[No. 80] Yufuko Takashima

Hello. My name is Takashima. It has been about ten years since I graduated from Keio, but I still have vivid memories of my six years as a Keio student. Most of those memories, however, are of things like hanging out with friends, traveling, drinking like a fish, and crashing at a friend's house in the early morning.

In my second year of high school, I decided to study either medical sciences or chemistry in college. It wasn't so much that I had a strong interest, but rather that I was so curious I wanted to know everything in the world (the audacity of youth), and I chose medical sciences and chemistry because they were fields that required special equipment and couldn't be mastered on my own.

The reason I chose Keio was based on a small misunderstanding. At the time, I lived in Shinagawa and thought, "Keio = Tamachi = close!" Needless to say, I was shocked on the day I managed to pass the exam and completed my enrollment procedures to see it written that "the Faculty of Science and Technology is at the Hiyoshi and Yagami campuses."

For me, coming from a Catholic all-girls junior and senior high school, Keio was a dazzling world. All the students seemed sophisticated, stylish, and cool. Furthermore, everything was free, whether it was studying or playing. I was so happy with this incredible freedom that I joined a camping club and enjoyed the ultimate free activity of wandering around Hokkaido for two weeks. Then, as I gradually expanded my social circle and developed a taste for alcohol, I began to realize that many of the people around me were not just stylish but also strong-willed individuals with deep-seated beliefs and principles, and I came to know the depth of Keio.

I did some studying, too. Letting my curiosity guide me, I took as many general education courses as I could and luxuriously enjoyed classes taught by leading professors in various fields. The specialized chemistry classes were difficult and challenging. But I was blessed with reliable friends, and I think we came to understand the material by making a ruckus together at a friend's house before reports and exams. We studied with exchanges like, "Look, the electron goes *poof* and flies over here..." and "Huh? Why not this carbon atom?" Even now, I believe that explaining things in a way that others can understand is a shortcut to true comprehension, and I think it was a pretty good way to study.

For my laboratory, I chose the Applied Coordination Chemistry Laboratory, which was the Inoue/Yoshioka Laboratory at the time. After agonizing over whether to go into organic or inorganic chemistry, I settled on "coordination complexes," which are in the middle. In the lab, I was surrounded by two kind and generous professors, senior students who exuded the spirit of craftsmen from behind their white coats, and fun-loving peers, and I had a truly wonderful time. It was so much fun that I almost forget what I was researching. If I recall correctly, I was conducting basic research to achieve artificial photosynthesis, which involved arranging dye molecules in an orderly fashion to express their function. Since light was our greatest enemy, we did things like "taping black paper over all the windows at night and collecting data every hour until dawn." I remember listening over and over to a Ryoko Hirosue CD that a senior student brought in, since it was pitch black and we couldn't do anything else but listen to music. I can still sing "Maji de Koi Suru 5-byō Mae."

Initially, I considered becoming a civil servant for my career path. Through my time in university and graduate school, I came to realize that 1. I was apparently far too clumsy to be a chemist, 2. I seemed to be more interested in learning about many different things than focusing on one, and 3. I was apparently a bit more silver-tongued than others. So, I came up with the ambitious plan to "translate researchers' work so that ordinary people can understand it, promote it, and contribute to the growth of Japan's GDP!" I was therefore leaning toward a civil service position, where I could oversee a wide range of technologies. However, during an information session for a certain government ministry, I heard that "surveys on technology trends and other matters are outsourced to think tanks," which led me to abruptly change course and aim for a think tank.

Currently, I work at a think tank called Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., in the Environment and Energy Research Division, where I am mainly in charge of research and consulting related to pollution control and hazardous chemical substances. In recent years, in the field of pollution control, there has been a movement to export Japan's accumulated pollution control technologies and know-how to other Asian countries where pollution is becoming a problem due to rapid development. This not only contributes to environmental conservation in the target countries but also represents a major business opportunity for Japan's environmental industry. Most of it is not straightforward, but I still think of various strategies every day, constantly telling myself, "I will contribute to the growth of Japan's GDP!" There is a mountain of things to study every day, but I find the work rewarding and interesting.

Keio is a very free and comfortable place. Conversely, if you don't think for yourself, prioritize what you need to do, and take action, time might just fly by with nothing but fun. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but since you have been blessed with a brain, I recommend you use it to its full potential and live a fulfilling life.