All News is Good News | Tomoki Kamo, Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management
Winter has arrived. At the end of November, when the Open Research Forum is held, the autumn colors of SFC reach their peak, followed by the swift and graceful arrival of winter hues.
The campus is surrounded by evergreens, but deciduous trees are planted at its center. I am fond of those deciduous trees. Seeing them after their leaves have fallen makes me feel somewhat lonely. However, it also makes me realize that it is a precursor to the arrival of spring. The cycle of the seasons gently points toward the time continuing into the future.
The essay collection "All News is Good News" (Chikura Shobo, 2025) by the esteemed Professor Naoyuki Agawa, who served as Dean and Vice-President of the university, was published on December 9, shortly after the first anniversary of his passing. As a member of SFC, I am truly delighted. It is said that the essays included were personally selected by the professor during his lifetime.
Throughout this book, the breathing of the campus trees is depicted everywhere. As I read on, a strange sense of relief spreads through my chest, realizing that the professor was looking at the same scenery. It is the zelkova. They scatter gold upon the earth to announce the arrival of winter, and a few months later, they stretch out their young green branches to herald spring, swaying their lush greenery in the summer breeze. Touching upon such descriptions of the landscape, there were moments that overlapped with my own feelings toward deciduous trees.
Furthermore, as the book's wrap-around band indicates, it breathes with a "warm and calm gaze that constantly watched over Japan and the United States through both difficult and peaceful times."
Among Professor Agawa's works, I particularly enjoy "Do You Hate America?" (Shinchosha, 1993) and "Even So, I Will Remain Pro-American" (Keiso Shobo, 2003). These two volumes, published during a time when Japan-U.S. relations were temporarily shaken, convey a quiet but strong will. I have kept them lined up on a bookshelf within sight of my study desk for a long time.
"All News is Good News" also includes essays related to these two books. These are "Do You Still Hate America?" written in 2022, and "Mr. Nakayama's Farewell Note: Supplement to 'Do You Still Hate America?'" Even now, when I want to correct my research attitude, I pick up "Do You Hate America?" and "Even So, I Will Remain Pro-American."
I once had the opportunity to accompany Professor Agawa when he visited China on official university business as Vice-President. On that occasion, when I spoke about how I wanted to approach China as a researcher, I still cherish the words he quietly spoke to me, engraving them in my heart as a personal admonition.