2024.04.22
On Friday, April 5, 2024, the 2024 Kick-off Lecture was held at the Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC).
The Kick-off Lecture is held annually for new students beginning their university life and current students starting a new semester. The purpose is to invite distinguished speakers from various fields to give a lecture, helping students learn the importance of leading a meaningful student life and to cultivate an attitude toward their studies and an eye for accurately perceiving societal changes.
For the 2024 lecture, Mr. Kazuo Masuda, Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense, gave a talk titled "Your Vision for the Future: Thoughts from a 60-Year-Old Bureaucrat."
Addressing the students who will shape the future of society, Mr. Masuda drew from his many years of experience as captain of the cheering squad and as a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Defense. Through various anecdotes, he spoke about the importance of thinking, wrestling with problems, making decisions, and seeing things through to completion, as well as how precious the friends made along the way are.
During the Q&A session, many questions were asked by inspired students. In response to inquiries such as one from a student aspiring to become a legislator and another question fitting for the start of university life—"What does it mean to study?"—Mr. Masuda delivered a passionate message.
◆ Kazuo Masuda
Born in Chiba Prefecture. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, he joined the Defense Agency (now the Ministry of Defense) in 1988. After serving in positions such as Director of the International Cooperation Division and Director of the Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation Division, he served as an Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2019 to 2021 under both the Abe and Suga cabinets.
He was involved in the December 2022 revision of the three security-related documents, including the National Security Strategy. He has been in his current position since July 2023.
Source: General Affairs Section, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office