On Occation of the Spring Graduation Ceremony

First of all, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the victims of the Tohoku-Pacific Coast Earthquake and their families. Also, my thoughts and prayers are with those people who are still suffering from the disaster. After the Tohoku-Pacific Coast Earthquake on March 11th, I have received messages from around the world, such as Rome, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, and America. I am grateful for their warm messages. At the same time, we would like to give our utmost respect and support to the people who are working towards the recovery in the disaster-struck areas. We would like to help out whenever possible to overcome this difficult time together .

On this occasion, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of you on completing your graduate and doctoral courses, as well as to all families and friends who are here to share this important day. I would also like to offer my deepest gratitude for the wide range of generous support you have provided to our university.

All of you who will be leaving here today are our ambassadors. We at Sophia University take great pride in sending you out into the world. As you spread your wings wide, aim high and fly into the world community. We expect that you will continue to deepen the knowledge you have gained based on our educational spirit, “Men and Women for Others, with Others”, and that you will join hands with others to create a better world. It is with this wish that I share the following.

I’ve just read a book recently written by Ms. Kyoko Kato, who had spent quite some time abroad, and who had previously taught at Sophia. The book was titled “Kotoba de Tatakau Gijutsu (Using Language as a Tool).” In this increasingly globalized 21st century, where we must co-exist with those from different cultures, this book teaches the Japanese, who, for so long, have been taught the virtue of “being careful not to be hurtful to others” how to cultivate “eloquence” so as to voice their thoughts to those from a different culture, while still conserving Japanese values. It was both an interesting and clearly written book.

The book tells us that we first have to be aware that there is a “conception gap” between ourselves and others. For example, in Japan, we hold annual ceremonies to mourn the atomic bomb victims and pray for peace on August 6th in Hiroshima and on August 9th in Nagasaki. But I’m sure you are also aware of the phrase, “Remember Pearl Harbor,” which is still often used to criticize Japan. From Ms. Kato’s past experiences, it seems that many Americans perceive the phrases “Remember Hiroshima, Remember Nagasaki” in the same context as “Remember Pearl Harbor.” They therefore misunderstand these ceremonies to be vengeance-minded, and say that it is high time the Japanese put this in the past.

The book further says that the Japanese lack in their ability to express their thoughts that their voice is weak in the international society, and that it is this which causes such misunderstandings. Another trait that is a major trigger for conflict is the peculiar way in which the Japanese smile. The Japanese are considered to be more mild mannered than most other ethnic groups around the world. They tend to keep smiling even in disagreeable situations so as not to offend the other party. The Japanese take this etiquette to be a social lubricant, and they consider this a virtue. Outside Japan, however, a smile is a sign of consent, so the other party misinterprets this little gesture thinking that they can go forward with their proposition. Ms. Kato writes that in order to communicate on par with Westerners, she had to overcome these mannerisms that were embedded since childhood, by practicing with a mirror. She had to repeatedly practice dropping the smile and looking the other person in the eye, showing a clear sign of disagreement. The eyes are as eloquent as the tongue, she writes. So if you are to venture out into the world, you may need some practice too.

In order to co-exist with those with different cultural backgrounds, communication skills are a must, and what underlies these skills is your ability to convey your thoughts in your own words. But even before that, there is a basic skill you need, and that is the ability to listen to others. A conversation is a two-way street in which you might even let your counterpart's ideas change your own train of thought or sensibility.

In meeting people with different values, thoughts, and sensibilities, you need to have the imagination to understand them and to also take into account their different backgrounds and the reasoning behind their thinking processes. Debating skills are not what you need, but an effort to try to construct reciprocal dialogue with others is the skill required. In Japan, consensus is usually based on unanimity. In a multicultural environment with diverse thoughts, ideas, and sensibilities, however, it is intrinsic that we find a way instead to meet in the middle, where we can cooperate with each other, and walk toward the same goal. The pursuit and implementation of this is the path to reciprocal dialogue.

I ask all of you here today, to become more knowledgeable about different cultures, to brush up your listening skills, and to cultivate the ability to create dialogues with others.

Take our educational spirit of “Men and Women for Others, with Others” with you on your journeys, and thus use your God-given talents, not only for yourselves, but for your family, those around you, and those regions and countries that are less fortunate than yours. I do hope that you will be one of those who aspire to make the world a better place.

As we near the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Sophia University in 2013, we are all devoting our efforts to channel the founding our educational spirit into education, research, the nurturing of human resources, and international contribution, and thus, to making Sophia a world-class university. As part of this, I would like to ask all of you to continue to support Sophia in the future for the 100th anniversary commemorative projects.

In closing, I would like to wish each and every one of you happiness in the future. I pray that God will bless you in all your endeavors.

Prof. Toshiaki Koso S.J.
Chancellor
Sophia School Corporation
March 23, 2011