My father told me, "Go to Keio! And make it the economics department," so I just went along with it.

-- Looking at your policies as a minister, I get a strong sense of a perspective rooted in real-world economics. What was your reason for deciding to study economics, which forms the foundation for that?

"Well, for me, my father told me to go to Keio, so I just thought, 'Oh, okay,' and that's how it was decided (laughs). I had assumed everyone would go to the local high school in the countryside together. But my father brought home an application form and said, 'There's no point in going to a country school like that. Go to a school in the city, and make it Keio.' At the time, I didn't even know about Keio or Waseda. Then, when I was wondering which faculty to choose, my father said again, 'If you're going to Keio, it has to be economics. Nothing else will do.' So, both the university and the faculty were decided very easily for me."

-- So, what was your student life like after you actually enrolled?

"In the faculty, I often attended the talks of Professor Sei'ichiro Takahashi (the 8th President). I think it was good that he didn't say much that was overly academic. He would tell practical stories, like 'this happened in Britain,' or 'that happened,' for example, what British landowners were like. It wasn't 'studying,' it was more like listening to 'stories.'"

-- The professors of the good old Keio had a great deal of breadth, didn't they?

"Their stories were interesting. The lectures, you know."

-- It seems to be a kind of tradition of the Faculty of Economics to be well-versed in all sorts of areas. I think it's a broad field of study, not a very narrow one.

"That's right. This is a story about a certain professor, who was running a bar in Ginza. In that bar, after you go in a little way, there's a step down, and it's pitch black inside. People entering for the first time would stumble right there. Watching from the other side, you could immediately tell, 'Ah, that's a first-timer.' Then the woman at the entrance would turn them away, saying, 'We're full with reservations.' I had been taught the trick, so I passed the test. I was even taught that kind of playfulness. It wasn't just that professor; my relationships with my teachers were often very personal. I learned all sorts of things through that. I often visited my professors at their homes."

-- After graduating, when do you feel the merits of Keio?

"There's something called the Okura Mita-kai, you see, and there are 425 Juku graduates in the Ministry of Finance's National Tax Agency. I was really surprised. Twenty years ago, when I was on the Finance Committee, there were hardly any. Apparently, the number has increased rapidly in the last 10 years. I hear that the number of Juku graduates has also increased considerably in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Among them, the number of women is also increasing. I think this is a good thing. When I ask these women, they say very clearly, 'This is an era of a collaborative society, so I want to participate in society in some way. I'm in charge of taxes now, but in the future, I want to be a tax accountant.' If you're a salaried worker, you have to deal with job suitability and complex human relationships. As a tax accountant, the reason seems to be that you can make it on your own strength. It's very encouraging."

-- Regarding taxes, you've been involved with the Tax System Research Council ever since you were first elected. How did you apply your knowledge of economics there?

"After graduating from Keio, I entered the world of politics after working for a small and medium-sized enterprise, so I had a business-like sense, which was probably different from previous ministers. That's what the people at the ministry say. I suppose I learned the principles of economics at university and real-world economics in business."

-- As a student, you don't really understand why you're studying economics, but you come to realize its importance once you're out in society. Economics is a discipline that connects to everything, after all.

"As a student, I was more passionate about handball and mountain climbing than academics, so I didn't study much. Looking back now, I want to tell my younger self, 'Study once in a while!'"

Mr. Shiokawa is also currently the President of Toyo University. He is actively involved in student education and employment issues. He proposes work-sharing to companies. The number of companies that agree with Mr. Shiokawa's idea that "we should provide opportunities for young people to be active. We should also let them go abroad more and more" is steadily increasing. At the core of Mr. Shiokawa's activities, which he pursues with a high level of awareness in both the political and educational worlds, seems to lie the "Keio spirit," cultivated in the highly diverse Faculty of Economics.