Category: Newsletter 18

At the Board meeting held on October 1, 2017, the FUTI Board appointed Dr. Kenzi Karasaki, President of the San Francisco Akamon-kai, and Dr. Yuriko Suzuki, President of Satsuki-kai America, as Ex-officio members of the Advisory Committee. This action reflects FUTI’s commitment to work closely with UTokyo alumni associations in the U.S. Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi, Chair of the Advisory Committee, remarks, “We are much pleased to have Dr. Karasaki and Dr. Suzuki as new members of the Committee.  I hope that their involvements will help their organization members better understand FUTI’s activities and needs. Drs. Karasaki and Suzuki have been helping FUTI by inviting our scholarship awardees to their picnics, lectures and other events. We would like to have the presidents of other UTokyo alumni groups in the U.S. to join the Advisory Committee as new members.” Their bios are shown below as they are provided to FUTI. Kenzi Karasaki is a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, California. His research interest is the subsurface hydrology in fractured and faulted rock masses. He began his career in the theory and numerical simulations of subsurface fluid flow. His current focus is in the data collection and analysis through fieldwork. The application of his research topic is fairly wide: oil and gas production, nuclear waste isolation, contaminant transport, CO2 sequestration, in addition to water resources development. Kenzi was born in Yamaguchi and went to Yamaguchi Senior High. In the senior year, he became an American Field Service student and spent a year in Little Falls, Minnesota. Upon return, he entered Science I Class at the University of Tokyo. He lived in Koma-Ryo (the legendary Komaba Dormitory, demolished more than a decade ago) for almost four years spending most of the time playing American football, working part time and dating. He was, so to speak, a jock. After somehow completing the undergrad, he enrolled in the M.S. course in the Natural Resources Development Option in the Engineering Dept. In 1979, he came to study at UC Berkeley as a PhD student in Mineral Engineering Dept. He was first hired as an GSRA, then a postdoc, followed by the staff scientist position at LBNL. He has been with the lab for nearly 40 years. In his private life, he plays golf a lot and currently serves as the president of Soko (San Francisco) Akamonkai, the San Francisco area alumni association of the University of Tokyo. Soko Akamon-kai has approximately 200 members. Yuriko Suzuki, Ph.D.is Principal at Y SUZUKI CONSULTING LLC. She received Ph.D. degree at University of Tokyo, Japan in 1987 for plant Science by biochemistry and cellular physiology research in photosynthetic carbon fixation mechanism. She is a secretary of the US – Japan pharmaceutical discussion group in New York City and an “accomplished communicator” in Toastmasters clubs in the US. Dr. Suzuki is an expert in drug discovery and development, compliance and safety in large global pharmaceutical companies, small biotech startups, as well as CRO organizations. Her successful projects including; First-time-in-class drug discovery to proof-of-concept development study as well as patenting small molecule drug targets and biologics products, development and evaluation of molecular pharmacology and PK/PD assays, etc. From 2010 to present – Principal at Y SUZUKI CONSULTING LLC Dr. Suzuki works for research and development project management and liaison, clinical research project communication, management, and outsourcing, in depth scientific marketing analysis of the products, and supports licensing and intellectual property protection for global pharmaceutical corporations. From 2006 to 2010 – Senior Research Investigator at Sanofi-Aventis in Bridgewater, NJ Dr. Suzuki was an orphan GPCR project leader and global project group committee member as well as new target proposal committee member and siRNA project initiator and leader. She supported translational projects from pre-clinical to clinical development and generate and review pharmacology reports for bridging to clinical study. From 2002 to 2006 – Senior Scientist at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, MA Dr. Suzuki contributed to complete lead optimization and delivered development candidate compound, led in vitro pharmacology efforts to develop various assays and successfully delivered development candidate compounds. From 1998 to 2002 – Senior Scientist at Neurogen Corporation in Branford, CT Dr. Suzuki achieved to Identify new classes of GPCR and enzyme targets for treating neuronal and metabolic disorders. From 1993 to 1997 – Post-doctoral fellow at The Rockefeller University, New York, NY From 1988 to 1993 – Assistant professor at Jichi Medical School, Tochigi, Japan From 1987 to 1988 – Post-doctoral researcher at Tokyo University, Tokyo and Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan. Satsuki-kai America has a nation-wide membership of about 100 alumnae with chapters in Boston, New York, Chicago and the West coast. Note: The bios included in this article have been provided by Drs. Karasaki and Dr. Suzuki. Articles in this newsletter:

Yuki Haba Princeton University Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Doctoral Candidate FUTI Global Leadership Award 2015 Recipient In the spring of 2015, I was conflicted. I was about to graduate from the University of Tokyo in April and I was faced with two paths. I could either continue to graduate school at the University of Tokyo or at Columbia University, an Ivy League school. I very much wanted to attend Columbia, but the expensive tuition made that option difficult. Winning the FUTI Global Leadership Award was the deciding factor in this choice. The FUTI Award allowed me to get a head start on my English skills and on life in general in the US, as well as financial support for my summer language studies and living expenses for before graduate school started. In this short essay, I would like to report on my activities during the two years since receiving support from FUTI, from overcoming unforeseen hardships at Columbia to ultimately receiving top acceptances for the doctoral programs at universities such as Princeton, Harvard and Columbia. Feeling encouraged after receiving the FUTI Global Leadership Award, here I was at Columbia University in the fall of 2015, barely keeping up with my language studies and the general curriculum. On top of everything, I had to search for Teaching assistant (TA) and Research Assistant (RA) positions to help with tuition and living expenses. Now that I think about it, I am amazed that I survived those days of living under such stress. To be honest, at UTokyo I was on the athletic club soccer team spending much of my days playing soccer and was not exactly on the Dean’s List. In my last year I redeemed myself in Basic Biology but considering the rigorous American methodology I am surprised that Columbia University even accepted me. However, the competitiveness and drive that I cultivated while playing soccer helped me through the adversity I faced. My mind was a blank slate, like a sponge absorbing knowledge, and after studying like mad I started seeing results by the second semester. I obtained a TA position, then an RA position and eventually I earned the trust of professors other than my advisor. My master’s thesis, essentially a synopsis of my two years at Columbia, garnered high commendation and even won out against my American colleagues to receive the award for best master’s thesis. Whether it was because the research I did for my master’s thesis was so much fun, or because I felt the urge to get more ambitious with bigger projects, I was certain that I wanted to continue to a doctoral program (PhD) in the United States. In 2015, I had also tried to get into a PhD program at a prestigious school but because of my exclusive focus on soccer at the time, I was not accepted. I vowed not to make the same mistake again and took early action by making appointments with professors I wanted to study with. In these meetings I expressed my enthusiasm and in the discussions with professors all over America I was able to hone in on my interests. At the end of 2016 came the long-awaited PhD application process. The application material and oral examinations lasted for three to five days at each university. My performance was received very positively and I was accepted to Princeton University, my first choice, along with scholarships at Harvard and Columbia (tuition-free and approximately $3,000/month stipend). Having redeemed myself after receiving so much support from the FUTI scholarship and from friends and family, I was glad to have been able to repay their trust by showing results. After reporting to the Ichokai in New York, I was congratulated by many people. I feel forever indebted to FUTI. “The human thought: why was it born and on what mechanism does it operate?” This is what I would like to spend my lifetime researching. On first glance, this seems to be a philosophical question. But it’s also a topic that is popular and widely researched in the field of biology. To solve “why” thought was born, one must unravel the history of life through the theory of evolution. To solve “how” thought is expressed, one must utilize neuroscience and molecular biology. As long as I undergo research which transcends the boundaries of existing areas of study, I don’t intend to narrow my interest but would rather enjoy myself by cooperating with researchers not only from the U.S. or Japan but from all over the world. Going forward I would like to make exciting discoveries as a researcher, not a student. In September 2017, classes for the doctoral program at Princeton started. I feel as if I am on cloud nine studying at my dream school where I am intellectually stimulated on a daily basis by my brilliant colleagues from all over the world. Studying abroad for graduate school is still not a commonly known choice for many in Japan and financial uncertainty is a nagging problem. Despite this, there must be plenty of possibilities for success with an organization like FUTI which gives opportunities to students with aspirations. If one feels that there may be an opportunity across the ocean which will allow them to pursue their dream, I feel it is a good thing to take that leap. Finally, I would like to thank FUTI for giving me the chance to do my graduate studies abroad and for the opportunity to write this report. I received support not only through the scholarship, but also through the New York Ichokai community which was there for me during tough times while I was at Columbia. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude. Author: Yuki Haba. He encourages readers to contact him directly for questions at .  English translation by FUTI staff. Articles in this newsletter:

As reported in Newsletter #17, eight University of Tokyo (UTokyo) students and ten U.S. students received the 2017 FUTI Global Leadership Awards (FUTI-GLA). The FUTI summer scholarship award, a.k.a. the “FUTI Global Leadership Award (FUTI-GLA),” is designed to nurture future global leaders of Japan and the U.S. One of the selection criteria is a demonstration of leadership quality. Selected excerpts of their reports are shown in this article. In addition to the summer scholarships, FUTI also awarded USA Ito Foundation-FUTI scholarships to nine UTokyo students as reported in Newsletter #17 for their studies of one semester or longer in the U.S. during the 2017-18 academic year. However, their reports are not yet available online. The list of summer 2017 award recipients are posted on our website. For full reports, please click here. Highlights from UTokyo Students’ Reports The eight UTokyo students who spent the summer in the U.S. reported that classroom and lab work was intensive and highly valuable. Many were impressed by discussion-intensive U.S. classrooms and learned the importance of expressing their critical views. They commented that the experience helped them to re-evaluate their career plans. They also made many friends of various nationalities and started to build a global professional network. Keita Morikawa University of Tokyo, Medicine, Junior Stanford University: Medical Exchange and Discovery The life and programs with medical students gathered from the United States and Asia were full of new awareness every day. I had an opportunity to “shadow” a clinician at Stanford Medicine Emergency Care, but the opportunity to ask about his perspective on the medical system in the United States was invaluable. I also realize that public health and socioeconomic challenges remain serious issues in many countries of the world. I would like to make efforts to “create a healthier world” with colleagues from all over the world I met in this program. Mayu Yamamoto University of Tokyo, Agriculture, Junior Harvard University Summer School: Crisis and Strategy in US Foreign Policy Classmates in the foreign policy course were quite diverse and included regular Harvard students, former soldiers of the Iraq War, and journalists. Sometimes a fierce discussion took place during the class. It gave me much confidence that I was able to successfully survive this challenging summer school course. Although it was only three weeks, I learned a great deal in addition to the new academic knowledge and improved English language skills. I would like to express my gratitude to FUTI for the generous support to aid in this study. Highlights from U.S. Students’ Reports The ten students from U.S. universities invariably reported that they gained valuable knowledge or research skills at UTokyo labs and classrooms. Outside the campus, they enjoyed company visits and traditional culture like tea ceremony through which they developed a respect for the unique characteristics of Japanese society and culture. They hope to put the summer experience to good use in their future studies and career. William Yarinsky Rice University, mechanical engineering, sophomore University of Tokyo Research Internship Program (UTRIP) Prof. Hideaki Murayama Lab At Prof. Murayama’s lab on the solar boat project, I worked closely with a team of UTokyo students and learned a great deal from it. I hope that this experience will help me gain employment at companies both inside and outside of the United States, especially Japan. I believe I was seen by the lab colleagues as a student and engineer who can embrace cultural differences, solve problems, and become an asset to a project. The experience will benefit me greatly not only to my life as an engineer, but also to my life as a student, and as a person. I feel grateful to FUTI and UTRIP which made this invaluable experience possible. Beatrice Ciabattoni UC Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Sustainable Environmental Design, Freshman IARU, Global Summer Program (GSP): Sustainable Urban Development With classmates coming from the top universities all over the world, the experience of studying at UTokyo was, while challenging, very enriching. Our team had to propose a solution to stop the flooding of the Arasaki district in Japan. This trip was an eye-opening experience and made me feel so fulfilled …I will put this knowledge to good use in my future studies and career and hope to see all these incredible people again in another country. Thank you to FUTI for allowing and supporting me in this adventure and strongly contributing to my development and positively impacting my future. Articles in this newsletter:

