2016 Graduation Ceremony and Degree Conferment Ceremony

This is the speech for the 2016 graduation ceremony and degree conferral ceremony.

March 24, 2009

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Director Tadashi Matsunaga

Congratulations to all of you graduating from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology today, and to all of you completing your graduate programs. On behalf of the faculty and staff of our university, I offer my heartfelt congratulations.

This year, there will be 321 Faculty of Agriculture degree holders, 580 Faculty of Engineering degree holders, Graduate School of Engineering 349 master's degree holders, Graduate School of Agriculture 183 master's degree students, Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering 73 master's students, 35 students from the Graduate School of Technology Management, and doctoral degree holders Graduate School of Engineering 26 doctoral students, Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering 14 doctoral students, United Graduate School of Agricultural Science A total of 1,608 students, including 27 doctoral students, will embark on a new journey. I'm sure that your hearts are filled with a sense of accomplishment, a sense of regret for Campus Life, and expectations for the future. Over the past few years, I believe that you have had a variety of experiences at our university, getting a glimpse of your research students activities. In order to complete their studies in a university where students must learn independently, there must have been many difficult days when they had to study and work hard in the face of setbacks and difficulties. But you got over it. First of all, be confident in that. The faces of all of you from this podium look much more dignified and robust than they were a few years ago. These reliable people will be good friends in each other's lives, partners who will face difficulties together, and rivals who will work hard together. I hope that you will warm up and cherish the relationships you have cultivated at this university for a long time. Today, I would also like to thank you again for your family, friends, and stakeholders who have supported you throughout your studies. The reason why you have been able to reach this day safely today is because of the support of these people who have become the shade and the sun. We, the faculty and staff, would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and respect for your warm support, and share the joy of this sunny day.

During my six years as President, I have sent promising students off from this stage, borrowing words and proverbs from many great people. I hope that they will have hope for the unknown world and the future, that they will be motivated to start afresh, and that they will be able to move forward again when they stumble or worry. Today, I would like to take this time to think together about diversity. This is because the world in which you live is full of diversity. I am not talking about biodiversity here. I am talking about diverse beliefs, emotions, thoughts, and actions within the single species of humanity. Our university specializes in the science fields of agriculture and engineering. It is a world where people who are interested in these fields gather together, and where it is good to establish theories and demonstrate them. However, society is naturally different. There will be people who are ignorant of the science and technology that we are researching, people who are not interested in the truth that we are passionately pursuing, and even people who dislike them. There will be people who prefer emotion over theory, people who say that rationality and progress are unnecessary, and people who deny everything you have done and are trying to do. However, they think that way based on their own positions and experiences, and it may not be wrong just because they are different. And society is made up of people with all these different thoughts. And I want you to remember that your research must benefit the whole of society, including those people. On the other hand, your days will be busier than ever, and you will tend to rationalize everything because of your scientist's habit of cutting out things that do not directly concern you. Then, like a frog in a well or looking through a needle's eye, it will be difficult to accept diversity, and you may unconsciously become narrow-minded and biased in your way of thinking, and ultimately lose sight of the benefit of society as a whole. That is why it is necessary to always be strongly aware of knowing and accepting the diversity of society and thinking from that perspective. Those involved in science and technology should be able to carefully examine and consider each and every element that makes up diversity, just as we verified each and every result of an experiment. From now on, you will meet many different people in the laboratory, at work, and on your own path. Personality, background, culture, common sense - of course, no one is the same as you - there are many people who are completely different from you or who are incompatible with you. However, instead of dismissing or avoiding them, please listen to, understand, and consider their thoughts. Science and technology are important to save the current global environmental crisis, and researchers who recognize diversity and can cooperate with each other can create highly effective innovations with multifaceted and multilateral ideas. In order to create a bright and beautiful future in which all human beings and living things can continue to develop in peace and abundance while coexisting with the natural environment, please use the power of science and technology, and your power, to move Japan and the world. And not only yourselves, but also strive to raise the next generation of innovators who have that kind of awareness. That is our strong wish for you. As scientists, let's strive together for a better future.

I hope that the next time I see you, I will be able to see you as an even more reliable and grown-up version of yourself. Our university will also make further efforts to become a strong pillar that you can be proud of as your alma mater, and to be able to help you in the best way possible at any time, by utilizing our distinctive mobility and innovativeness, to create a competent university that is useful to the world and recognized around the world. I hope that our exchanges will continue to deepen meaningfully through alumni activities and our respective jobs, and I would like to conclude my speech by once again wishing you all the best in your future endeavors and success.