[No. 32] Junichi Kawarasaki

I was good at math until high school, but I started to struggle with it in college. This is a common story. I think it's something that everyone in the sciences experiences to some degree. I believe this is because it's difficult to smoothly adapt from the intuitive handling of math in high school to the tools required for rigorous discussion, or because it takes time to switch one's mindset to the axiomatic approach necessary for abstraction. I can say this calmly now, but I certainly fell behind in my first year of university. Fortunately, however, I didn't come to hate mathematics. I gradually caught up, and when it was time to become a third-year student, I chose the Department of Mathematical Engineering (now the Department of Mathematics) without hesitation, just as I had hoped to when I first enrolled.

The Department of Mathematical Engineering was established in 1974 and produced its first graduates in March 1976. I became a third-year student in 1979. As I was in the sixth class of students, many of the professors involved in the department's founding were still there. Professor Tatsuo Kawata (1911–1996), famous for his work on Fourier analysis, was one of them. I heard that he had worked as an actuary at Dai-ichi Life during a period in the war. Perhaps because of this, a course in actuarial mathematics was already available as an elective at that time. While it has recently become possible to take actuarial mathematics courses at many universities, I believe it was quite rare back then. We students were not yet familiar with the word "actuary," and, if I may be frank, our attitude was mostly just to get the credits. I remember that when I actually took the class, many unfamiliar symbols appeared, and I struggled more than I expected. In reality, the symbols used in actuarial mathematics are very systematic and are internationally standardized notations, so they are extremely convenient once you learn them. But at the time, I had no intention of becoming an actuary and was in no position to appreciate their value. In that state of mind, I spent the rest of my student life having forgotten the word "actuary" for a while.

In my fourth year, I joined Professor Shinozaki's lab and studied statistics. There were eight of us in the lab, but few people went on to graduate school at the time; in fact, I was the only one who wanted to enter the master's program. Because of this, from the second half of my fourth year, I received one-on-one guidance in my study of decision theory, which would also become the theme of my master's thesis. Even then, I had absolutely no thought of becoming an actuary.

The next time I encountered the word "actuary" was when it was finally time to find a job. I had spent my student life mostly indifferent to job hunting. Just when I realized I had to decide on a job soon, the professor in charge of career services introduced me to an actuary position at a foreign-affiliated life insurance company. I immediately visited the company, and just like that, my employment was secured as an aspiring actuary. After graduation, I joined that company and became an actuary. Although I have changed jobs, I have consistently worked in the actuarial profession. I also actively participate in the activities of the Institute of Actuaries of Japan, which has allowed me to build relationships that transcend company interests.

As fate would have it, a few years ago, a senior actuary from another company asked if I would take over a course on actuarial mathematics at Juku (Editor's note: This refers to Keio University), and I gladly accepted. This was for three years, from fiscal 2002 to 2004. I also put a lot of effort and creativity into my teaching, and I was truly happy to see the high level of interest in the actuarial profession, with many students eagerly coming to ask questions after class. For those who want to know more about what actuaries actually do or how to become one, please visit the website of the Institute of Actuaries of Japan. There is also a page specifically for students.

Now, my current title at my company is "Appointed Actuary." This is a statutory position mandated to be involved in calculations such as insurance premiums, and I am in charge of the most traditional area for an actuary. Recently, however, the fields where actuaries are active have been expanding rapidly, extending beyond the worlds of insurance and pensions to all economic activities involving uncertainty. Their contributions are expanding into areas like the asset side and risk management, where they make full use of financial engineering. For these reasons, there is a chronic shortage of actuaries at every company.

This is a highly recommended profession for anyone who loves mathematics and wants to apply it to jitsugaku (science) in the future. Pure mathematics is not required. I hope that many younger students will aim to become actuaries.