The 9th Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture/SSU Forum (hosted by UTokyo Policy Alternatives Research Institute and the Macmillan Center at Yale Univesirty, and sponsored by FUTI) was held on 19th May at University of Tokyo Ito International Research Center. The guest speaker was Professor Steven Wilkinson at Yale University. There were 34 participants from University of Tokyo and other universities. Professor Wilkinson is Nilekani Professor of India & South Asian Studies and Chair of the Political Science Department at Yale. He received a B.A in History from University of Edinburgh and an A.M in History from Duke University, and his Ph.D. in Political Science from M.I.T. His research interests are the modern history of India and he is the author of several books such as Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence (Harvard University Press, 2015), which the Telegraph (Kolkata) named one of its 2015 non-fiction Book of the Year. After the introductory remarks by Professor Kiichi Fujiwara, Director of the Policy Alternatives Research Institute (PARI) Professor Wilkinson delivered his talk titled “War and Political Change.” In the lecture, he addressed the question on how the experiences of individuals and groups joining in major wars and conflicts affect their subsequent participation in political violence and conflicts. He focused on two cases: (1) the behavior of Indian World War Two Veterans in the ethnic cleansing during the partition of India in1947; and, (2) the role French soldiers, who had participated in American War of Independence, played in the early stage of French Revolution. By drawing on massive amounts of historical documents and data, he laid out his case for the apparent correlation between fighting in a historical war and the continued participation in subsequent historical conflicts. In making the connection, Professor Wilkinson was able to provide a new perspective on how the experiences and behavior of individuals shape the development of critical historical conflicts, opening up a topic that has hitherto been underappreciated in the theorizing of comparative politics. The thoughtful comments by Professor Ken Ishida (Professor of Chiba University) opened up a lively and productive discussion with the active participation from the floor audience consisting of faculty members as well as graduate students and researchers. The lecture ended in great success running more than 30 minutes beyond schedule. As a new experiment, Professor Wilkinson kindly held office hours for the graduate students at the Institute of Social Sciences. The six graduate students from University of Tokyo and Waseda University who participated in the over two-hour session were able to receive advice on their research topics and on studying abroad as well as discuss the state of political science learning at top U.S. universities, particularly Yale. The meeting proved to an invaluable experience for the young researchers, many of whom expressing great satisfaction in having such be a rare opportunity on campus. ＊Dr. Yamakawa Kenjiro was Yale University’s first Japanese student who graduated with a Bachelor of Physics in 1875. After his graduation, he led an accomplished career as a renowned physicist and professor at the University of Tokyo. Later, he served as the President of the Imperial University of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kyushu and devoted himself to the development of higher education in modern Japan. The Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lectures have been delivered by Yale faculty members in Tokyo since 2013. Author: Todai-Yale Initiative Staff Articles in this newsletter:

On October 2, Prof. Norio Matsuki gave a lecture primarily for University of Tokyo alumni on the theme of “Sleep and Sleeping Pills” at Tiger Pacific Capital, LP located in mid-Manhattan. Professor Matsuki is Special Professor at the Vision Research Center, the University of Tokyo. He is an Executive Vice-President and board member of the University of Tokyo and also serves on the Board of Friends of UTokyo. He has been a member of the Japan Pharmaceutical Society and the Japanese Pharmacological Society, and served as President (Rijicho) and Chairman of the Year (Nen kaicho) at both associations. The lecture began with the question “Why is sleep necessary?”. He explained that the sleeping time and form vary largely, depending on the animal species. He continued to discuss the role and quality of sleep in animals. In addition, focusing on neurotransmission, he explained the mechanism of sleeping and stated that the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission arousal-inducing nervous system and their inhibitory nervous system is important for sound sleep. Further, he discussed the main types of hypnotic drugs (benzodiazepine, orexin antagonist, melatonin -receptor agonists, etc.) and how they promote sleep. He introduced certain surprising background on how each medicine was discovered and developed. According to available data, the prescription rate of antidepressant drugs is comparatively low in Japan, while the prescription rate of hypnotics is higher than those of other countries. Prof. Matsuki pointed out that in comparison to antidepressants, sleep-inducing drugs may encounter less resistance among Japanese. He also referred to results of experiments on the relation between memory and alcohol, commenting that fear memory is reinforced by alcohol intake. Prof. Matsuki recommended that before seeking the help of sleeping pills, one may try other measures such as improving the environment of sleep (light, vibration, and bedding), or to help the sleep routine by focusing more on the waking experience such as getting more exposure to sunlight when waking up. However, he cautioned that when the cause of sleeplessness is due to a condition such as depression, its treatment must take priority. He concluded his lecture with a message that it is a good practice not to be overly concerned with having high-quality sleep. Dr. Matsuki’s lecture was followed by a stimulating question and answer session reflecting the fact that sleep is a topic of interest to all. At closing, Mr. Junji Takegami, Managing Partner of Tiger Pacific Capital LP, thanked the professor for a very successful lecture. Author: Kaoru Kakinuma Translation: FUTI Articles in this newsletter:

On November 3rd, Prof. Ito gave the above-referenced lecture at Tiger Pacific Capital, LP in mid-Manhattan. The event was sponsored by Friends of UTokyo and Satsuki-kai America. Dr. Ito is a professor at Columbia University and during the summer term serves as Senior Professor at Policy Research Graduate School University in Japan. Professor Ito received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Hitotsubashi University and a doctorate in economics from Harvard University. He is Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo and Hitotsubashi University. He currently serves as Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and Director of the Program on Public Pension and Sovereign Funds at the Columbia Business School’s Japan Economic Management Institute (CJEB). For Dr. Ito’s background and publications, see http://www3.grips.ac.jp/~t-ito/. The lecture, “Issues in the Political Situation and Economic Policy in Japan after the General Election” was opened with greetings by Dr. Masaaki Yamada, President of Friends of UTokyo. In his presentation Prof. Ito discussed a wide range of topics including 1) the results of the general election in Japan held on October 22, 2) monetary policies in Japan and the US, and 3) the influence of the political and economic situation in the US and Japan on various topics. In addition, he addressed more specific issues about Japan which are of concern to New York investors such as, “Will there be major changes in Japan’s monetary and fiscal policy?”, “Will there be further promotion of Abenomics?”, and “Does the assertion to support constitutional revision have a positive effect on economic policy?” The lecture was attended by alumni of the University of Tokyo and Hitotsubashi University which is the alma mater of Mr. Ito. It was a great success with attendance exceeding the capacity. Participants were active in professions in diverse institutions such as banks, trading companies, hedge funds, universities (physics, computer science), and medicine. Questions were raised from various perspectives reflecting the diverse audience. The Q & A session lasted over one hour, exceeding the originally scheduled 30 minutes. Tiger Pacific Capital LP Managing Partner Mr. Junji Takegami gave closing remarks, thanking Dr. Ito and attendees. One of the attendees who is a banker commented, “It was very valuable to be able to exchange ideas with a distinguished economist like Professor Ito about the issues which were unclear to me before.” Mr. Ito’s article series in Forbes Japan, “Let’s Understand Japanese Economy Through Numbers” can be accessed here: https://forbesjapan.com/author/detail/290 Articles in this newsletter:

In November 2017, FUTI launched its eighth annual campaign. FUTI has grown steadily over the years and contributed to the globalization of UTokyo. Since its inception in 2007 FUTI has cumulatively supported 68 UTokyo students who studied in the US and 67 US students who undertook internships or studies at UTokyo, providing them with invaluable experiences. The programs were made possible solely because of the generosity of supporters like yourself. Click here for the greetings from President Masaaki Yamada and Vice President Yuichiro Kuwama. Articles in this newsletter:

FUTI has received a grant from Ito Foundation USA this year, in continuation from a grant received last year. This grant was introduced in 2015/16 with the aim to financially assist University of Tokyo students to study in the U.S. For the first term of the Ito Foundation USA-FUTI scholarship, we received $200,000 and in the current fiscal year for the second term, we received $110,000. Additionally, in order for scholarship recipients to continue their studies for the second year, the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. has not only given a grant directly to FUTI but also reached out to the US universities where the recipients are attending and awarded grants to those schools. The next largest contribution comes from the Shintech, Inc. Trust Fund. The contract was renewed for five years in FY2014/15 and this year we have received approximately $35,000. Shintech has been continually making contributions for many years. The number of donors has been mostly level. The numbers are: 54 in 2014/15, 68 in 2015/16, and 65 this year. On the other hand, the total amount in donations fell short at $54,000, significantly less than $80,000 from last year. The reason for this gap is the absence of mega-donors this year. FUTI is profoundly grateful for Ito Foundation USA and Shintech, Inc. for standing by the FUTI mission and for their generous support. We would also like to give our heartfelt thanks to the many individual donors who have supported our activities. Friends of UTokyo, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. 