Category: Newsletter 20

FUTI has recently begun accepting scholarship applications for 2019. Information is available on friendsofutokyo.org. The scholarships are offered to qualified students of UTokyo aspiring to study in universities in the U.S. and students of universities in the U.S. interested in studying at UTokyo, regardless of nationality. FUTI Global Leadership scholarships are for students interested in summer programs. In 2018, scholarships were awarded to 18 UTokyo and U.S. students. This program is funded by donations from individual UTokyo alumni and by Shintech, Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. in Japan. ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI scholarships were awarded in 2018 to 12 students planning to undertake longer-term study abroad. This program is supported by ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. whose president is Mr. Masatoshi Ito. He is the founder and chairman of the Ito Scholarship Foundation (in Japan) and honorary chairman of Seven and i-Holdings Co., Ltd. We welcome applications from interested students. Articles in this newsletter:

In November 2018, FUTI launched its ninth 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 approximately 100 UTokyo students to study in the US and 75 US students to undertake internships or studies at UTokyo, providing them with invaluable experiences. The programs were made possible solely because of the generosity of supporters. Click here for the greetings from President Masaaki Yamada and Vice President Yuichiro Kuwama. Articles in this newsletter:

In the summer of 2018, FUTI’s Facebook Team created the series “Reports from FUTI Scholarship Students (2012-16)”. Of the approximately 100 former FUTI scholarship recipients, nearly 30 responded, of which 22 gave permission to have their stories and photos posted on FB. Many of them reported that the experiences enabled by the FUTI scholarship were eye-opening and significantly influenced their career/life planning. Facebook analytics show that these posts reached 200 – 1400 viewers. Many of the “likes” were from former FUTI scholarship recipients, creating an opportunity for them to respond to fellow recipients’ posts. Many recipients have also expressed interest in establishing a “FUTI alumni” group. The submitted stories were nearly equally divided between students from USA and Japan. A large majority of them are pursuing a PhD program in US or European universities including Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Oxford and UTokyo, while about 20% are working in private sector industries ranging from investment banking, IT, automotive and advertisement. Admittedly, the number of scholarship recipients who sent us their essays is not statistically significant. However, their posts provide us with a glimpse of their views and current experiences. The sentiments that appeared frequently include the following: “Experience under FUTI scholarship helped me to re-direct (re-shape) my career.” “English language courses are valuable especially for those students who had not had time to improve their English proficiency because of their extracurricular engagements and community services.” “I am inspired by posts from FUTI alumni about their various activities. I hope the series will be repeated.” “I would welcome gatherings of former FUTI students in major cities.” A few excerpts from posts (in) are below. We strongly urge you to visit www.facebook.com/friendsofutokyo for full reports: Mr. Shigeru ChibaFUTI Scholarship: English language training course at UC Berkeley (2014)Currently 6th year student at UTokyo Medical School In 2014, when I received a FUTI scholarship to study at a summer session of the University of California, Berkeley, I was a sophomore before going into the School of Medicine. I remember that I wrote a report after the summer session, saying “I want to be a top-notch doctor who can treat people of all kinds across the national border.” This thought (desire?) is still alive in my mind. The diversity of human existence that touched me in the United States during the summer of 2014 is always swirling in my mind and keeps me motivated. Motivated by my experience in UC Berkeley, this past year, trying to challenge myself, I applied for a clinical practice at the University of Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital. (Please read my report HERE.) During the practice, I noticed differences in tests and drugs provided in Japanese and Australian health care systems which reflect respective patients’ race and diseases. However, at the same time, I became keenly aware of the commonly shared belief that “the medical practitioners should do their best for the benefit of their patients in any country.” Ms. Eri FurusawaFUTI Scholarship: ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship Program (2016-18)UTokyo Engineering, 2016: Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation/Urban Program, 2018 With the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship I was able to immerse myself in the study of Urban Planning in one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world. At the