As stated in the above message of Dr. Masako Egawa, the arrival of the knowledge society era has brought fierce competition among major research universities on the globe because the quality of research at universities and quality of students that the universities send out will greatly determine the destiny of the nation. UTokyo is making great strides to become one of the world’s best universities.
When we seriously think about Japan’s political influence and economic competitiveness in the world scene of tomorrow, it should be clear that as many students of UTokyo and other leading universities as we possibly can identify must be encouraged to aspire to become global leaders of the future. It is equally important for future leaders of America to get exposed to Japan and become interested in working with their Japanese peers.
Given the grave fact that the Japanese Government’s budget for education will be on the steady decline in the years ahead, it will be increasingly our responsibility, as alumni or friends of UTokyo, to invest in the human capital of tomorrow. As discussed in Mr. Masahiro Ono’s article in the current issue, many students at UTokyo and other major universities in Japan seem eager to find opportunities to study overseas, apparently contrary to what some mass media mistakenly report simply because many youngsters, and possibly a majority of adults, are introverted.
As reported in this and the September issues of the FUTI e-Newsletter (back issues are available in the News section on the front page of the website www.friendsofutokyo.org) and our newly established blog page, the 13 students (six UTokyo students and 7 U.S. students) who have received FUTI’s International Leadership Awards this past summer report on their exciting and eye-opening experiences that they had during the summer. Our future will depend on what these students can do for Japan, the U.S. and for the world. I truly believe that FUTI’s mission to nurture the younger generation, both in Japan and U.S.A., to “aspire to become global leaders” is a noble cause that deserves your financial support and encouragement.
I believe that we owe to UTokyo much of what we are today and what we have accomplished in our life, more than we may be willing to admit. It is true that our own efforts and our parents’ support as well as our DNA may have contributed to what we have achieved, but we received a world-class education at UTokyo for a fraction of the cost of its value. Furthermore, we have benefited a great deal from the fact that UTokyo is our alma mater. It is time for us to pay back to our alma mater, or to be more accurate, to Japan’s tax payers who invested in us.
Please click on the “Giving” page of the FUTI website and donate by mailing a check or donate online by clicking here and charging to your credit card.
Thank you and best regards,
Hisashi Kobayashi
President of Friends of UTokyo, Inc.
Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, Princeton University
Articles in this newsletter:
- Message from Dr. Masako Egawa
- We need your support of FUTI: Message from the President
- Book Launch for “New Japan Architecture” held at the Japan Society
- Ms. Sumiko Ito, an FUTI Advisory Member, Aids Tohoku Disaster Victims in Japan
- Discussion Meeting with Dr. Masako Egawa on Internationalization of UTokyo
- FUTI‘s Awards for MIT Students’ Internship at UTokyo Labs
- Scholarships to Two UTokyo students at Yale’s ELI
- New initiatives to encourage Japanese students to study abroad
- FUTI Awards a Grant to the UTokyo-Yale Initiative
