2024年度9月入学式を執り行いました

I have been advocating three ideals for almost six years. Those three ideals are “intellectual resilience,” “flexible sensitivity,” and “responsive reasoning.” I hope that at Waseda University you will develop the “intellectual resilience” to think through your own solutions to problems for which the way forward is still unclear. Nowadays, the world has become borderless, and it is necessary for all of us to live and work together with various kinds of people, both inside and outside Japan. In such a world, it is important to be considerate of other people with different backgrounds from yourself. Therefore, you should cultivate a flexible sensitivity that you bring to bear on all your interactions. The third ideal is “responsive reasoning.” This ideal suggests the importance of listening to others and understanding their reasoning. As a consequence of this practice, you will enhance the level of thinking of both yourself and others. You should have confidence in your own intelligence as a student at Waseda, which is a major research institution. At the same time, you should respect the intelligence of others as well. We are confident that we have created the very best educational environment in Japan to foster “intellectual resilience,” “flexible sensitivity,” and “responsive reasoning.” I hope you will enjoy your student life at Waseda. In four years, when you graduate from Waseda, you will be even more exceptional and admirable than you are already. Congratulations on your entrance to Waseda University!