Category: Newsletter 26

Applications Now Being Accepted for the 2022 FUTI Scholarship Programs FUTI has begun accepting scholarship applications for 2022. Information is available at friendsofutokyo.org/scholarships-grants. The scholarships are offered to qualified students of UTokyo aspiring to study in universities in the U.S. and to students of universities in the U.S. interested in studying at UTokyo, regardless of nationality.  The FUTI Global Leadership Award supports students interested in summer programs and internships. 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. The ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarships are awarded to students planning to undertake mid- to long-term study abroad (one semester/two quarters or longer). This program is supported by the 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.

We hope this message finds you well in spite of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which drastically changed all aspects of our lives worldwide. In November 2021, FUTI launched its eleventh annual campaign. Your support will be greatly appreciated. FUTI has grown steadily over the years and contributed to the globalization of UTokyo. Since its inception in 2007 FUTI has cumulatively supported approximately 140 UTokyo students to study in the US and 85 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 like you, and your continued support will help sustain these programs. Visit here to view the greetings from President Iwao Ojima and Vice-President Yuichiro Kuwama.

While the  FUTI Scholarship Programs were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, they generated mixed outcomes in 2021. In 2021, short-term summer study abroad programs involving actual travel were again cancelled both in Japan and in the US, but FUTI was able to provide support for four UTokyo students and one US student to attend online classes without travel. On the other hand, the ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship which supports mid- to long-term studies in the US experienced a surge in demand. With the approval of the Foundation to make up for the smaller program size in 2020 (caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) we were able to support as many as 11 students in 2021. The reason for these contrasting results was most probably a matter of timing, that is, the outlook of the pandemic for the summer when the short-term studies take place was different from that for the fall when the mid- to long-term studies typically begin. However, structural factors could also be at play. For example, not only the impact of short-term study abroad programs on a university’s overall operation is relatively minor, but also universities were deeply concerned about the safety of programs that involve a diverse body of students. The combination of the UTokyo students’ persistent desire to study abroad and the US universities’ willingness to continue programs seems to have outweighed the concerns about the risks of COVID-19. There were also some cases where the students decided to postpone their study abroad plan for a year in 2020 because of the pandemic, but carried it out in 2021. Due to COVID-19, our support for short-term summer programs were granted for online-only attendance without travel in 2020 and 2021. However, our current policy is not to give support for such programs starting in 2022. It is hoped that the pandemic will not worsen to the point where this new policy will have to be reversed. The decision to end support for online-only no-travel programs was based on our belief that living and interacting with people in another country is a critically important aspect of a study abroad. Additionally, it is difficult for us to accurately evaluate the quality of online-study experiences in order to make certain it justifies our financial support. The eleven recipients of the 2021 ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship are a diverse group made up of the following students: 1) One master’s student in a program in a joint degree program between UTokyo and a US university, 2) one pursuing a master’s degree in the US after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from UTokyo, 3) one who graduated from his master’s degree at UTokyo and is pursuing his PhD in the US, 4) four who have graduated from UTokyo in the past and are now studying abroad, 5) two who are PhD candidates at UTokyo but are temporarily studying abroad to work on their thesis, 6) one who is a 2020 recipient continuing his study, and 7) one graduate from Kyoto University pursuing her master’s degree in the US. It is our hope that the coronavirus pandemic will not cause major disruptions in the 2022 Scholarship Programs.

