[Feature: New Year's Dialogue] New Year's Dialogue: The Role of Universities in the Post-COVID Era

Happy New Year. In last year's Mita-hyoron New Year's dialogue, we had film director Katsuo Fukuzawa as our guest, and we talked about how we were looking forward to 2020 as the year of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. However, as it turned out, 2020 was overwhelmed by COVID-19, and the world fell into a state of national isolation—a reversal of globalization. In Japan, a state of emergency was declared, and universities were also greatly affected, being forced to switch to online classes and close their campuses.

Furthermore, at the hospital in Shinanomachi, medical professionals literally risked their lives to continue the fight against the infectious disease. Keio's characteristic "jinkan kosai (society)" was affected, and the Mita-kai in various regions, which are symbols of "Shachu cooperation," could not be held at all for a year, and the autumn Rengo Mita-kai was finally cancelled.

While the situation remains far from the end of the pandemic, Dr. Nakatani, you graduated from the School of Medicine, went from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to the WHO, and are currently active as a Project Professor at Keio University's KGRI (Keio University Global Research Institute). Above all, you have fought infectious diseases for many years as Assistant Director-General at the WHO, and last year you served as Chair of the Executive Board. I would like to start by asking you to speak a little from your professional standpoint about how the COVID-19 situation in Japan and the world will progress.

What is often said about the new coronavirus is that it is a very cunning virus that strikes at human weaknesses. However, regarding Japan's response, it is actually quite surprising that when you compare the mortality rates of advanced industrial nations, Japan's is by far the lowest. Looking at the number of deaths per 100,000 people, the highest is Belgium, and the highest among G7 countries is currently France. They have about 80 times as many deaths as Japan. Also, a characteristic of this coronavirus is that advanced nations and BRICs countries have been heavily affected, while conversely, Africa has not been as affected because its population structure is young.

Furthermore, treatment has gradually evolved, and looking at national registry data since June, in Japan, if people aged 70 or older become severely ill and are hospitalized, there is still about a 10% chance of death, but the mortality rate has halved compared to before. It has also become clear that if the condition is mild or moderate at the time of admission, people under 70 almost never die.

Until now, global health has worked hard to create systems to help developing countries, but what this coronavirus has made clear is that even in so-called advanced countries, the same situation as in developing countries can occur—where there are no effective drugs, or medical systems are strained to the point where people cannot be hospitalized. Since Japan has an aging population, we were forced into a situation where we had to have concerns that it could turn out that way. As a result, I think it can be said that the view of global health, which had been thought of as a "story from the other side of the planet," has changed dramatically. I think a major change is that many people felt, "This is our own problem," rather than helping poor people as a charity.

This is a very big deal, and right now, we are working hard to create a system to help people in need all over the world, regardless of whether they are in developing or advanced countries.

So the risk is higher for advanced countries with aging populations.

That's right. However, what's interesting is that Japan has shown mysterious outcomes, to the point of being called a miracle. Because the lockdown was also carried out very softly, the economic downturn is lower compared to other G7 countries. Therefore, Japan's COVID-19 measures are harshly criticized as being loose or soft, but objectively speaking, they are not bad. However, that is the story up until now; we must guard against optimism regarding what will happen this winter.

There is a report recently released by a private commission (the "Independent Investigation Commission on the Japanese Government's Response to COVID-19"), and quoting a high-ranking government official, it uses the very interesting phrasing: "It was a last-minute scramble, but the result was okay." In other words, the result was good, but because the systematic and policy intentions are not clear, one of our concerns is whether such good luck will visit us again next time.

Furthermore, looking across the world, if you look at the mortality rate per million people, there are countries where it is zero. These include Mongolia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. South Korea's mortality rate is also about half of Japan's.

As Yukichi Fukuzawa said, "Those who lack the spirit of independence will not care deeply for their country." I believe that countries that thought for themselves and worked hard on measures have produced good results.

I understand well. Dr. Nakatani, you have seen how the spread of various types of infectious diseases affects human society. From that experience, does it seem that for this COVID-19, a complete end is difficult, and rather than "post-corona," a state of "with-corona" will continue for a while?