graduation ceremony this May, I was humbled to receive the American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award, a prize granted to one student in the graduating class of the Urban Planning master’s program for outstanding performance. After graduation, I have been working in the Urban Design and Zoning Division at the New York City Department of City Planning. This position enables me to marry my architecture education from the University of Tokyo and my planning expertise from Columbia, and I will strive to absorb everything I can in order to contribute to Japanese cities in the future. Mr. David BurkeFUTI Scholarship: FUTI Global Leadership Award for UTRIP (2016)Indiana University, 2017Currently enrolled in PhD Program, Chemistry, Northwestern University I found the UTRIP program at Mitsuhiko Shionoya’s bioinorganic chemistry laboratory to be a highly rewarding and beneficial experience that shaped my future research interests and career plans. I’m currently enrolled in the Chemistry PhD Program at the International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, conducting research under the supervision of Professor William Dichtel. Our work is focused on designing new membrane technologies capable of performing environmentally relevant chemical separations such as water purification and desalination. After the completion of the FB series, we have received several messages from “FUTI alumni” about the FB series, suggesting their interest in creating a “FUTI alumni” community. I am inspired to read FB posts about the activities of FUTI award recipients, spreading from the East Coast to the West Coast. It is impressive that FUTI has managed to select many students who are not only highly talented but ambitious. I am interested in organizing a FUTI alumni group or gathering. They would help us develop a sense of community, going beyond simply reading and admiring fellow FUTI alumni’s fantastic accomplishments. I look forward to further FB series for and about FUTI alumni. In reading FUTI’s FB series, I was amazed to find that many fellow scholarship recipients are active in a wide variety of fields, from academia, research, and art to medicine. Their stories have greatly inspired me. It would be difficult to image their career paths, had they stayed in the UTokyo without going abroad. When I took a summer school course in a US university several years ago, I was not clearly aware how the experience could impact my life. I hope that there will develop a closer interaction among “FUTI alumni” as well as a more extensive interaction between them and UTokyo students. Articles in this newsletter:

Written by Prof. Y. Ikeuchi OnSeptember 28, 2018, Prof. Teruo Fujii, Executive Director and Vice President of theUniversity of Tokyo (Professor of Institute of Industrial Science, UTokyo), gave a lecture titled, “Technology to Explorethe Ocean—toward attaining sustainable development (of ocean resources) in theera of digital advancements” at the Tiger Pacific Capital office near GrandCentral Station in New York City. Before the lecture, Dr. Fujii briefly discussed recent developments at the UTokyo, including: the university’s annual ranking in the Times Higher Education. Ranking has risen this year from 46th to 42nd; the Division of External Relations was created, merging the Alumni Affairs section (which is in charge of alumni relations) and External Relations (in charge of fundraising);and creation of the Online Community TFT (Todai for Tomorrow) for UTokyo alumni and supporters. The professor’s lecture began with a video showing the situation in the bottom of the deep sea. With the light shining from the deep-sea craft (深海艇), nearly everything looked the same color. Obviously, this world without any sunlight was very different from what is seen on land. He explained that even with such colorlessness in the deep ocean, there are a wide variety of organisms that live off chemicals found within the scalding liquid rising out of the hydrothermal vents of the seafloor. Stressing the importance of exploring this frontier, Dr.Fujii commented that there are a wide variety of mineral and energy sources on the seafloor that can be useful for the sustainable development of resources for mankind. However, he also explained it is extremely difficult to conduct a survey of the ocean, because it is deep, wide, highly pressurized, and pitch black—all contributing to the complications/difficulties of deep-sea exploration. Prof. Fujii explained that the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), a robot on the cutting-edge of technology, has been developed for deep sea exploration. Japan has been developing superior robots of this type that are world-class. Professor Fujii knows this well—as a student, he worked on the development of an AUV called Twin Berger with Prof. Tamaki Ura. The audience also learned about the development of sensors loaded onto the AUV. Since there is a limit as to how much weight can be loaded onto a robot, researchers aim at developing sensors that are as light and sensitive as possible. Prof. Fujii narrated his first-hand experience in developing a miniature high-performance sensor using micro-fluid device technology which allows the submerged robot to automatically make on-the-spot analysis of the pH, metal ion, DNA, and biomolecules.  