On Saturday, December 4, 2021, a gathering was held over Zoom to provide an opportunity for current ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship students to connect with each other, with FUTI, and the Ito Foundation. Ten of the eleven current ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A.-FUTI Scholarship recipients attended, along with members of the FUTI Scholarship Committee, FUTI Vice President and CFO, Yuichiro Kuwama, Yoshikazu Toyama and Asako Yamamoto of the Ito Foundation, and Yuki Haba, President of the FUTI Alumni Association. The event started with greetings by FUTI Scholarship Committee Chair, Shigenori Matsushita, and FUTI President and CEO, Iwao Ojima, introducing and thanking those who were able to attend the meeting from Tokyo and the US. Prof. Ojima briefly explained that the purpose of the meeting is to have Scholarship recipients present what they are currently working on in their studies in the US, and for the organizations to have a chance to meet the students. Yoshikazu Toyama gave a brief history on the Ito Foundation, starting with a profile of its founder, Masatoshi Ito, who had himself received support for his education and felt a great debt of gratitude for his education and his success as the founder of Seven & i Holdings. Masatoshi Ito started the Ito Scholarship Foundation in Japan and ITO FOUNDATION U.S.A. as a way to give back to society by supporting promising students. The meeting then proceeded to its main event, the student presentations which were all given in English. Below are highlights from each of the students’ presentations. Manaka Hataoka, a master’s program student in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), had received her Urban Engineering degree from University of Tokyo where she primarily explored public spaces and urban waterfront. Before she left Japan, she had an opportunity to speak with a landscape architect whom she admires.The conversation about forms stayed with her and she has since been interrogating meanings of forms and forms themselves in her studies at the GSD. Using images and diagrams, she went on to explain her projects on materiality and monumentality. Ryo Ikesu, a master’s student in the Department of Epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, came to UCLA primarily to learn causal inference from observational data. He graduated from Medical School at UTokyo in 2016, and after his two-year residency at hospitals, he became interested in public health and entered the Ph.D. program at the Graduate School of Medicine at UTokyo. He described some of his coursework as a graduate student at UCLA, and noted that in the US, teaching assistants (TA’s) play an important role in the class including daily discussions, answering students’ questions, and grading exams. He also mentioned his research experience at UCLA including his research assistant positions. Akihiko Izu is a second-year MBA student at MIT Sloan School of Management. He graduated from UTokyo School of Law in 2013 and started working for one of the largest law firms in Tokyo where he supported companies to conduct M&A and startup investment activities. After a few years of legal practice, he realized that business experience as a decision-maker is critical to becoming an excellent corporate lawyer so he chose to come to MIT and pursue an MBA. At the university he and two other MIT students started a company, Multitude Insights, Inc., which helps law enforcement agencies better serve their communities through AI-supported data analysis. So far, they have made significant progress by executing official partnerships with Boston-metro police departments and winning $65,000 awards. He explained the MIT startup ecosystem which supports students through classes, networking, funding, and mentoring. Lin Yuxiu is currently studying International Finance and Data Analysis at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and is pursuing an International Dual Degree where she will graduate with two degrees, one from the UTokyo Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) and the other from Columbia SIPA. She is a member of the SIPA Finance Society and Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). In her life at Columbia, she noted that students work and study very hard but also have a vibrant social life, are very proactive in networking and advocacy, come from diverse backgrounds, and are open to communicating their opinions and perspectives on various topics and issues. She will be staying very busy with an internship at UN Women which starts in a week and a capstone project in the spring semester where she will be involved in a consulting project for J.P. Morgan on sovereign ESG assessments. Fumika Moriya is a 2nd year PhD student at UTokyo who only arrived last month in Philadelphia to begin her studies as a visiting student at the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. She came to the US to learn experimental skills to enrich her PhD work. Her research interest is the production of new cells in the hippocampus, and the role of newborn neurons in learning and memory functions. After describing the different methods of researching brain functions, she reported that at the laboratory, she is learning the basic skills of recording hippocampal activities such as building a device from scratch that records electrical activities and learning to perform the surgery of implanting electrodes into mice brains. She was impressed by the quality of presentations at laboratory meetings, the sharp opinions of members during discussions, and is very glad to be part of a well-organized and great research environment. As a lab researcher, she realized it can be hard to expand her network when simply going back and forth between home and the laboratory, so she joined the Japan Association Club at UPenn. Tomohito Okuda is in his third and last year pursuing his dual degree of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Business at MIT Sloan School of Management. He started off by saying that, most importantly, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, he was able to pursue what he wanted to do and expressed gratitude for the support and opportunity. His interest…
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[With the permission of the UTokyoNY office, we are pleased to include this article here which originally appeared on the UTokyo NY Office website.] The opening ceremony for the remodeled UTokyoNY and the keynote Address is now scheduled to be held online. The ceremony is being held to give an overview of the office’s activities and achievements over the past six years since its establishment. It will also be the first step to move our activities forward once the Covid-19 has subsided. The details are given below, we hope you enjoy the event. Date Wednesday, August 4, 2021Opening Ceremony (live) 8:00–9:45Keynote Address (on demand) 9:45–10:30[Tuesday, August 3, 19:00–21:30 New York time] Program Video introducing UTokyoNY Opening remarks Prof. AIHARA HiroakiExecutive Vice President (Social Collaboration) Address by the President of the University of Tokyo Prof. FUJII TeruoPresident Presentation of Certificate of Appreciation Introduction of guests Toast Introduction to the UTokyoNY Office “Why should the University of Tokyo be globalized?” Prof. HAYASHI KaoriExecutive Vice President “History of the establishment and activities of UTokyoNY” Prof. OKABE ToruDirector General of the Institute of Industrial Science,The University of Tokyo “UTokyoNY activities from now on” Prof. YAMANASHI Yujithe Dean of the Institute of Medical Science,The University of Tokyo Outline of the remodelling project and the Chi no Tana (“Knowledge Shelves”) Assoc. Prof. KAWAZOE YoshiyukiInstitute of Industrial Science,The University of Tokyo Closing remarks Mr. MASUYAMA MasaharuPresident of the University of the Tokyo,New York Office. Inc. Keynote Address“Defeating COVID-19” Project Prof. KAWAOKA YoshihiroInstitute of Medical Science,The University of Tokyo

On September 18, Satsuki-kai America and Friends of UTokyo hosted a talk by Dr. Marie Saitou (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences). It was co-sponsored by Chicago Akamon-kai and FUTI Alumni Association. Over 20 people with various backgrounds from all over the world, including the United States, Japan and Europe, participated, making the event a huge success. Dr. Saitou discussed the outline of her research as well as a comparison of research systems in Japan, the United States, and Europe. She also explained a wide range of topics such as living in Norway, because the audience included scientists as well as those outside science. A lively exchange of questions and views took place during the Q and A session with participants asking questions like the following: “What kind of difficulties did you have in conducting an international job search and setting up a research laboratory in Norway?”  “What are the differences in the education system, research system, and working environment in Japan, US, and Norway?”  “What should Japanese undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing an international  career do now to prepare for the future?” In addition, an active exchange of views followed after one participant commented that, “Many UTokyo female students may feel it a challenge to follow Dr. Saitou’s successful and flexible international career path. What kind of changes are needed in the value system and institutional setting of Japanese society and universities in order to facilitate them to follow the steps of Dr. Saitou and realize a successful career and satisfactory life?” Finally, Atsushi Tsuda, Executive Vice President and Vice President (in charge of university development and external relations) closed the meeting with the following remarks, “Currently, under President Teruo Fujii, the University of Tokyo emphasizes diversification and efforts to increase the number of female students and researchers. It is often commented that for women’s social advancement, the employment system of Japan must be reformed. Today, I am very grateful to be able to discuss many important issues with you today.” [Abstract provided by Prof. Saitou] After earning a PhD in Japan in the field of biology, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the United States and in 2020 opened my own laboratory in Norway. The country has a small research population but they conduct high quality research. I often learn much about promoting diversity, a healthy work-life balance, and the rights of students and researchers by working in Norway. In this lecture, I would like to introduce the research / education system and working environment of Japan, the United States, and Norway based on my own experience, and engage in a discussion with the participants which incorporate various perspectives. For Prof. Saitou’s resume, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/mariesaitou/home.

On October 9, a lecture event was held with UTokyo alumnus, Dr. Sadaoki Furui, Honorary Professor and Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Chief Research Director at the National Institute of Informatics (NII). The event was sponsored by Satsuki-kai America, Chicago Akamonkai, and Friends of UTokyo, and co-sponsored by New York Ichokai, San Francisco Akamonkai, and the FUTI Alumni Association. The event was well-attended with around 30 participants of wide-ranging backgrounds from the US and Japan.  As an internationally renowned voice recognition scholar, Prof. Furui served as President of the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC) from 2013 to 2019. The focus of the lecture was his recently published book, “Universities and Society in the AI Era – From my Experience as a Research Institute President in the United States”. He discussed  how Japanese universities and society  should tackle globalization in the impending AI era using  his personal experience as a  president of the research institution. The lecture covered diverse topics ranging from the introduction and inception of TTIC, the doctoral courses at universities in the US, the operation and organization of US universities, and the reform of Japanese universities. He said that there were three core keywords that all the topics revolved around: “Evaluation, specialization, and autonomy.  Many of the participants expressed much interest in the lecture and their expectations for the future of Japanese higher education.. The Q & A session that followed the lecture was very engaging and profound, as many of the participants were experienced in university administration in the US (Princeton, Yale, Columbia, SUNY Stony Brook, to name a few) and in Japan, including President Fujii and Executive Vice-President Tsuda of the University of Tokyo. Selected excerpts of the Q&A are below:  Participant: Recently, there are quite a few scholars who have received their education in Japan and became globally renowned such as the Nobel Prize winner, Prof. Manabe, but this does not seem to lead to a larger number of students around the world wanting to go to Japan. I feel that an international collaboration in creating hardware incorporating Japan’s strengths would be attractive to the rest of the world. Furui: An increased awareness of the importance of and interest in interpersonal relationships in international collaboration is necessary, such as having the desire to conduct research with a specific professor in Japan on the part of researchers abroad. It may not be obvious to the rest of the world that wonderful research activities and research environments can be experienced by a researcher in Japan. Participant: What task do you feel would be the most efficient to tackle first, given the current situation of Japanese universities and the many issues that need to be solved? Furui: Professors in Japan often coordinate or perform research with those they are acquainted with, but isn’t it the reality that they are not comfortable cooperating with someone they are not familiar with, especially those from abroad? How about starting with a change in such an attitude? Participant Response 1: Indeed, Japanese professors tend to not actively coordinate with professors abroad, so there are proposals being made to create a research/academic base for UTokyo abroad. Participant Response 2: I believe that bringing awareness in Japan and abroad to the “best practices” of UTokyo professors who are widely respected overseas, would be an inspiration to younger generations. Participant: As a current graduate student myself, I feel that many outstanding colleagues in Japan often opt to find a job instead of pursuing a doctoral degree. On the other hand, here in the US, young researchers are enthusiastic and do fantastic research/academic work—where do you think lies the difference? Furui: I believe it is a fundamental issue that in Japan there is a lack of understanding that investing in the younger generation to pursue a doctoral degree is an investment in the future. Participant: In my experience at University of Chicago, I had an acute realization of the difference in fiscal resources. At U of Chicago, after aggressive fundraising, they were able to establish a plan to provide about one million dollars in funds to young researchers. What are your thoughts on ways to secure funds in Japan? Furui: Raising funds in the same manner as in the US is very difficult. Having a sudden large-scale fundraiser would likely be problematic. It may be necessary to raise funds gradually and through hard work. Cooperation with and understanding by the government sector would also be essential. To conclude, FUTI President, Prof. Ojima, gave closing remarks: Thank you very much for a very compelling talk. My experience is only with US universities, so being able to learn about Japanese university management and administrative issues was beneficial. In order to achieve global cooperation, being bilingual and able to speak English is important. I believe that it is critical to emphasize this point. Perhaps with AI and auto-translate tools, the language barrier may be slightly diminished, but it is crucial to be able to think and correspond in English. Thus, there is a need for conducting appropriate university and graduate school lectures in English. As the use of AI grows and expands, it makes one wonder how US and Japanese universities will deal with the situation in the future. Thank you again. Prof. Furui responded by saying, “I am thankful that President Fujii and Vice President Tsuda were able to participate in this event, and I had a wonderful time with the lively discussion.” He added warm encouragement to young researchers saying that, “Although it is difficult to make personal and professional encounters amid the coronavirus pandemic, it is imperative that you make lots of friends and expand your horizons for global cooperation.” Authors and Translator: FUTI Event Team

It is with great sadness that we report that Dr. Teruaki Aoki, a former President and COO of Sony Electronics, Inc., (USA) and President of Sony University, Japan (2005-2015), and a generous supporter of FUTI, died of pancreatic cancer on August 10, 2021.  He was 79 years old. Dr. Aoki was born in Tokyo, Japan on October 18, 1941, graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1964, with his BS degree in Applied Physics, and received his Ph. D. degree in Materials Science from Northwestern University in 1969.  His Ph.D. thesis was entitled “Transport anomalies of 3D transition-metal alloys.” Dr. Aoki joined Sony Corporation in 1970. After having held several technical and managerial positions, he was appointed in 1988 as Senior General Manager of R&D Corporate Planning Group, and in 1989 he was promoted to Director of Sony Corp. and in 1990 as Senior General Manager of Recording Media Products Group. He became Managing Director of Sony Corp. in 1996. In 1998 he was appointed President & COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Sony Electronics, Inc. (USA), and in 2003 became the Senior Executive Vice President, Executive Officer of Sony Corp. From 2005 till 2015, Dr. Aoki served as President of Sony University, and from 2008 till 2009, Vice President of Sony Educational Foundation. He also held important appointments outside of Sony Corp such as serving as theExternal Director of Micron Technologies, Inc. (2006-2014); External Director of Citizen Holdings Co. Ltd (2007-2015); CEO of Micron Japan, Ltd. (2011-2014); Director of Anritsu, Co. Ltd. (2014-2017); and Board member of Society of Semiconductor Industry Specialists. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He was a Life Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of USA) and a member of the Engineering Academy of Japan. Dr. Aoki has also been a dedicated supporter of FUTI, and remarked in the “Donor’s Message” column in No. 10 (Spring, 2014) issue of FUTI’s Newsletter: In looking back, I keenly feel the importance of  ‘getting exposed to diverse cultures when you are young.’ Based on my own experience of having studied abroad, I strongly urge UTokyo students to study in the U.S., and U.S. students to study at UTokyo. …Thanks to my study experience in the U.S. I was able to join Sony Corporation and was twice given opportunities of international assignments in the U.S., where I could play an active role in global environments…The human network that I built while I was a graduate student at Northwestern Univ. and the network of the Japanese people whom I met while working in the U.S. both helped me greatly in many critical situations…” Dr. Hisashi Kobayashi, Dean emeritus and Professor emeritus of Princeton University, and a former FUTI president, remarked, “I miss my dear friend Dr. Teruaki Aoki immensely: we have been close friends since 1990, when he visited Princeton’s Engineering School as Sony’s representative, to strengthen ties between Sony and Princeton, continuing the Sony Graduate Fellowship for the School and equipment donations to the Signal Processing Lab. Dr. Aoki’s illustrious career in Sony Corp. and in the international business world is a great testimonial that overseas study can lead to enormous opportunities in one’s career, and to successful globalization of one’s company. The last time that my wife and I met him was in February 2020, when he and Mrs. Reiko Aoki, an accomplished concert pianist, graciously hosted a concert at their elegant home. We really regret that we missed, because of the Covid-19 epidemic, a great opportunity of meeting with him this past March, when his daughter, Ms. Yuko Nomura, held a piano recital at the Opera City Hall in Tokyo. He was blessed with a loving family. May his soul rest in peace.” Dr. Aoki is survived by his wife, Reiko Aoki; their son, Jun Aoki; daughter Yuko Nomura; elder sister, Toshiko Yasumaru; younger sister, Reiko Kashiwagi; and younger brother, Yoshio Aoki. He has four grandchildren: Masaaki Aoki (17), Kyoko Aoki (14), Koharu Nomura (16), and Mio Nomura (13). Acknowledgments: We would like to thank Dr. Hiroaki Takano, Director of Sony Computer Science Research Lab., and its Secretary Group for helping us prepare this memorial article. Contributor: Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi (Former President, Friends of UTokyo)

At the Board meeting held on September 25, 2021, Friends of UTokyo’s Board approved the following appointments. The terms of the appointments are for one year beginning at the Board meeting on September 25, 2021 and ending at the 2022 annual Board meeting. Members of the Board Iwao Ojima (Chair)*, Yuichiro Kuwama**, Junji Takegami**, Shigenori Matsushita***, Nobuko Sakurai, Takatoshi Ito****, Shohei Koide****, Geeta Mehta*****, Atsushi Tsuda****** *President**VP***Director of Scholarship Programs****Director of Academic Affairs*****Director of International Alumni Programs*****UTokyo Representative Officers Iwao Ojima (President and CEO), Yuichiro Kuwama (Vice president and CFO), Junji Takegami (Vice President and COO), Masako Osako (Secretary and General Manager of Administration), Tetsunosuke Fujisaki (Treasurer), Yoshinari Ikiri (Legal Counsel) Advisory Committee Members  Masaaki Yamada (chair), Tetsunosuke Fujisaki, Sadaoki Furui, Koichi Hamada, Hisashi Kobayashi, Yoshinari Ikiri, Akiko Koide, Takeshi Komoto, Yasuo Okamoto, Yuriko Suzuki, Ko-Yung Tung, Erika White Advisory Committee Ex-officio Members Tai Hasegawa, Koichi Sato, Akiko Koide, Katsuyuki Yamaguchi Scholarship Committee members Shigenori Matsushita (chair), Nobuko Sakurai (vice chair),  Shohei Koide, Iwao Ojima, Masako Osako, Junji Takegami, Masaaki Yamada Presidents Emeritus Junji Masuda, Hisashi Kobayashi, Masaaki Yamada Honorary Director Hiroshi Komiyama