Talking with President Itoh about Student Life at Keio

Five students from across Keio's campuses gathered at Mita Campus to speak with President Itoh about their lives at university and their dreams for the future on issues ranging from education and research to extracurricular activities and dorm life.

- First of all, could you please introduce yourselves?

Nakamura: I'm originally from Miyagi Prefecture and belong to two research groups on American politics and culture at the Faculty of Law. In terms of extracurricular activities, I'm a member of the Keio-Waseda Baseball Games Support Committee. At games, I mainly guide spectators and sell cheering section tickets, which I wasn't able to do during the COVID-19 pandemic, so I worked hard in other ways to promote the Keio-Waseda Baseball Games on places like social media. I've also lived at the Tsunashima Student Dormitory since I enrolled at Keio, where I served as a resident assistant (RA), providing support to international students who lived in the dorm. In fact, Ann-san and I were together at Tsunashima.

President Itoh: What a great experience. At Keio University, we hope many of our students will venture abroad, so I'm glad to hear the dormitories can serve as a starting point for them.

Xiao: I'm from Nagano Prefecture. My family's financial situation made it difficult for me to attend a private university in Tokyo, so it's only thanks to the Keio University Gakumon no Susume Scholarship¹ that I'm able to study here. I'm interested in physics, which explains natural phenomena using mathematical formulas, and have just recently started my research at Prof. Naoki Yamamoto's group, which deals with theory of elementary particles and nuclei.

¹ A scholarship for students outside the Tokyo metropolitan area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures).

President Itoh: Ann-san, you're from Thailand and are currently studying at the Graduate School of Business Administration (KBS) as an international student. Is that right?

Ann: Yes, I joined KBS seminars as a short-term international student in AY2022. I'll be a full-time student at KBS starting in April, where I plan to focus more on international business studies. Outside of the classroom, I'm a member of a judo student group. It's my first time trying judo, but I'm really enjoying it. My goal is to practice enough to eventually earn my black belt.

President Itoh: There used to be an exchange student from Thailand in my lab as well. I've personally visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai and love the country.

Ann: Thank you so much. I love Japan, too!

President Itoh: As an alumnus and a recent former Faculty Advisor for the Tennis Club, I have relished watching your great success. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the future as captain of the men's team. Suzuki-san, you're on the Keio Fencing Team, which is rare for a pharmacy student.

Suzuki: Yes, I started fencing in high school and joined the team because I wanted to continue fencing while studying at the Faculty of Pharmacy. My event is the épée, where the target area covers the whole body. Keio is known for its strong fencing team, so I'm trying my best to keep up with my teammates and train diligently to do well in competitions. I am the only pharmacy major on the team, but one thing I enjoy is being able to get away from my usual base at Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus and interact with students from other faculties at the Hiyoshi Campus. I'm happy to be a part of fencing at Keio University, especially with the beautiful Mamushidani training facilities we have at Hiyoshi.

- Next, I'd like to ask each of you about your area of study and research.

President Itoh: I look forward to hearing from you all, as so many diverse backgrounds are represented today. Let's start with Ann-san. Why did you decide to study in Japan, and why at Keio?

Ann: I first came to Japan in 2017 for an internship. I was in Osaka at the time, and I really enjoyed getting that exposure to Japanese culture. After returning to Thailand, I started working for a Japanese financial institution, but I wanted to study international business in Japan someday. I made my long-awaited return to Japan in the fall of 2021 on a short-term program for international students at KBS because I was attracted by the excellent faculty there. I'm now attending a seminar on international business and learning about global management and the challenges associated with it.

President Itoh: I hear you'll start as a full-time KBS student this April. Are you happy with the research environment on campus?

President Itoh: Nakamura-san, you said you're studying the politics and culture of the U.S. at the Faculty of Law.

Nakamura: Yes. In high school, I spent about two weeks as a short-term exchange student in the U.S. during the Trump administration. It was a major culture shock for me at the time. When people asked me about politics, I wasn't able to give a straight answer. That led me to want to learn more about the United States, which has a very different culture and political system from Japan. The Faculty of Law has experts in a variety of fields related to the United States, and I belong to two research groups: Prof. Hiroshi Okayama's seminar, which deals with U.S. politics and political history, and Prof. Toshiyuki Ohwada's seminar, which studies American literature and popular music. Personally, I love American popular music, and when you listen to the lyrics of hip-hop and other music, you start to realize just how linked politics and culture really are.

President Itoh: The Faculty of Law certainly offers a cross-disciplinary research environment for studying the U.S. in terms of its academic faculty.

Nakamura: It also offers a full range of language classes. I appreciate that there are intensive courses taught by native English speakers in addition to the regular English curriculum.

President Itoh: Xiao-san, why did you choose particle physics as your field of specialization?

Xiao: To be honest, it was difficult for me to choose what to specialize in. My motivation to learn physics stems from a desire to mathematically describe and objectively comprehend various phenomena in nature, my ultimate goal being to express the world in a single mathematical formula. It was thinking along these lines that I realized research on elementary particles—the basic building blocks of matter—may be the closest thing to the "truth" that I seek. But there is a huge amount of foundational knowledge I have to learn before delving into serious research, so I'm currently struggling at this very early stage.

President Itoh: Advanced fields such as particle physics require a particularly long training period before serious research can begin. I also struggled as an undergraduate student and while studying abroad at the University of California, Berkeley. But once you attain a certain level of understanding as a researcher, you make discoveries where you are the only one in the world who possesses this new truth at that moment. Of course, you'll make countless mistakes along the way, but if you maintain your passion for research, there will be a moment when it all pays off.

Fujiwara: Yes, my research theme deals with trying to pinpoint when an athlete reaches peak performance, and I am trying to figure out what it takes to win.

President Itoh: It's truly the definition of the Japanese phrase bunbu-ryodo, which refers to achieving excellence in both academic and athletic pursuits. You've been an accomplished tennis player since high school. Did you consider going on to other universities with strong tennis teams?

Fujiwara: To be honest, I was unsure whether I should go to Keio or Waseda. However, I felt that my only aspiration at Waseda would be maintaining the status quo since it continues to be the top-ranked university tennis team in Japan. I came to Keio intending to change that. The first thing that surprised me when I came here was that every member of the tennis club had a good balance between academic and athletic performance. It struck me as something unique to Keio. In my second year, I won the individual intercollegiate championship, and now, as captain of the men's team, I'm hoping to make Keio the best in Japan. I plan on throwing everything I've got into every game, aiming for nothing but the win. I won't let you down, President Itoh.

President Itoh: Suzuki-san, how do you feel about your balance between academics and athletics?

President Itoh: So you travel from the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus to Hiyoshi for fencing practice?

Suzuki: Yes. Travel time aside, I really enjoy practicing and getting to know students from other faculties at Hiyoshi. These interactions with my fellow teammates have helped me figure out what I need to work on as an athlete, and I also want to learn from the team's senior members and grow as a person.

- Finally, could you share your goals and dreams for the future?

President Itoh: Fujiwara-san, are you considering becoming a professional tennis player?

Fujiwara: I was on the fence about whether to pursue a career as a professional athlete or enter the workforce. But just recently, I got to watch the Australian Open in person for the first time. It inspired me so much that I'm suddenly very determined to pursue an athletic career again. It's not uncommon to see professional athletes from Keio who find employment after they retire from their athletic careers. I feel like this is another great thing about Keio University.

President Itoh: What do you think it takes to be a professional athlete?

Fujiwara: Of course, you must be able to perform at a high level, but I believe there is also a need to possess the power to promote oneself to the world. Professional Japanese athletes who compete internationally stay abroad for extended periods, which is why I feel that it is essential to express oneself and have the resilience to grow in any environment. I think that I must become more independent myself in order to succeed as an athlete.

President Itoh: I would love to see you compete internationally. Suzuki-san, will you continue fencing in the future?

Suzuki: As long as I'm at Keio, I intend to keep training to the best of my ability while continuing my pharmacy studies. Our ultimate goal is, of course, to win our matches against Waseda. In doing so, I want to rekindle a sense of pride and joy of being part of Keio.

President Itoh: Are you thinking about your career after graduation?

Suzuki: I haven't decided for sure yet. It's a bit vague, but I'm hoping to provide assistance for patients who are struggling due to illness and help enhance their quality of life. I’m still torn between becoming a researcher, where I can develop better drugs and treatments, or becoming a pharmacist, where I have direct contact with patients at a dispensary or other pharmacy. By conducting experiments, I've begun to realize how exciting research can be. My dream for the future would be to do research to find new drugs that can help people suffering from idiopathic or rare diseases.

President Itoh: That's a wonderful dream. Xiao-san, I hope that you, too, will aim to do the kind of physics research that turns common sense on its head.

Xiao: Thank you so much. I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps, President Itoh, and pursue my postgraduate studies at a world-leading graduate school abroad, where I can hone my skills and abilities surrounded by talented individuals from around the world. I had doubts about my major after entering university, but in the end, I feel most myself when studying physics. Through my experiences as a part-time private tutor, I have come to appreciate the pleasure of teaching, leading me to consider a future in academia.

President Itoh: Nakamura-san, how can you apply your knowledge of U.S. politics and culture in the future?

Nakamura: I'm mainly focused on research related to race, gender, and sexuality, so I hope to use my knowledge of these issues to work behind the scenes to help change Japanese organizations and society for the better. In the context of the Keio-Waseda Baseball Games Support Committee, the competing athletes are the main characters, and members like me play a supporting role backstage. Throughout my time as a student, I have discovered that I'm well-suited to these types of roles.

President Itoh: What are your plans after you join KBS in April, Ann-san?

Ann: I will spend my first year continuing to study with my KBS classmates. In my second year, I plan to study abroad through the MBA program. Having experienced the joy of meeting people from diverse backgrounds at Keio University, I hope to further expand my horizons and learn alongside even more diverse individuals at business schools in either Europe or the United States. In the future, I would like to find a job in Japan and play a role in bringing Japan and Thailand closer together as a business consultant.

President Itoh: It was extremely insightful to hear about your lives as students and your aspirations for the future. And above all, it brought me great joy as an alumnus of Keio. As president, I'll draw inspiration from our conversations today to explore ways to create the most conducive environment for students to learn and maximize their potential. I also hope to continue transforming our institution so that young people like Ann-san who come to Japan will choose to study at Keio.

- Thank you for your time today, everyone.

*This article originally appeared in the 2023 Spring edition (No. 318) of Juku.