Speech at the 2023 Graduation and Completion Ceremony

This is the speech at the 2023 graduation and completion ceremony.

Speech President

Congratulations to all of you who have graduated and completed your studies today. I am truly pleased that we are able to celebrate this day together.

For those of you graduating from both the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Engineering, the world has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since you first enrolled four years ago. As a result, we had to suddenly cancel the entrance ceremony, which was scheduled to welcome you to our university and be held in a cheerful atmosphere. I have long been saddened by the fact that you were forced to start Campus Life in such an unusual way. Now, after four years, I have the opportunity to speak to you in person for the first time on this special stage as graduates, so above all else, I would like to take this opportunity to say, "Congratulations on your enrollment at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and Technology." I am truly happy that you have enrolled at our university. I would like to express my respect for you for your hard work over a long period of time after enrollment and for reaching this day of graduation, and I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations. I hope that your learning and research activities at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have been valuable to you during this time. By meeting many new people and actually engaging in research activities, you may have experienced the anxiety of stepping into a completely unknown world, but you may also have experienced the exciting feeling of being able to face new things head-on. I hope you will remember each of these things and move forward with strength towards your next new goal.

Now, looking ahead to the future of the world and social changes, many serious issues will pile up, such as rapid climate change, constant shortages of food, energy and resources due to the increase in the world population, which is expected to reach more than one billion people from the current level, and the spread of unknown infectious disease risks. In addition, there are a number of important issues, such as historic changes in human lifestyles due to the progress of global urbanization, diversification of values in the international community, new international policies to respond to these changes, and the construction of international cooperation. In this context, it is very important to concretely depict and aim for the ideal form of the next world, based on the "value created by the harmony between nature and society." However, this is not as easy as it sounds. This is because in order to unravel this and pave the way for its realization, it is necessary not only to conduct deep scientific exploration and elucidate natural phenomena, but also to open our eyes to the complex and intricate form of human society and the connections between people that exist there. Through your studies and experiences at this university, you have acquired the fundamental skills to fully utilize your scientific inquiry skills, the ability to interpret and appropriately use the various information overflowing in the world, and the ability to promote the creation and sharing of new knowledge. What is important here is to be able to think about how to utilize your experience and skills in the future society and world of academic research, or, if you recognize that you are still lacking in something, to think about what you should do in the future and how you should tackle it, and then act on it.

You have all gained a variety of experiences at university and engaged in academic research based on your respective specialties. When we think about the essence of academic inquiry, it may be to look deeply into natural and social phenomena and uncover their truth. However, the real answer never stops there. This research activity leads to a clear determination of what the world will be like in the future while looking closely at your true self. I believe this is the meaning of taking academics seriously. In other words, academics are not just for the purpose of becoming a scientist, but for you to obtain important guidelines for maximizing your own abilities and connecting with the world.

In academic activities and in other jobs in the world, the real goal should not be to simply assert that you are right and try to win at something in front of you, but to discover what is truly important and a new world, to give people around you the opportunity to move in that direction, and as a result, to move the world in a better direction. When you feel hurt that others don't understand you, it's important to stop and think about how much you listened to them before that, and whether it's possible that you are the one who doesn't understand them the most. By recognizing your own shortcomings and imperfections and acknowledging the excellent ideas of others, you will notice the truly important things that you have not been able to see before, and eventually you will feel a strong desire to accomplish something significant with confidence. I believe that people who have such courage also have the strength to live freely.

To all of you who are graduating and completing your studies on this special day today, I hope that through your studies and experiences at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, you will develop courage and humility, and become people with the capacity to move people's hearts, as you continue to forge ahead toward your own aspirations.

I would like to conclude my remarks by wishing you all my heartfelt best for your continued success and prosperity.
Congratulations today.

March 26, 2024

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Chief Kazuhiro Chiba

Farewell Address

Congratulations to all of our graduates and post-graduates. It is my sincere pleasure to be with you on this glorious day.

I am especially saddened that those of you who graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Engineering had to make such an unusual start to your student life, as the world was hit by the Corona virus infection four years ago, and even the entrance ceremony, which was supposed to welcome you all to the University and be held in fine style, had to be abruptly canceled. I am deeply thinking bitterly upon this situation. Now that four years have passed, and I am able to speak to you directly for the first time as graduates of TUAT, I would like to first and foremost extend my sincere congratulations on your enrollment in TUAT. We are very happy that you have enrolled in TUAT. I would also like to express my sincere respect and congratulate you on your graduation from TUAT after having made great efforts for a long time after your enrollment. I hope that your studies and research activities at TUAT have been valuable to you during this time. I am sure that many of you experienced the anxiety of stepping into a completely unknown world, as well as the excitement of facing something new head-on, through meeting many new people and actually engaging in research activities. I hope that you will recall each of these experiences and move forward strongly toward your next new goal.

Looking ahead from the current world to the future world and social changes, many serious issues are piling up, such as rapid climate change, constant shortages of food, energy, and resources due to the increase in the world population, which is expected to exceed 1 billion from the current level, and the growing risk of unknown infectious diseases. In addition, there are many important issues such as historical changes in human lifestyles due to the progress of global urbanization, diversification of values in the international community, and new international policies and the building of international cooperation in response to these transformations. Against this backdrop, it has become very important to concretely envision what the world should be like in the future, based on "values created through harmony between nature and society. However, this is not as easy as it sounds. To unravel it, we must not only conduct profound scientific research and elucidate natural phenomena, but we must also open our eyes to the intricacies of human society and the human relationships that exist within it. Through your studies and experiences at the University, you have acquired the basic skills to fully demonstrate your ability to promote the creation and sharing of new knowledge through scientific inquiry and the ability to read and understand a variety of information that abounds in the world and to make appropriate use of it. What is important here is that you can think and act anew about how to apply your experience and capabilities in the world of society and academic research in the future, or, if there are things you recognize are still insufficient, what you should do about them in the future.

Along with your various experiences at universities, you have been engaged in academic research based on your respective specialties. When you think about the essence of this academic pursuit, it may be to look deeply into the phenomena of nature and society and to reveal their truths . However, the real answer never stops there. This inquiry leads to a clear understanding of what the world will be like in the future and to a clear determination of what one should do, while taking a hard look at one's own true self. This is the meaning of serious academic pursuits. In other words, study is not only to become a scientist, but also to obtain an important guideline for you to maximize your potential and connect with the world.

In our academic activities and in our various other work in the world, we should not just think about being right and winning at something, but our true goal should be to discover what is really important, to discover a new world, to inspire people around us to move toward it, and to move the world forward in a better direction as a result. This should be the real goal. Whenever we are pained that people do not understand us, it is important to stop and think about how much we have listened to them and whether we are the one who does not understand them the most. By recognizing our own inadequacies and imperfections, and by appreciating the superior ideas of others, we can realize what is truly important that we have not been able to see before , and we can eventually be motivated to accomplish great and meaningful things with confidence. I believe that those who possess such courage will also have the strength to live freely.

I hope that all the graduates and post-graduates who have reached this fine day today will, through your many learnings and experiences at TUAT, have the courage and humility to move people's hearts and move forward toward your own earnest aspirations as a person of large capacity.

Let me conclude my address by wishing you all the very best in your future endeavors and development.

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to you today.

March 26, 2024

President of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Kazuhiro Chiba