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President’s Words for New Graduates in March 2020

March 25, 2020
Aiji Tanaka, President
Waseda University

Dear graduates,

First, I would like to say congratulations to you all. This is the moment not only you have been waiting for, but I am sure that your families and friends who have given you support along the way have also waited for this moment as well. On behalf of Waseda University, it is my great pleasure to deliver this address to you and offer a few words of wisdom.

This should have been done in person at the graduation ceremony, which was cancelled given the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Graduation is supposed to be a time where we confer your Bachelor’s, Master’s, or doctoral degrees as a result of what you have achieved and celebrate your accomplishments. It is truly regrettable that the university had to make this extremely difficult decision of cancelling the ceremony. While the faculty and staff, including myself, are heartbroken, I am most certain that it does not amount to the disappointment you, your families and friends, and others who had been looking forward to the event are feeling now. On behalf of the faculty and staff at Waseda University, I sincerely apologize for having to make such decision.

Waseda University has the largest number of international student enrollment among universities in Japan. Currently, about 8,000 international students come to study at Waseda each year, and approximately 1,500 graduates of this term are international students from overseas. Also, even if you were raised in Japan, some of you might have spent some time abroad. As I speak, the novel coronavirus continues to spread all over the world, Japan included. Given the seriousness of the situation, holding a graduation ceremony where nearly 10,000 graduates are in close contact with one another could increase the risks of you contracting the novel coronavirus and possibly put you in danger before you go onto your next stage in life in April. The university administration wanted to avoid this at all cost, which is why we have decided to cancel the ceremony. We hope that you will understand that we made this decision to protect your health and safety and of those around you.

Now, please allow me to convey my congratulations through this video.

Ever since its founding by Shigenobu Okuma in 1882, Waseda University has produced great numbers of extraordinary alumni as one of Japan’s most prestigious private institutions. Some of our graduates include seven prime ministers, such as Tanzan Ishibashi, and many influential business leaders including Masaru Ibuka, who is the co-founder of Sony. In recent years, three out of four of the executive chairpersons for the Japan Association of Corporate Executives were Waseda graduates.

However, just having a Waseda degree under your belt will not get you as far in life. You will need to apply your acquired knowledge in a practical manner for solving real-life problems and make wise judgements in order to survive.

Mankind faces countless problems which have no definite answers. Containing the worldwide spread of the coronavirus is an example. Others include global warming, population explosions, various religious conflicts, and conflicts between nations. In Japan, they may be the regional areas losing its vitality or the country’s deceasing birthrate in spite of an aging population. These problems only continue to heap.

When you run into such problems, the flexible sensibility you have developed at Waseda will be a valuable asset because you will be able to devise creative solutions for the better and for the well-being of all. For instance, when containing the novel coronavirus, we must generate a solution while eliminating any form of discrimination.

Scholarship will also become necessary. Ever since the invention of a writing system over 5,000 years ago, human beings have recorded and compiled the essence of their experience into scholarship. Though some of you will continue with your journey for learning scholarship through an advanced degree in graduate school, what you have studied here at Waseda is only a small portion of this accumulated scholarship.

However, the practical application of scholarship is not merely about wielding knowledge. It is crucial to have the intelligence that will help you analyze the cause of why problems are occurring and come up with your own solutions. In other words, the intelligence to challenge the unprecedented issues humanity encounters becomes important. I call this intellectual resilience.

I believe that you have developed flexible sensibility and intellectual resilience, or are on your way in doing so. I hope that you will endeavor to solve problems without answers and find original solutions by drawing on your knowledge based on the scholarship you have attained.

Additionally, I believe that Waseda University is an institution where faculty members are committed to teaching so that you will foster such qualities and be ready for the world. Please have faith in what you have learned here and be confident about stepping out into the unknown, whether it be working as a business person, undertaking graduate education, or going on a completely different path.

I have one more piece of advice I would like to give to our graduates. That is, do not be swayed by trends, but rather, find your interests or passion and pursue it. Trends die out in five years or so, and even if you followed the trend, if it is not something that stirs your curiosity, you will only be able to exert 80 or 90% of your potential. Devoting yourself to something you find meaningful will allow you to put in your 120%. It is undoubtedly clear that an effort made at 120% would have more successful outcomes rather than an effort made at 80%. It would be wonderful if you could engrave these words in your memory so that they will serve as a guide if you ever feel lost. I used to share these words with my own zemi students every year, but ever since becoming the president of the university, I have dedicated them to all Waseda graduates.

Lastly, I would like to share with you the future vision I have for Waseda, which I have been advocating to all faculty, staff, and “Kohyou” (This is what we call our alumni) ever since being appointed the president of Waseda University on November 5, 2018. I envision transforming Waseda into a globally respected university, no matter how many decades it may take. I strongly believe that this is possible, and now is the time for faculty and staff to show our determination and commitment to realize this goal. Since my inauguration, I have told faculty and staff repeatedly that we should recruit top faculty and excellent staff to the university who are more qualified than ourselves and nurture them so that these candidates will surpass our achievements someday. If Waseda could be managed by such talented group of faculty and staff, the university would become a globally competitive one in 20 years or so.

Likewise, if you, the graduating students, strive to succeed on the “global” stage at a rate that you will outperform us, your success will highlight what Waseda is all about. I want to remind you that global engagement does not only mean to work abroad. It is not about working for globally recognized organizations such as the United Nations or the International Monetary Fund. Rather, regardless of the country or the size of the city, and no matter how large or small your organization is, your brilliance will shine through as long as you have a global perspective and contemplate how each individual could make a difference. Eventually, your actions and accomplishments will lead Waseda into becoming acknowledged as a globally stellar university.

For our graduates who will be parting today, I want you to know that the university you are graduating from will someday be one of the most internationally prestigious universities. As I said earlier, be confident about your learning here, focus your energy in something you find rewarding, and pave your own path in life.

I am certain that your days spent here at Waseda were fulfilling in different ways for each and every one of you. You are welcomed to come back to your alma mater anytime, whenever you wish. Our doors are open to you. We look forward to meeting you, who will be even more shining than now, at Waseda, which hopefully by that time will have realized its vision of shining on the global stage.

With that being said, I would like to end my address. Congratulations to our newest alumni!