501(c)(3) status requires that 33% of total donations come from individual donors. In other words, without individual donations FUTI would not be able to continue receiving large grants from Ito Foundation USA and Shintech. This year we unfortunately had to refuse a portion of a grant offered by the Ito Foundation to maintain the required ration. Collecting enough individual donation as a solid base so that we may receive large grants will be an important agenda item moving forward. Without the support from everyone, there would be no Ito Foundation USA-FUTI Scholarship or FUTI scholarship programs. I humbly request the continued gracious support from all of our donors. Over the past several years, FUTI has grown by leaps and bounds and continued to cultivate its programming. We are proud of our scholarship and research grant programs and we are thrilled to see the recipients work hard and thrive in their academic endeavors. As a University of Tokyo alum, it is my joy to strengthen the presence of UTokyo in the global community where competition is fierce among well-known universities and leading universities from advanced countries. On behalf of FUTI, I give my deepest gratitude to all who help support sending these exceptionally accomplished students into the global community. Yuichiro Kuwama Vice-president, Treasurer Friends of UTokyo Articles in this newsletter:

FUTI Annual Board and Advisory Committee Joint Meeting, October 1 (Sunday), 12 pm-5pm Board members present: Masaaki Yamada (chair), Koichi Hamada, Yuichiro Kuwama, Norio Matsuki, Shigenori Matsushita, Nobuko Sakurai Advisory Committee (AC) member present: Kenzi Karasaki (via telecommunication), Hisashi Kobayashi, Geeta Mehta, Iwao Ojima, Yuriko Suzuki, K.Y. Tung Other present: Masako Osako FUTI’s Annual Board and Advisory Committee joint meeting was held at the UTokyo New York office in New York, commencing at 12pm on October 1, 2017. After welcome greetings, Mr. M. Yamada (chair) introduced Mr. N. Matsuki, Executive Vice President of the University of Tokyo and two new ex-officio members of the Advisory Committee, Ms. Y. Suzuki (President of Satsukikai Amerika) and Mr. K. Karasaki (President of San Francisco Akamon-kai). Ms. Osako, acting Secretary, presented the minutes of the Annual Board meetings held on October 1, 2016 and April 23, 2017. The minutes were unanimously approved by the Board. UTokyo Today Mr. Matsuki provided updates on various topics related to UTokyo, including the subjects: (1) the university at its 140th anniversary, (2) recent designation as one of the “National Universities of excellence” (指定国立大学), (3) the recent declining (46th) position in the Times Higher Education Raking, and (4) the completion of the university library’s annex in July 2017. After the present status of the university, Mr. Matsuki stressed President Gonokami’s aspiration/hope that the UTokyo will contribute to the future of the globe and the mankind in a significant way.(See slides “Recent Developments at UTokyo” [in Japanese]) Financial Statements for FY 16/17 and Related Items Mr. Kuwama, Treasurer, reported the highlights of financial results for FY2016-17. Revenues Total Revenues amounted to $199K for the fiscal year ending June 2017 [noted as FY 2016/2017(Ending June)] whereas it was $318K in FY 2015/2016 (ending June) and $117K in FY 2014/2015 (ending June). This year’s decline from the last year was due primarily decreased grant from ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. Total Revenues for FY 2016-17 include: Contribution from Ito Foundation USA in the amount of $110K (compared to $200K last year) Trust distribution of $35K from Shintech Contribution of $54K from general public (in the absence of major donors unlike last two years) Expenses: Scholarships and grants Scholarships/grants were given in the following categories: FUTI summer global leadership scholarship in the amount of $61K FUTI grants to two universities in the total amount of 18.5K Scholarship under the Ito USA -FUTI program in the amount of $138K Other Matters Operating reserve amount at $230K is satisfactory. Current “Operating reserve” to “annual budget” ratio of approximately 100% is within the recommended ratio range of 50% to 100%. Mr. Kuwama reported that for FYE 6/2017 donations from UTokyo alumni in general contribution [“小口”] (that excludes large donations of $20k to $30k) totaled $37.6k which was in line with the result of previous five years (2012-2016). Board members thanked Mr. Kuwama and approved the analysis. Scholarship Programs in the Context of FUTI’s Overall Financial Plan Dr. Matsushita explained the Public Support Ratio (33.3%) issues involved in FUTI’s requests for donation from ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. (the Foundation). After discussing several options, the participants agreed with the following conclusion. The Board will review the financial plan of FUTI in relation to the public support ratio and make a decision each year as to the solicitation of gift from the Foundation. The recommended strategy includes i) to keep the ratio higher than 1/3 as long as possible, and ii) hopefully to make the ratio gradually improve through FUTI’s effort to increase general public donations at all categories (that is., small, medium to large donations). Research/Training Grants Mr. M. Yamada provided updates on FUTI’s grant programs including an overview of the 2017-2018 recipients, the Columbia-UTokyo program and the Yale-UTokyo exchange of scholars under Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture series. Outstanding Operational Issues for FUTI and New Directions Mr. Yamada began this segment of the meeting by saying “giving as many as 30 scholarships in 2017, FUTI is experiencing a growing pain and needs