I think it is exactly as you say. This COVID-19 is troublesome because it spreads in close connection with human behavior. People want to meet, talk, and interact. Because it is linked to these basic desires, it is quite difficult to suppress the infection. Therefore, we need to live while coming to terms with the coronavirus.

For example, while many young people have mild cases and many are asymptomatic, the elderly have a high risk of severe illness. Within that, it is difficult to balance the economy and infectious disease measures.

Another issue that has emerged is the nature of national information management. China is a typical example; if an infected person appears, they perform thorough containment and monitor contacts. There are cameras everywhere in the city, and if a contact goes out, the authorities are notified and warned. Also, drones are flying, and individual movements can be tracked via GPS. South Korea also uses GPS to understand how infected people have behaved.

In this way, in addition to the coexistence of the economy and public health, an axis has emerged where we are questioned on how to think about the restriction of freedom and human rights in a sense. I think this is one reason why advanced nations are struggling to suppress the coronavirus.

As you just mentioned, the infection is spreading rooted in human behavior. However, at Keio University, the founder Yukichi Fukuzawa emphasized "jinkan kosai (society)," leaving behind the words, "The most important thing in the world is the interaction and association between people. This is itself a field of study." I believe such thinking is the foundation of Keio University's development. Independent individuals who have mastered learning think about the direction they should take with initiative, without being misled by worldly trends or rumors. And I believe the fundamental idea of Keio University is that autonomous individuals connect through "jinkan kosai" to create a free and equal society.

That "jinkan kosai" part is being heavily affected by the coronavirus. Therefore, I think another axis of Keio University, independence and self-respect—that is, autonomous spirit and action—becomes important. In short, even against infectious diseases, ultimately, individual awareness and sensible behavior are the two basics of countermeasures. I feel that after thoroughly implementing these, how to restore the aspect of jinkan kosai in a new form will become a challenge for the Keio Gijuku Shachu.

That is an extremely important issue.

As you know, the history of Keio University is originally very deeply related to infectious diseases. Around the time Yukichi Fukuzawa was studying at Ogata Koan's Tekijuku in Osaka at the end of the Edo period, cholera broke out, and his mentor Koan worked hard to provide treatment. Also, in 1858, the year Yukichi Fukuzawa came to Edo and founded Keio University, cholera was prevalent in Edo. This was also the year the Ansei Five-Power Treaties, so-called unequal treaties, were signed, and the idea that cholera was brought in from abroad became one reason for the rise of the movement to expel foreigners.

Furthermore, Yukichi Fukuzawa himself contracted typhoid fever twice, and wanting to train physicians somehow, he established the Keio University Medical School in 1873 (closed in 1880).

In the Taisho era, Shibasaburo Kitasato inherited that will. When Keio wanted to create a School of Medicine and a hospital, he rushed to help as a volunteer and built the hospital as the first dean. Dr. Kitasato himself is called the "Father of Japanese Bacteriology" for achievements such as identifying the tetanus bacillus and developing a treatment, and discovering the plague bacillus; he was a person who fought infectious diseases throughout his life.

I believe Keio University is a university with a very deep relationship with the fight against infectious diseases. Dr. Nakatani, you also graduated from the School of Medicine and eventually went to the WHO to struggle with infectious disease measures. I feel it overlaps with Keio's history.

Exactly 60 years ago, 1961, is remembered among us as the year universal health insurance was established. The reason the mortality rate for the coronavirus was low in Japan this time was not only unique public health measures—such as the cluster approach and the simple message to avoid the "Three Cs" to seek voluntary behavioral changes from the public—but also the fact that we had universal health insurance where all citizens could receive medical care with peace of mind was very significant.

Another thing I think we must not forget about 60 years ago is the polio (infantile paralysis) epidemic. From 1960, polio began to spread, centered in Hokkaido, and became a nationwide epidemic the following year. Japan could not produce enough vaccines, similar to the situation now. Therefore, the epidemic was rapidly suppressed by authorizing the emergency import of live vaccines from Russia through extra-legal measures and administering them. The Minister of Health and Welfare at that time was Yoshimi Furui. And the Director of the Public Health Bureau was Takehisa Omura, a Keio graduate. That duo suppressed polio.

Therefore, regarding the coronavirus, treatment has evolved considerably, and we are seeing wonderful progress in vaccine development, so I hope that this year we will be able to live with peace of mind even in a "with-corona" environment.

You just mentioned Keio graduates. Speaking of Keio graduates working hard in the midst of this, Takeshi Kasai is currently serving as the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific and is struggling there. Do you ever hear about how he is doing?

I talk with Dr. Kasai often. There are six regions in the WHO, and the Western Pacific region has the lowest number of deaths from the coronavirus, despite having a population of 1.9 billion.

Dr. Kasai has been working on infectious disease measures for a long time; when I became the Director of the Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, he was the Assistant Director. At that time, bird flu occurred in Hong Kong. Margaret Chan, who later became the Director-General of the WHO headquarters and whom I also served, was the Director of Health in Hong Kong. I called her and asked if she could show the site to my young technical official, and he went. Since then, Dr. Kasai moved to the WHO and has reached his current position through various roles. He is a pro among pros in infectious disease measures and has led the response to major infectious disease outbreaks in Asia in the 21st century. I feel proud every time a high-ranking foreign government official says, "I'm glad Takeshi was there."

Also, like me, he is a graduate of Shiki High School, and his daughter successfully entered Keio's School of Medicine from an international school last year.

I see. Two generations of the family at Keio School of Medicine. At the School of Medicine now, there is something called the "Keio Donner Project," named after Dr. Kitasato's nickname "Donner" (meaning thunder in German), and this has also developed into a very large project.

I am currently doing work for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) at Keio, and I presented a part of the "Donner Project" at an international seminar there. I think it is wonderful that basic and clinical medicine are working together to advance research, including the investigation of the so-called "Factor X"—why the mortality rate of Japanese people is low.

Looking at the overview of the "Donner Project," while one project tries to elucidate the virus, researchers with different specialties from a slightly different perspective are trying to create something else. Then, the researchers and doctors are working hard and supporting each other, saying, "Let's do this together." It has become such a complex and very large project.

In this way, it's not just a few specialized researchers working on it, but various surrounding researchers participate, and it grows into a large project. I think that is very typical of Keio University.

I believe Keio has a special tradition and potential for comprehensive problem-solving. Solving the challenges of each era—this is the spirit of Yukichi Fukuzawa to open up civilization, our DNA. Regarding the coronavirus, I think such comprehensive strength, or rather the fusion of strengths from different fields, will become very important, so society's expectations for Keio are likely high.

Also, Keio's influence is significant internationally. South Korea has implemented very skillful measures and is trying to reform its organization to integrate information, infectious disease measures, and research and development. When I go to hear about such things, the speaker is often a graduate of Yonsei University, which has a long history of exchange with Keio, and more than once I have been able to build an immediate rapport by asking, "Are you from Keio?" The South Korean elected member of the WHO Executive Board is also like that, and the Minister for Health at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo spoke nostalgically about the time they studied abroad at Keio.

That is a happy story.

Also, when Dr. Kasai was becoming the Regional Director for the Western Pacific, I visited Pacific island nations with him as part of the election campaign. We found a female Keio University alumni even at the embassy on a small southern island, and she helped us greatly. When I asked why she was there, she said with sparkling eyes that she had been doing cutthroat work at a foreign bank, but she came here to re-examine what human value really is. In addition to tradition, I am moved time and again by the fact that many colleagues are all over the world.

I think Keio's strength is not just having a network of Keio University alumni, but that each alumnus, even if they are not a Keio graduate, creates connections with various people, and a new network is formed around them to realize new things.

That's right. My grandfather was a career bureaucrat who graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, but he was tremendously influenced by Fukuzawa's thought. His superior was someone who graduated from Keio's Futsubu School and then the Faculty of Law at the Imperial University, so I think that was the influence. Therefore, in my house, there are three sets of the "Fukuzawa Zenshū (The Collected Works of Fukuzawa)." The "Taisho Edition Fukuzawa Zenshū" inherited as a legacy from my grandfather's library, the Showa edition "Fukuzawa Yukichi Zenshū" purchased by my mother (Kinko Nakatani, former professor at the Faculty of Law), and the "Fukuzawa Yukichi Chosakushu" that I bought.

