2026年度9月入学式（学部・大学院）式辞

2026年9月24日

慶應義塾長　伊藤　公平

Good morning. Welcome to Keio University. Congratulations to all new students, and a warm welcome to the friends, families, and loved ones joining us today from every corner of the world.

To begin, I would like to read The Mission of Keio University, as articulated by our founder, Fukuzawa Yukichi:「慶應義塾は単に一所の学塾として自から甘んずるを得ず。其目的は我日本国中に於ける気品の泉源、智徳の模範たらんことを期し、之を実際にしては居家、処世、立国の本旨を明にして、之を口に言うのみにあらず、躬行実践、以て全社会の先導者たらんことを欲するものなり。」

In line with this mission, each of you will now devote yourselves to your studies and build lifelong friendships here, guided by the aspiration to achieve excellence, to become sources of honorable character and paragons of intellect, and to lead society in the right direction together.

To mark your entrance into Keio, we present every new student with a copy of The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa. In reading this book, you will see how freely Fukuzawa lived his life. Yet this freedom was not simply handed to him. He grew up in mid-19th century Japan—a rigid feudal society in which one's place in life was predetermined, regardless of talent or effort. Despite this, Fukuzawa pursued his studies tirelessly to win personal freedom and independence.

At the age of 19, he encountered "Dutch studies," or Western learning. By 23, he had opened a private school for Western studies in Edo—present-day Tokyo—marking the beginning of Keio. In 1859, at age 24, he visited Yokohama, a newly opened port, only to discover that his Dutch was of little use, as everything was conducted in English. So he immediately switched his studies from Dutch to English at age 24. This pivot paid off remarkably fast: within just one year, when the Japanese government decided to send the warship Kanrin Maru to the United States, the 25-year-old Fukuzawa negotiated his way onto the voyage by offering his English skills. His determination succeeded, and he traveled to America. Two years later, at 27, he joined the government's delegation to Europe.

By the 1870s, in his mid-thirties, Fukuzawa saw Japan abolish the feudal class system. At 37, he published his monumental work, a book, An Encouragement of Learning, declaring that a person's worth is determined not by birth, but by whether they learn. To learn was to gain one's freedom and independence, and to enrich one's life. If an entire nation learned, the nation too would prosper and secure its independence. What seems obvious to us today was a revelation to many at the time. The book became a national bestseller 150 years ago—and it is still widely read here in Japan today. Throughout his life, Fukuzawa sought to improve the world through education for ordinary people, grounded in science-based and fact-based thinking.

I bring up Fukuzawa's life today because I believe you have chosen Keio in order to follow in his footsteps—to become modern versions of Fukuzawa Yukichi. Remember, he did not rush. Back then, the average life expectancy in Japan was only 43, so halfway was only 22. Yet he began Dutch studies at 19, English at 24, traveled to America at 25, and to Europe at 27. And in fact, he took the time to develop himself step by step and actually lived to be 66.

The world has changed greatly over the past 150 years, but we human beings have not evolved biologically. Even today, though we have available far more knowledge and technology, it still takes courage to dedicate time to learning and to elevating our aspirations. Over the next four or more years at Keio, take time to study, concentrate on your research, engage with your friends, and explore the world.

Keio University offers carefully designed curricula, a wide variety of research opportunities, and special lectures by distinguished figures from around the world to foster your global outlook. It also provides many opportunities to study and conduct research abroad. Please make the most of these resources. What truly matters is your determination, as Keio students, to take on real challenges and to continue learning throughout your lives. Even in this era of rapid technological advancement, including the rise of AI, it is critically important to uphold the human tradition of creating knowledge and making key decisions in our complex society.

Speaking of AI, I have one more piece of news for you all. Over the next three years, Keio University aims to build a world-leading, human-centric AI campus. Since we will be building this together with you, you have enrolled at Keio University at the perfect time.

By "human-centric," we mean a campus where people gather to create cutting-edge AI and compete against it. Today, one can consult generative AI about anything, making it easy to befriend. However, using AI to elevate your ambitions and enhance your own capabilities requires a constant sense that you are competing against it. When applying AI to your studies or research, you must always act as its supervisor: giving precise instructions, scrutinizing the results, correcting errors, making up for any shortcomings, and leveraging your own creativity to reach even greater heights. After all, while generative AI demonstrates remarkable power when addressing problems with clear, correct answers, it cannot make final judgments on questions that have no definitive answer.

Today, I am honored to stand with you and offer these words of encouragement. This is the starting point of your leadership journey together. Make the most of your university life here at Keio. Congratulations to you all!