[No. 117] Sakae Fujisaki

Looking back now, my choice of career path was very vague. I had been interested in environmental issues since I was a child and had a vague desire to be involved in solving them in some way, but I didn't know any specific approaches. So, I felt it would be better to pursue a science track "for the time being."

Amidst this, students at my affiliated school (Keio Girls Senior High School) who were interested in the Faculty of Science and Technology had the opportunity to visit the Yagami Campus. Seeing the professors and senior university students in the labs I visited happily presenting their research made me think that research looked like fun, so I decided to enter the Faculty of Science and Technology.

After entering university, I feel very apologetic and still have regrets, but I didn't study very seriously and just barely managed to advance to the next grade.

The sole reason I was able to advance successfully was that I was blessed with good friends. Especially after I entered the Department of Chemistry, I was well taken care of by the "Kajo" (*). The Kajo girls were all very close and boisterous, and we were always laughing and causing trouble for those around us. But when it came to academics, they were all very reliable. Before exams, we would gather in a room in the new building on the Yagami Campus for study sessions, and thanks to them, I was able to get through the exams safely. I was also able to join the very popular Einaga Laboratory, which was then in its second year.

(*Kajo... An abbreviation for "chemistry girls" (kagaku-ka no joshi). That's what we called ourselves back then (lol).)

So what was I doing instead of studying? At the time, I was passionately involved in club activities.

I belonged to an environmental club called "E.C.O.," which has now become a very large organization, but I think there were only about 30 members back then. We collected large amounts of waste paper (such as past exam papers) during exam periods and held charity bazaars and conducted waste separation and recycling activities at the Mita Festival. Otherwise, we were mostly free-spirited, picking up trash along the river when we felt like it and interacting with environmental clubs from other universities. I was also involved in the launch of the Yagami Festival, which I'm surprised to hear is still going on today.

Spending time with friends from various faculties in E.C.O. and gaining the experience of looking at environmental issues from different perspectives—social, economic, ethical, and more—became a major factor in choosing my career.

As for the laboratory, since I graduated with my bachelor's degree, my time there was short—only one year. However, led by Professor Einaga, who was always full of curiosity and excitement, I was blessed with fun senior students and classmates. I was able to spend a rich and irreplaceable time, and looking back, I still recall those enjoyable days.

I had a strong desire to become a working member of society and contribute as soon as possible, so I chose to find a job immediately rather than go to graduate school. The organization I work for, NEDO, is a policy implementation agency whose mission is to "solve energy and global environmental problems" and "strengthen the international competitiveness of industrial technology." To achieve this, we launch and promote necessary technology development projects and disseminate their results to the world. I have been involved in various jobs, including planning the NEDO pavilion at the Expo 2005 Aichi, creating roadmaps in the electronics and information technology fields, planning and managing various international conferences and exhibitions, and international demonstration projects for energy-saving technologies. Currently, I am in the Human Resources Department in charge of personnel development, where I am engaged in a different kind of work, such as developing training programs to help employees become project managers and conducting new employee training. Every job is rewarding, and I am grateful for the opportunity to gain a variety of experiences from a young age.

Since joining NEDO, I have come to think a lot about "Japan." Japan is a country facing many challenges: it has few resources, is prone to disasters, and is experiencing a declining birthrate and aging population ahead of the rest of the world. For this very reason, I feel that Japan has a mission to be at the forefront of solving global problems. I believe that seriously studying and conducting research in the Faculty of Science and Technology, where you are now, will undoubtedly lead to solving problems in Japan and around the world. In that sense, I wish I had studied more seriously. I hope that all of you students will devote yourselves to your studies and research, and take on various challenges, while constantly asking yourselves about your own "mission."