揮する、新しいタイプの学術の拠点としたい。理系も文系も備えた総合大学として発展していく1つの象徴的な出来事だと思っています。

ぜひますます発展をされますように。今年はサンフランシスコ平和条約から70年ということで国際協調を回復する年でもありますので、国際的な学塾として激動の日本を先導されることを、OBとして大いに期待しています。

本日はお忙しいところをどうも有り難うございました。