Now, because of the coronavirus, I try not to use public transportation as much as possible and move by car, but to avoid lack of exercise, I take a walk every night. Since just walking is boring, I listen to the audiobooks of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" and "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" while walking. I truly feel that Yukichi Fukuzawa's thoughts speak to us living in the 21st century with contemporary value.

I hear everywhere that there are Keio fans even among those who did not graduate from Keio. When I greet various people, there are many who say that their child was actually cared for at Keio.

For example, when I met the current Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Kong Xuanyou, upon his appointment, he said his daughter had experience studying abroad at SFC and knows Keio well.

Recently, a person named Umio Otsuka, who was a Vice Admiral in the Maritime Self-Defense Force, became the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Djibouti after retiring. He is said to be the first ambassador from a Self-Defense Force background. He came to Keio for a courtesy visit. I had seen in the news that Self-Defense Force ships were dispatched for anti-piracy measures, but I wondered what his connection to the Juku was. It turned out that in Djibouti, there is a school called "Fukuzawa Junior High School" built with Japanese aid in 1995, and he wanted to visit Keio University before taking up his post.

The name "Fukuzawa" reportedly comes from when the Minister of Education of Djibouti visited Japan before the start of the junior high school's construction. The Minister himself suggested the name of Yukichi Fukuzawa, saying, "Japan's modernization is a model for our country; I would definitely like to have the name of a Japanese educator for the school name." It is also said to be derived from the Arabic dialect spoken in Djibouti, "Fouko-Sawa" (opening together). When I asked if we should send some books from Keio to Fukuzawa Junior High School, he finally said, "Actually, my child is at Keio."

Everyone seems really happy to say that someone in their family is related to Keio and feels an affinity for Keio. A new human network expands from there. I think this is a precious asset for Keio University.

Speaking of Africa, which you just mentioned, there is a school called "Sakura Girls' Secondary School" established in Arusha, Tanzania, centered by the late Professor Emeritus Sumiko Iwao. In the summer just before Professor Iwao passed away, she invited me to go with her because she wanted to do a model for school health there.

At that time, I couldn't go because I had a business trip for an audit of the WHO emergency aid program. Since two of my former Tanzanian colleagues are retired in Arusha, I said I would negotiate for one of them to become the school doctor, but Professor Iwao passed away and it remains an unfulfilled promise. Therefore, once the borders are open, I intend to go to Arusha and fulfill that promise.

Dr. Nakatani, you have been at Keio since the Yochisha Elementary School. Keio's integrated education is a characteristic educational system that is rare in Japan and probably in the world. Looking back as someone who grew up in it and has worked for international organizations, what is your evaluation of integrated education?

My daughter also received Keio's integrated education. I have nothing but very good feelings toward integrated education. I feel that I was taught timely things at each stage, not by force but in a gentle way.

During my time at Yochisha, to be honest, I didn't study much and just ran around. After school, I did club activities, but that wasn't enough play, so we played kick-the-can in the field at the back of the school grounds, got kicked out by the janitor, and went home kicking the can all the way to Meguro. As the saying goes, "First develop the animal body, then nourish the human spirit," I think I had a really good experience in terms of building health and a body to do work.

During my Yochisha days, on Saturdays, I would sometimes stop by Mita and go home with my mother, who was a faculty member of the Juku Faculty of Law. To a child's eyes, the Mita hill was truly a "mountain" from which you could see Tokyo Bay. I saw Professor Sei'ichiro Takahashi walking in Japanese clothes. Also, at Yochisha, there is a 1,000-meter swim that they still do today, and Professor Shinzo Koizumi was watching it. He had been injured in the war, and I thought he was a big and scary teacher. But he did feel kind. I have such memories.

After the Futsubu School, I went to Shiki for high school. The reason was that Professor Matsutaro Wadaki of the Faculty of Business and Commerce was the principal at the time, and since it was a period when my mother was being sent to study abroad, she apparently wanted to place me with a teacher she could trust, including for life guidance. I was able to enjoy a very fulfilling youth here as well.