Finally, he discussed a sensor-network called OMNI which is used to explore the ocean with the global coverage of 306 million square meters. This sensor floats on the ocean surface and reports on the conditions of the sea. Designed as an open-platform, it can be produced at a low-cost of under $200 per device. It is hoped that the general public would be able to float these inexpensive sensors creating a high density network to cover a vast area. After the lecture, participants askedProf. Fujii many questions. They spanned a wide variety of topics leading to alively discussion, not only about the ocean but also on climate change and thefuture of the University of Tokyo. Articles in this newsletter:

On November 16, Prof. Shohei Koide of New York University School of Medicine and NYU Lagone Health (BA,1986; PhD,1991, School of Agriculture, UTokyo,) gave a talk titled, “Development of next-generation cancer treatment and the role of protein design” as part of the FUTI lecture series. Despite concerns for attendance due to the heavy snowfall the day before, more than 25 people from a wide range of age and profession attended this timely topic directly related to this year’s Nobel Prizes in Medicine or Physiology and in Chemistry. Prof. Koide first discussed the checkpoint inhibitors and biologics which were the subjects of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. He explained how the checkpoint inhibitors, which offer a treatment approach markedly different from conventional anti-cancer drugs, are radically changing cancer treatment. He also commented on several related issues: how the effective application of this new treatment method is at present limited to only certain types of cancer and patients; currently  issues exist surrounding the determination of pricing of non-conventional treatments; Phage Display, the object of the 2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry, can be used to create and evolve new proteins and antibodies; how this and related technologies have transformed the development of antibodies and other biologics therapeutics. In the second half, Prof. Koide discussed the efforts of NYU Lagone Medical Center in bridging basic research and translational applications in this highly competitive field, where huge pharmaceutical companies invest in research and development. Responding to audience questions,he also shared how he came to conduct research in this exciting field in United States. During the lecture and Q & A session, participants asked questions reflecting their various backgrounds, resulting in a lively exchange of viewpoints. Following the lecture, several participants have shared their impressions with the program organizers: Obviously the lecture itself was exciting but being a graduate student/young researcher working at a US university, I was inspired by the lives of Dr. Koide and his wife who, after arriving from Japan to the US in their early thirties, jointly initiated a completely original area of research (such as monobody) and become the world authorities in the field. I acutely felt the desire to embark on a truly original research which no one can do, taking advantage of the opportunities available in the U.S. As I am working on a wide range of basic research and experiments in clinical application involving antibody/monobody, I found the lecture highly inspiring. I am also keen on doing research that leads to practical treatments as Prof. Koide does. Also, in relation to my career as a graduate student, I learned a great deal from the story of Dr. Koide who runs a laboratory in the field. I strongly felt that Dr. Koide and his wife are pursuing this cutting-edge research for the good of mankind. I would like to thank him for taking the time to share their story with us so that we could vicariously experience the “romance” of their struggle/experience over a few decades. I look forward to seeing the clinical applications to be generated from these antibody/monobody “libraries.” I had the impression that the US academic system is better able to provide young talented researchers with unique research opportunities, whereas it is difficult to identify promising young talents and research themes in the existing academic environment in Japan. I was stuck by the realization that this difference between the US and Japan might exist not only in the academic system but also in business. Author: Takegami Articles in this newsletter:

Professor Steven Smith(Department of Political Science Yale University) May 8, 2018May 9, 2018 The 11th Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture at the University of Tokyo was delivered by Professor Steven Smith and consisted of two talks: one at Komaba Campus on 8th May and the other at Hongo Campus on 9th. Professor Steven Smith, our guest lecturer, is Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and has taught at Yale since 1984. At Yale, he has served as the Director of Graduate Studies in Political Science, the Director of the Special Program in the Humanities, Acting Chair of Judaic Studies, and as the Master of Branford College. He is one of the leading experts in political theory and has specialized in classical and modern political philosophy; in particular, the problem of religion and politics and theories of representative government. He has published numerous books, including Hegel’s Critique of Liberalism(1989), and has received several awards such as, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize and the Lex Hixon ’63 Award for Teaching Excellence in the Political Science. The lecture held at Komaba Campus on 8th May was titled “Political Philosophy and the Dark Arts”. Around 20 participants from the University of Tokyo and other universities attended the talk, which was hosted by the University of Tokyo Humanities Center (HMC) and the University of Tokyo Center of Philosophy (UTCP)). Following the introductory remarks by Professor Takahiro Nakajima (Professor of Interdisciplinary Culture, the Institute for Advance Studies on Asia), Professor Smith started his talk by pointing out that the creation of political order is rarely achieved through peaceful agreement and consensus as claimed by the social contract tradition. Instead, it is more often a result of violence, conquest, and force. He explained that the Dark Arts such as policing, intelligence gathering, homeland security, and espionage have become indispensable to maintain the stability of modern states. He pointed out that these Dark Arts often accompany despicable activities like invasion of privacy and torturing defendants according to the social circumstances. After the explanation of the concept of Dark Arts and its societal impacts, Professor Smith addressed the question of how to think of the Dark Arts and whether conducting of such Arts are socially justifiable, and if it is justifiable, in which social context could such Arts be justified. He stressed that the political education was essential not only for those who are in politics but also for individual members of the society in order to judge these political issues surrounding the execution of the Dark Arts. He concluded that the citizens are responsible for cultivating the ability of political judgement which is not restricted to the demand of keeping the consistency, but rather to be sensitive and to know how to adapt oneself to changing situations (the praise of inconsistency as is cited from Kolakovski). In order to do so, Professor Smith emphasized the importance of political responsibility of the everyday citizens: that they are the subject to claim for the ownership of the political sphere and in making political judgment by asking “what do I do?” in given circumstances. The 45-minute talk was followed by a particularly lively discussion thanks to the undergraduate students, who had voluntarily organized study sessions beforehand and came to the meeting well prepared and eager to participate. “Machiavelli’s Utopianism” was the title of Hongo Campus on 9th May. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Institute of Business Law and Comparative Law and Politics (IBC) of the Graduate Schools of Law and Politics as their 254th Comparative Law and Politics Seminar. 11 participants, mostly graduate students and political science faculty members, attended the talk. After the opening remarks by Professor Yoshie Kawade (Professor of Political Theory, School of  Politics), Professor Smith explained that the image of Machiavelli as a supreme realist was fabricated by later scholars such as the German historian, Friedrich Meinecke. The Prince, Machiavelli’s best-known work, appears on the surface as an advisory book on princely behaviors and rules pertaining to statecraft. Professor Smith, however, shed a different light on the book, arguing that Machiavelli expressed his longing for a savior – an exceptional leader who personified virtu,strength and charisma – to rescue and redeem Italy from its degradation. An hour lecture was followed by an animated discussion. After the lecture, Professor Smith agreed to continue the discussion with graduate students and junior scholars at a more relaxed and informal setting (“office hours”), which provided an invaluable opportunity for them to discuss broader issues of their interest Both lectures turned out to be as a great success. Apart from exposing members of the UTokyo community to insightful perspectives in political philosophy, the meetings provided an invaluable opportunity for UTokyo faculty and students to reinforce and expand ties between Professor Smith. The Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lectures are made possible by the financial support of the Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) and cooperation from the McMillan Center, Yale University. *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. Authors: Yamakawa Kenjiro Memorial Lecture staff Articles in this newsletter:

Board members present: Masaaki Yamada (chair), Teruo Fujii, Yuichiro Kuwama, Shigenori Matsushita, Nobuko Sakurai Advisory Committee (AC) members present: Tai Hasegawa, Kenzi Karasaki (via telecommunication), Takatoshi Ito, Hisashi Kobayashi, Takashi Komoto,  Geeta Mehta, Iwao Ojima, Yasuo Okamoto, Yuriko Suzuki, Junji Takegami, K.Y. Tung Other present: Masako Osako (acting secretary) FUTI’s Annual Board and Advisory Committee joint meeting was held at the UTokyo New York office in New York, commencing at 12pm on September 29, 2018. After welcome greetings, Mr. M. Yamada (chair) introduced Mr. T. Fujii, Executive Director and Vice President of the University of Tokyo and three new members of the Advisory Committee, T. Ito, J. Takegami, and T. Hasegawa (President of Stanford-Silicon Valley Akamon-kai). Ms. Osako, acting Secretary, presented the minutes of the Annual Board meetings held on October 1, 2017 and April 16, 2018. The minutes were unanimously approved by the Board. UTokyo Today Mr. Fujii provided updates on various topics relating to UTokyo, including the following: (1) projects commemorating the university’s 140th anniversary (e.g., major renovation/expansion of the Hongo campus library), (2) initiatives resulting from the designation of “National Universities of Excellence (国立指定大学),  3) the creation of the Division of External Relations (社会連携本部) headed by Mr. Fujii, and (4) the just announced UTokyo’s 42th position (up from the 46th last year) in the Times University Ranking.  In respect to (2), Mr. Fujii stressed the university management’s philosophy/stance, “From Un-ei （運営, Administration） to Keiei （経営, Management）” which is designed to leverage on the advantages generated by the National University of Excellence designation. Financial Statements for FY2017-18 and related matters Mr. Kuwama, Treasurer, reported the highlights of financial results for FY2017-18. Revenues Total Revenues amounted to $313K in FY2017/18 [in comparison with $199K [in FY 2016/2017] and $292K [in FY 2015/2016]. Total Revenues for FY 2017-18 include: Contribution from Ito Foundation USA in the amount of $216K [up from $110k in FY2016-17] Shintech trust distribution of $36K [which is nearly equal to $35K in 2016-17] $61K from general public [up from $54k in FY2016-17] Scholarships and grants Scholarships/grants were given in the following categories: Total $270K FUTI summer global leadership scholarship in the amount of $60K FUTI grants to two universities in the total amount of $19.5K Scholarship under the Ito USA -FUTI program in the amount of $190K Other Matters: Operating reserve amount at $248K is satisfactory. Current “Operating reserve” ($248K) to “annual budget “($296K ) ratio of 84% is within the recommended ratio range of 50% to 100%. Mr. Kuwama reported that for FY 2017/2018 donations from general public totaled $61k which was in line with the result of previous five FYs (2013-2017) that ranged from $54k to $93.8k with the average of $64.6K. The $93.8K (FY2014-2015) was attained due to a few large donations. He noted that UTokyo alumni donation to FUTI has been essentially flat over the past several years. Mr. Kuwama commented that in respect to the IRS’ 33.3% rule, FUTI’s percentage of 34.9% in FY2017-18 was above the 33.3% level。 Scholarship Programs Mr. S. Matsushita, chair of the Scholarship Committee, provided updates on scholarship related matters. FUTI provided 18 Global Leadership Awards and 12 Ito USA-FUTI scholarship awards in 2018 (which included one Ikuei scholarship).  With the help of Amy Vaida, FUTI is undertaking a major revision of the online scholarship application and selection programs. Scholarship Committee will meet on Saturday, March 16, 2019 for application reviews. Additionally, Mr. Matsushita proposed (1) possible simplification of the award students’ reporting system (currently, FUTI requires from students a mandatory report and provides an option for voluntary Facebook posting) and (2) a “mentor program” (provisional name) involving FUTI Board/AC/Scholarship members (as mentors) and FUTI award students as mentees. 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. Report by the AC Committee Mr. H. Kobayashi, chair of the AC Committee, introduced two new members and one new ex-officio member who joined the FUTI Board/AC meeting for the first time. As mentioned previously, they are: T. Ito, J. Takegami and T.Hasegawa, respectively. Mr. Kobayashi discussed various contributions AC members have made during the 2017-18, including supporting UTokyo’s Taiken programs (in DC and New York) and advising UTokyo students who visited New York, Berkeley, etc. The Board unanimously approved the following appointments: President/Director of University Relations Masaaki Yamada Vice-President/Treasurer Yuichiro Kuwama Secretary (Acting) Masako Osako Directors Koichi Hamada, Sumiko Ito, Shigenori Matsushita, Nobuko Sakurai, President Emeriti Hisashi Kobayashi, Junji Masuda Advisory Committee Chair Hisashi Kobayashi Advisory Committee Members Tai Hasegawa, Shunichiro Kishioka, Takeshi Komoto, Takatoshi Ito, Geeta Mehta, Iwao Ojima, Yasuo Okamoto, Ko-Yung Tung, Kenzi Karasaki, Yuriko Suzuki, Junji Takegami Scholarship Committee Chair Shigenori Matsushita Scholarship Committee Members Hisashi Kobayashi, Iwao Ojima, Masako Osako, Nobuko Sakurai, Masaaki Yamada Jimukyoku cho (Managing Director of Operations)Masako Osako Articles in this newsletter: