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To all new students entering graduate school at Keio University, welcome. My warm wishes go to your family members and to all those who continue to support you.

As we begin, I would first like to read "The Mission of Keio University" as articulated by our founder, Yukichi Fukuzawa. It reads as follows:

"Keio Gijuku is more than a mere place for academic pursuit. Its mission is to be a constant source of honorable character and a paragon of intellect and morals for the entire nation; and for each member to apply this spirit to elucidate the essence of family, society, and nation. They will not only articulate this essence in words, but also demonstrate it in their actions, and by doing so make Keio a leader of society."

While I imagine there are a variety of reasons you each decided to join Keio from among all other options, I believe that this mission I introduced just now is a goal we should all share as members of this community. Each of you will, from this point on, diligently apply yourselves to your studies, and meet lifelong friends and fellow researchers here, fueled by this mission to achieve excellence as sources of honorable character and paragons of intellect so that you may lead society, and the wider world, in the right direction.

I would strongly suggest you start off your studies by reading Gakumon no Susume (An Encouragement of Learning).

This book was written about 150 years ago, in a period that was in some respects very similar to today. England was at the center of the Industrial Revolution. Technological inventions and ingenuities such as the steamboat, telegraph, postal service, and printing press transformed the societal systems of that period to give rise to modern civilization as we now know it. At the same time, it was humankind, which had brought about these technological advances in the first place, that also found itself at a loss over how to deal with all the rapid changes confronting it. What did society need, not only to survive these rapid changes, but also to guide the flow of progress in the right direction? For Fukuzawa, he emphasized that the answer was the capacity for persistent learning and the ever-evolving pursuit of knowledge. What about our world today? AI and other forms of information technology are developing at a dizzying pace along with advancements in the biosciences such as genome editing. Our world is undergoing massive shifts. These changes have thrown society into disarray, and this will only continue moving forward. However, there is one crucial difference between the Industrial Revolution of 150 years ago and our situation today. From the Industrial Revolution to the modern times, humans were at the focal point of technological innovations. After all, machines and computers were merely tools and devices made for our convenience. Ultimately, it was humans that determined their purpose. Humans directed them. Humans made the final decisions. However, through the internet and social media, we now have information provided to us by AI. This makes it very difficult to perceive different sides of issues without bias, to ascertain the truth, and, in the end, to come to your own conclusions. Even if you believe you are thinking for yourself, if you are surrounded only by information from your recommendation feed, then you will be unable to make objective decisions. People who are strung along by AI's algorithms mistakenly assume that they are making their own decisions, when in fact everything has been decided for them. That is why, when determining your own future goals and objectives in business and in your lives, you need to learn how to rise above these technological trappings so that you are not influenced by AI's algorithms as they operate in the background of computers and smartphones. For example, generative AI can produce more and more advanced sentences and draw conclusions, but you are the one who must then demonstrate superior capabilities in writing, decision-making, and discerning what is factual and true. This is the goal. Starting today, you will study and research at Keio University to equip yourselves with the skills of lifelong learning.

The pride and joy of Keio University that we get to share with you all is our incredible community of human-centered scholars. They are engaged in completely mastering their respective fields. In their work, Keio's scholars push their minds to the fullest potential to gather and scrutinize all available information, test factual reliability, discern the truth within, and present their findings to society, whereupon they engage in extensive discussions with their colleagues all around the world. Scholars in the humanities, such as literature, philosophy, and the arts, pursue the truth of human nature. They reveal the light and dark aspects of our lives and teach us the meaning and purpose of life. They provide us with a reliable foundation in times of distress. Social scientists grasp the essence of society in order to guide us in the right direction beyond the short term. Researchers in the sciences tackle theories and conduct experiments to reveal the workings of the natural world through new discoveries. Engineers and doctors strive to create new inventions and treatments for modern civilization, all while capturing the essence of what makes people happy. In short, the scholars at Keio University, including those in the sciences, are those who seek to cultivate the qualities that make us human—qualities that exist far above the latest advances in science and technology. At Keio, you will be in contact with these incredible scholars serving as your teachers in classes, seminars, and laboratories. The faculty members that you interact with will serve as mentors to show you how you can rise above technology by embracing your humanity throughout every stage of your life. Even after you go out and enter the workforce, they will continue to be your role models, showing you how to always be at the top of the game in any new undertaking. The greatest thrill of graduate school is that you can challenge your professors.

Today, the percentage of 18-year-olds in Japan who go on to a four-year university is over 57%. When I was born some sixty years ago in the 1960s, the enrollment rate in Japan for four-year universities was around 20%. Since only one in five high school graduates continued on to university, being able to go to one was extraordinarily special. However, the percentage of students who go on to higher education now is 57%. In other words, it is generally expected in present times for one to continue on to university, despite it still being called "higher education." On the other hand, what of the data for those going on to graduate school? The percentage of those in Japan under 30 years old who go on to a master's program is extremely low at only 7.4%, a mere third of the average for OECD countries, which is measured at 20.4%. The percentage of the same age group who go on to a doctoral program is 0.7%. That’s half the OECD average of 1.5% and less than a fifth of Switzerland, the top OECD country, which boasts a percentage of 3.8%. What is clear from this is that you are an exceptional group of people as shown by you choosing to take in the highest form of higher education. In Japanese society in the past, people who went on to graduate school were sometimes regarded as peculiar rather than special. However, as mentioned earlier, this is the age of academia, and we need people who can exhibit qualities that go beyond the latest advances of science and technology. From here on, graduate degrees and those who hold them will become ever increasingly valuable to society. And so, as I conclude my address, please remember that you who have decided to take the leap into the next stage of academia are our hope for the future. Congratulations to you all!