2013 Graduation Ceremony/Degree Conferment Ceremony

March 25, 26

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Cho Matsunaga Kore

Congratulations to all of you graduating from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology today and completing your graduate studies. On behalf of the faculty and staff of the university, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations. Looking at your bright and cheerful faces, I feel that the thoughts of our faculty and staff have been rewarded. Once again, I would like to express my deepest respect to your families, friends, and other people who have supported you in the shadows and sunshine throughout your studies, and I would like to share with you the joy of this sunny day.

This year, a total of 1,636 students will leave the university, including 315 Faculty of Agriculture and 592 Faculty of Engineering degree holders, 352 master's degree holders Graduate School of Engineering, 40 Graduate School of Engineering Specialist degree students, 172 Graduate School of Agriculture master's degree students, 72 master's degree holders, Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering Graduate School of Engineering 34 doctoral students, 18 Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering doctoral students, 36 United Graduate School of Agricultural Science doctoral students, and 5 doctoral dissertation doctoral students. Looking back, what have the past few years been like for you? The fun, the painful, and various memories will be revived in your heart now. All the efforts you have made and your daily studies will give you the strength to play an active role in the world as a leader in innovation that creates new knowledge. In particular, as you know, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology is a university that has inherited the long history and tradition of 140 years since its founding as a distinctive national university corporation with education and research fields including agriculture, engineering, and their interdisciplinary fields, and has continued to evolve with its strengths of mobility and innovation. And the alumni have firmly inherited that spirit and are active in various fields. I hope you will follow in their footsteps, believe in yourself, be confident in your efforts so far, and dive into a new world to the fullest. I believe you can do it.

Today, I would like to talk about a theme that I would like you to continue to think about in the future as you take a new step in your lives and live as responsible members of society on the occasion of the conferral of this degree. It's called "Noblesse oblige." "Noblesse oblige" is a French word, and to put it more simply, Noblesse is a person of high social status such as nobility or privileged class in English, and oblige is oblige in English, that is, there is a duty or responsibility to be beared, so "a person with a high status is obliged to do so".
It may be a little difficult for those of you who live in Japan today, where there is no aristocratic class. However, as Nitobe Inazo wrote in his famous book Bushido, you can imagine that the right way for a samurai is to fulfill one's duty to the entire society to which one belongs, valuing loyalty and civility more than others, protecting the weak, and being willing to sacrifice oneself. Nitobe describes it as the samurai's "Noblesse oblige". In this way, the idea that people with social status and influence have more responsibilities and obligations, and that those who are fortunate should be willing to give something back to others who are less fortunate --- To use an analogy, it can be said that Bill Gates, George Lucas, and others are active in philanthropy and social contribution.
So why am I throwing these words at you now? This is because we are also one of the fortunate people who have been able to study at the highest educational institutions, such as universities and graduate schools, and cultivate a great deal of knowledge. Of course, I think I understand it, but it does not mean that having a degree is a great person or has a higher status. It is not about economic or social superiority or inferiority, but about the knowledge you have acquired that will never be lost. Those of you who have accumulated a large wealth of knowledge should now act in a manner befitting your position. No matter which path you take, you will inevitably encounter various difficulties in the future. Even if you think you can't afford to do that because you're too busy with yourself, please keep the phrase "Noblesse oblige" in the back of your mind. And keep thinking about how you can give back and contribute to the people around you and society. If you keep thinking about it, you will surely be able to overcome any difficulties eventually. Needless to say, the earth today is in a critical situation with various problems. Environmental, energy, resource, and food problems are all difficult issues related to the survival of living things on earth, and innovations based on knowledge are indispensable for solving these problems and creating a society that can develop sustainably. In other words, we must make use of your knowledge to create new knowledge that is of public interest and effectiveness. You are the ones who create the future of this earth.

I believe that the next time I see you, I will be able to see you grow and rely even more. We will also make further efforts to create a better university so that it will become a reassuring foundation that you can be proud of as your alma mater.

I wish you all the best in your endeavors.