I was also in the Faculty of Law at first, so I was taught by Professor Kinko Nakatani. The Professor Nakatani in my memories was a very refined and kind teacher. Before exams, she would look back precisely on the key points of what we did this term and then give the exam, so it was easy to understand. She taught in such a careful way. At that time, many professors were very much "great professors" who didn't write much on the blackboard and just gave lectures nonchalantly with a text in hand, but Professor Nakatani put effort into teaching methods, or rather education, and I remember being taught very carefully.

She was close friends with Mitsuo Toshimitsu, a legal historian who was my mentor. When Professor Toshimitsu was looking for a place to stay while rebuilding his house, she said, "Toshimitsu-san, come to our place," and introduced an annex on the grounds of her house near Tetsugakudo. I remember we carried the luggage there.

Come to think of it, my impression from that time was that the Faculty of Law had many female teachers. I found out later that when female students entered Keio after it became a university under the new system, a group of female students who would later become Keio faculty members entered together. In 1946, Professor Reiko Itami entered the Faculty of Letters; in 1947, Professor Yasuko Hitomi entered the Faculty of Law; and in 1948, Professor Nakatani and Professor Akiko Yonezu entered. Those people led the faculty as female teachers during the same period.

I think this is actually not a coincidence. Yukichi Fukuzawa had very enlightened ideas for that time and advocated for women's rights and gender equality. Also, even now, Keio has the highest number of female faculty members among universities in Japan. Therefore, I think we have consistently provided education with an awareness of women being able to play active roles in society.

You spoke about my mother, but it's the first time I've heard she was a kind teacher. Whenever I met Ryutaro Hashimoto, he always told me, "I had a terrible time with your mother and almost failed." However, I think she must have had a very happy life as a Keio teacher because she maintained good relationships with her seminar students throughout her life. Even after retiring from Keio, seminar students who were particularly close would come to the house and read books together. My mother looked forward to that very much.

She was especially close to the female members from the early period of the seminar. My wife and I affectionately called the three people who often came "the three old ladies," but when my wife first got married, she said, "I've married into a difficult house with four mothers-in-law" (laughs). Being able to maintain such a good relationship for a lifetime, I am grateful to the three ladies and deeply felt that being a university professor is a wonderful profession.

Also, when I use English for work, something I'm glad I had as a backbone is that the wife of criminal law Professor Koichi Miyazawa was very good at English, so on Saturdays I would go to the Miyazawa residence and study Maruzen grammar books. In that sense, I also grew up within the Keio family.

After entering society, I joined the Ministry of Health and Welfare and walked a path that had almost no connection to Keio University. It was a world where there were basically many people from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law, but at every turning point, I was helped by seniors from the Juku. In the ministry, there were graduates from the Juku School of Medicine, and when I became the WHO Assistant Director-General, the ambassador in Geneva was Ichiro Fujisaki (later Ambassador to the US). The next was Shinichi Kitajima, and both ambassadors were Keio University alumni, and they gave me very good guidance.

For the past few years, Mr. Fujisaki has been participating in accreditation evaluations as an external committee member for Keio. He is someone with very deep knowledge and interest in education. He has also served as the chairperson of the board at Kamakura Jogakuin for a long time.

When I went to greet him while he was serving as an advisor to Sophia University, he showed me photos of successive US presidents in which he also appeared. Just as I was about to ask, "At which Madame Tussauds was this taken?" he forestalled me by saying, "These are all the real ones," and we had a big laugh.

Previously, I received a book from you recording the fight against leprosy (Hansen's disease), and it was a very impressive story. Could you also touch a little on the efforts against leprosy?

The catalyst for me entering the path of international health was actually leprosy. When I graduated from the School of Medicine and became a resident, I happened to see a poster for a leprosy seminar at Nagashima Aiseien in the Seto Inland Sea during summer vacation, and I went to this seminar. The Director of Nagashima Aiseien at that time was Dr. Shigetaka Takashima, a graduate of Keio School of Medicine, and I had heard him speak in a public health lecture. More than that, it was significant that Mieko Kamiya, a psychiatrist and the translator of Emperor Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations," was at Nagashima Aiseien. Latin was compulsory in the School of Medicine, and Marcus Aurelius was used as part of the text. I was interested in what kind of environment such a famous translation was produced in.

In the School of Medicine at that time, we were taught that leprosy was an intractable infectious disease, so patients were isolated in national sanatoriums. However, what we learned at the seminar was that research and development of multi-drug therapy was progressing under the coordination of the WHO so that leprosy could be treated on an outpatient basis. Hearing such stories, I thought international health was a very interesting and stimulating field, and before I knew it, it was the first vivid experience that led to 40 years of activity going back and forth between Japan and abroad.

Furthermore, as a legal scholar, my mother strongly recognized the inhumanity of the "Leprosy Prevention Law." On the other hand, people in public health tend to think about the public interest or generality within the balance between public interest and the restriction of human rights. As a result, there is a danger of violating human dignity, and I think it is a field where one must never neglect self-reflection. I can speak in such a mature way now, but 30 years ago, due to youthful indiscretion, there were times when my mother and I had disagreements, so it is a field with deep personal memories.

Come to think of it, I also remembered something. Professor Nakatani is a master of criminal law, but she actually has an excellent paper in the field of legal history titled "A Historical Sketch of the System of Heavier Punishment for Killing a Lineal Ascendant."

Since the Meiji era, killing a parent (parricide) carried a heavier penalty than ordinary murder, and under the provisions of the Penal Code, there were only the death penalty and life imprisonment. However, there are many tragic cases of parricide with unavoidable circumstances, and particularly for women, there are cases where there is great room for extenuating circumstances. In 1973, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling that the provision for heavier punishment for killing a lineal ascendant in Article 200 of the Penal Code violated equality under the law as stipulated by the Constitution and was unconstitutional. I learned about that in constitutional and criminal law classes during my student days.

Years later, after I started talking about the family system and punishment system of the Ritsuryo codes in my classes, I read Professor Nakatani's paper carefully. She traces the history of parricide in pre-modern law starting from the Chinese Ritsuryo, through the Japanese Ritsuryo, the Kamakura Shogunate, and the warrior laws of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Next, she traces the compilation process from the Meiji Shinritsu Koryo to the Kaitei Ritsurei and the old Penal Code, painstakingly analyzing the changes in parricide provisions for each draft. Not only that, she goes as far as to compare in detail with civil law starting from Roman law, common law, and the laws of various modern foreign countries. Until then, it was said that Japan's provision for heavier punishment for parricide was the result of the adoption of Western law such as the French Penal Code in the Meiji era, but the Nakatani paper corrected such a one-sided view and clarified that it was a so-called Japanese-Western eclectic law strongly influenced by the feudal family system with origins in the Ritsuryo codes.

Moreover, I remember being even happier when I noticed in the postscript the name of my mentor: "The parts concerning the Ritsuryo are due to the suggestions and assistance of my dear friend Professor Mitsuo Toshimitsu. I am grateful for his friendship."

Returning to the topic of the coronavirus, universities have also started online classes and online meetings. I have held Zoom meetings several times at the presidents' meetings of the APRU and the WEF (World Economic Forum) to discuss how to overcome this crisis. The common understanding among the heads of the world's top universities is that hybrid-type education and research will likely become the mainstream in the future. If used well, it will be possible to conduct education, research, and international exchange between researchers efficiently and extensively. How to improve this precision and what kind of common platform to create have become challenges.

Keio must also properly adapt to the global standards of the new era that will be created in that way. On top of that, we need to show Keio's unique characteristics. Looking at Keio University's education and research now, do you have any thoughts on how things should be in the future?

I can state with certainty that the coronavirus will accelerate existing trends and expand challenges in all fields. Digitalization has been progressing until now, including in education, but it is clear that it will accelerate and expand.

Two years ago, when we had an APRU meeting at the National University of Singapore, I had the opportunity to participate in a lecture at the joint medical school newly established with Duke University in the US. That was very impressive. Basically, there are no lectures. Students are told to watch a video beforehand and then come to the classroom, where it is a thorough intellectual stamina exercise in problem-solving. They have buttons at hand to answer quizzes, and if they get them wrong consecutively, they are judged as not having studied. Along with that, individual guidance is given, such as telling them to think about the next task or to read this.

The National University of Singapore had already started the hybrid-type lectures that are now beginning to appear. I think this form of class will likely progress as the new normal from now on, but what I think will be difficult for universities is that it is an educational resource—to put it simply, it costs money—so investing in such software aspects will likely be a major challenge from now on.

I completely agree. What you just described is a form of flipped classroom, where students do sufficient preparation beforehand and the class functions by focusing on discussion in the classroom. In addition, there is the mixed or hybrid model, in the sense of conducting classes for both students gathered in the classroom and students participating via Zoom or other platforms.

Of course, questions and discussions are possible in a face-to-face classroom. However, when done online, simultaneous discussions arise through the use of chat and other tools, and we have discovered various new effects. The question now is how to successfully combine these with face-to-face formats to improve education. I believe that will be the direction for universities going forward. This certainly requires significant investment in strengthening systems and security, as well as various infrastructure improvements.

What I am currently asking of those involved in facilities is a shift in mindset. In the era of digital and analog fusion, building a single structure requires an equivalent amount of money for software, systems, and IT-related costs, and we cannot keep up unless we create facilities with that intention. I tell them that when we build a facility, I want them to create classrooms and Research Centers and Institutes with the resolve to invest the same amount as the construction costs into these systems.

That is a wonderful way of thinking. Some people think Zoom meetings are easy, but that is a big mistake; because it is online, the content must be enriched and the presentation methods must be creative. The deployment of support staff other than the faculty members giving the lecture will likely change significantly as well. For example, we will need technical staff who can support video recording without stress.

Looking at the WHO General Assembly held online in May, developing countries were actually more enthusiastic and filmed more beautifully than developed countries. Countries aiming to become digital leaders, like Rwanda, had very beautiful screens and good content. While Japan's content was also very good, the image quality was a bit disappointing, though we are seeing significant improvements now.

Society 5.0, as a national policy, aims for happiness in a society where cyber space and physical space merge. If that is the case, we cannot achieve it unless we invest as much capital into cyber space as we do into physical space to develop facilities, so I believe it needs to be a nationwide effort.

However, in the case of Keio University, while we pursue such advanced initiatives, the education and human resource development cultivated through tradition are also important. As I have been saying, what is particularly vital is how to reconstruct opportunities for interaction with peers and exchange with faculty and staff on campus, since Keio University is a university that could be said to be built on human relationships.

I believe that through education that values "jinkan kosai (society)," we have sent out individuals who lead in all fields of society, including the business world, politics and government, the arts, sports, academia, the legal profession, and the medical field. This is a characteristic of Keio, so I believe we must work hard to properly protect and further develop this direction.

It would be wonderful if that model could be created. It is excellent as an educational theory and will be a contribution to society. If you think about it, the students we are dealing with now are about 20 years old, and they will be most active 30 years from now, around 2050. Therefore, we must provide guidance using backcasting thinking—calculating backward from the future—so they can live and open up civilization in the society where they will be active.

By 2050, Japan's population will fall below 100 million, and its economic scale will likely be smaller than Indonesia's. While this is currently the era of the Pacific, by then the population of countries around the Indian Ocean and Africa will increase. In the midst of such a shift, I believe the President's skill will be very important for Keio University to develop as a global university. I truly feel this is a turning point of the times.

That's right. It is about creating the era. There is a saying, "turning a misfortune into a blessing," and I believe it is about taking this COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to firmly reconstruct infrastructure and strengthen the foundations of education, research, and medical sciences to develop even further.

In the fifth volume of Fukuzawa Yukichi's Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning), there is the phrase, "Those who do not advance will surely retreat, and those who do not retreat will surely advance." Those words feel very real in this current era.

I certainly want to work hard toward that direction.

Another thing being discussed in society is work-style reform. For the university as well, the way faculty and staff—especially staff—work is changing significantly, so I believe we must implement various institutional reforms toward that. Regarding women's success, Keio University has many female faculty members, and there are also quite a few women in senior management in the staff departments. However, there are few women in middle-management positions, so we still need support measures in various areas such as childcare support, and I believe we must accelerate work-style reform within Keio so that women can demonstrate their abilities.

Please do. Otherwise, all the talented women who graduate from Keio will go elsewhere.

In fact, many Keio University alumni working in international organizations are women. For example, the Japan Representative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a legal officer at WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) who is qualified as a lawyer in both Japan and the U.S. are female Keio University alumni. Also, among our seniors, there is an alumni association for retired UN staff, and Momoyo Ise, a graduate of the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Letters, served as its president for a long time.

International organizations feel like they have less of a glass ceiling than Japan, and nearly 70% of Japanese staff are women. I fear that if we don't reform domestically, talented people will feel it is easier to work abroad and we will experience a brain drain.

That is very true. In 2017, Ms. Georgieva, the CEO of the World Bank, came to Keio to give a lecture and encouraged students to join international organizations. In 2019, German Chancellor Merkel also visited and had various discussions with students.

During that, a female student asked Chancellor Merkel what is necessary for women to be active as executives or leaders, and she advised that if an offer for a management or leadership position comes in the future, one should accept it without hesitation. The point of this story is that while we need to further change the awareness of women themselves, we must also create support systems so that they can accept without hesitation.

There is an organization called the "30% Club," which originated in the UK and aims to have women make up 30% of corporate boards. In Japan, "30% Club Japan" has been established, and its vice-chair is Junko Goto, a Keio graduate who also serves as a Councilor and Trustee. Ms. Goto visited me with Michiko Tadamatsu, the founder of "30% Club Japan," and asked if I would participate because they were creating a university group within the organization. With the recommendation of Atsuko Iwanami, a Keio University alumni and Vice-President of the university, I have also added my name to the "30% Club Japan."

Since I have joined, I feel I have taken on a significant task because we must achieve the 30% goal at Keio University as well. However, female Keio graduates are all very energetic and working hard in various places, which makes me, as President, want to work hard together with them.

I believe women's sensibilities will be extremely important from now on. Personally, my bosses were mostly women, and I was able to be active as a fulfilled professional. At the WHO, it was Margaret Chan, and at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, my supervisor was Kazuko Yokoo, who served as the Commissioner of the Social Insurance Agency and eventually became a Supreme Court Justice. I learned so much from her. She was a fierce worker, but she always carried postcards and would write things like "Thank you for yesterday" during small gaps in her time. She was a very human person.

That kind of thoughtfulness really resonates, doesn't it? Last year, the chairperson of the Rengo Mita-kai changed, and Akiko Suganuma, a graduate of the School of Medicine, became the chairperson. Immediately after taking office, it was difficult because the Rengo Mita-kai convention had to be cancelled, but Chairperson Suganuma has been sending messages to encourage members and focusing on fundraising activities for medical and student support. I have high expectations as she continues to think about how to revitalize the Mita-kai.

Keio students also went through a hard time this year, but one thing that made me happy was that they showed a lot of ingenuity in the midst of it. At SFC, volunteers from the first and second years used advanced technology to realize a virtual Tanabata Festival. The Mita Festival was also held in a hybrid format, connecting the physical venue in Mita with the audience online, and in the School of Medicine, students created very detailed infection prevention guidelines, which were then published on the web by students of the All Keio Student Council. Despite many restrictions, the various clubs of the Athletic Association also achieved brilliant competitive results.

They weren't just saying it's hard, it's hard; they were using various ideas to do what they could. I am happy to have seen that spirit in many places, and I believe we must make it possible for such Keio students to be even more active.

Finally, since it is the New Year, I will share some upbeat news. In the sense of aiming for the next evolution on top of the accumulation of various traditions, two museums will open on the Mita Campus in the spring of 2021. One is called the "Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Keio History Museum," which aims to accurately position the history of scholarship accumulated by Keio in the past, as well as the founder Fukuzawa Yukichi and Keio University, within the modernization of Japan. The other is the "Keio Museum Commons (KeMCo)," which will serve as a new hub for education and research by using digital technology extensively to exhibit and distribute academic content that fuses analog and digital.

I want to make this a new type of academic hub where the accumulation of humanities in a broad sense cultivated by Keio University and advanced technology are not in a binary opposition of humanities versus science, but where both fuse well and demonstrate their power. I believe it is a symbolic event for our development as a comprehensive university equipped with both the sciences and the humanities.

I hope you continue to develop more and more. Since this year marks the 70th anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and is a year for restoring international cooperation, I have great expectations as an alumnus that you will lead a turbulent Japan as an international seat of learning.

Thank you very much for your time today despite your busy schedule.