some operational adjustments.” Several operational issues were discussed including the following: Treasurer’s Functions and Related Matter In view of the growing size and complexity of FUTI’s operations, the board recommended that FUTI requests Amy Iwazumi to handle certain book keeping and record keeping tasks, while Mr. Kuwama would continue to handle certain responsibilities which he is best suited to perform. In addition, Mrs. Sakurai kindly offered to help Mr. Kuwama for writing thank-you letters to donors. Accounting Firms Mr. Yamada reported that in early September a few FUTI staff visited two accounting firms. FUTI is in the middle of evaluating these and other firms in terms of the depth of their expertise in non-profit accounting, the quality of customer service, and costs. FUTI hopes to make a decision shortly on the accounting firm. Outstanding Issues on Scholarship Programs On the basis of a suggestion made by the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A., Mr. Matsushita proposed to establish an Ito Foundation USA-FUTI Ikuei Scholarship (IF Ikuei Scholarship)—provisional name –within the existing Ito Foundation USA-FUTI scholarship program. The proposal was approved by the Board. <Concept> The proposed concept includes the following features: Program size – one winner in 2018; Award duration – one semester or more in an undergraduate or master degree program at a US university (support being limited to a maximum of two years); Selection criterion – the applicant’s economic situation will be taken into consideration; Selection criterion – priority will be given to those who had not had an opportunity to study aboard (this preference is likely to exclude “super elites” who can easily obtain scholarships from other sources); Selection criteria – the applicant’s intention/determination to contribute to society and the realistic feasibility of his/her plan will be a major element of consideration; Eligibility: The program will be open to the students and alumni of UTokyo and any other universities in Japan; An interview with finalists will be required. Report by the AC Committee Mr. H. Kobayashi, chair of the AC Committee, expressed his pleasure for having two ex-officio members Y. Suzuki and K. Karasaki…
Read more

My name is Akiko Sokai. I am a volunteer for Friends of UTokyo. When I moved to New York in the spring of 2016, I was asked to serve as a co-administrator of FUTI’s Facebook page. Among other assignments, I am in charge of FUTI’s Facebook series, “Report from the Scene/Field: From FUTI Scholarship Recipients.” In “Report from the Scene/Field”, students in the FUTI Global Summer Leadership and the Ito Foundation USA-FUTI programs share their notes and photos with readers about their study abroad. I read with pleasure and excitement the reports from UTokyo students about their developing friendship with classmates from all over the world and the lively classroom interaction at US universities which is different from common Japanese practice. US students share with readers their fresh excitement at encountering Japanese culture and lifestyle for the first time. I respond to each student’s post in the “Comment” section of his/her post. My degree is from the International Relations Department (Kokusai Kankei-ron) of UTokyo, but I did not have a chance to study abroad. I experienced non-Japanese cultures first hand, as I moved to U.K. and then to U.S.A, with my husband who was assigned to overseas posts. I sometimes think that had I experienced study abroad in my student days, my value system could have been different from what it is now. I believe the experience of studying outside Japan is a valuable basis for FUTI scholarship students to become “global leaders” in the future. Currently I lead a busy life taking care of our infant daughter. Sometimes when I am awakened by her crying in the middle of the night (yonaki), I take advantage of a quiet moment and work on the Report from the Field project. If I wasn’t given the opportunity to work on this project, I would miss the pleasure of stimulating exchanges with students, receiving words of encouragement from FUTI directors, and being exposed firsthand to the challenges and possibilities of the globalization of Japanese education. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for all of those who understand and support this project. Author: Akiko Sokai A few words from the administration Dr. Koichi Hamada, FUTI Director, and Professor Emeritus at Yale University and UTokyo, comments: “The Report from the Field” plays an important role in FUTI’s scholarship administration since every year as many as 20 students directly share their joys and challenges of study abroad experience with fellow students, FUTI supporters, and staff. We are grateful to Ms. Sokai who manages the program and encourage each student who reports his/her experience.” Dr. Masako Osako, member of the Scholarship Committee, remarks: Ms. Sokai has fine professional credentials with diplomas from London College of Education, Graduate School at the Institute of International Education in London (Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language) and School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (MA in Japanese Applied Linguistics). Despite her busy life as a young mother, she is making a significant contribution to FUTI’s scholarship program.” Translation: FUTI Articles in this newsletter: