On Occasion 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 will 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 your graduation, 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. Sophia University takes great pride in sending you out into the world as you spread your wings wide, aim high and fly into the global 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.
How many of you here are aware that this year commemorates the 150th anniversary of Japanese-German relations? Japan and Germany have been enjoying diplomatic relations since the Tokugawa Shogunate signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with Prussia back in 1861. The Governments of Japan and Germany are planning several official events to commemorate this occasion, but there is one that has been initiated by a citizen. The event is one that will bestow an award on 75 Germans and 75 Japanese who most contributed to German-Japanese relations. Candidates will come from a wide pool of people; men and women of all ages. The chosen 150 individuals will be awarded a German-Japanese Friendship Award, along with a round-trip ticket between Germany and Japan. The founder and main organizer of this event is a graduate of Sophia. Let’s call him Mr. O.
Mr. O enrolled in Sophia University with hopes to study in Germany during his enrollment. Alas, he didn’t pass the requisite test for the exchange program. Therefore, Mr. O entered a German speech contest that offered the winner a round-trip ticket to Germany. He came in 2nd place. But Mr. O did not give up. “The smart ones win scholarships to Germany. I was not smart enough, nor did I have the luck this time, but I’ll get to where they are. I’ll hitchhike instead,” he decided. The student saved up 300 dollars from his part-time earnings and rode the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way to Europe. He hitchhiked across more than 20 countries, and even ventured into Egypt and India. He traveled light—all he had with him was his one backpack. The excursion lasted a year. He said he was saved many times by the kindness of the local Germans.
After completing his studies, Mr. O joined a well known corporation and was transferred to Germany, but he came back home as he had decided to take up the family business. He conducted his business with one principle in mind: “The company is a dojo for employees to brush up their skills.” Thirty-six years later, Mr. O, his wife, and his employees had turned what was once a small retailer into a corporation that marked 33.9 billion yen in sales. When their annual sales reached 10 billion yen, Mr. O began philanthropic work. In the year 2000, he launched an annual German speech contest in Japan for junior high school and high school students. In 2009, he launched a Japanese speech contest in Germany for students under 18. The winner in each country would be awarded with a round-trip ticket to Germany (or Japan). In 2001, Mr. O launched a fund drive to support Peace Village International in Germany. This village provides shelter for wounded children from war-torn regions such as Afghanistan and Angola. The children are taken in for rehabilitation and also have the opportunity to learn, before they are sent back to their homeland. Peace Village International is said to have saved 26,000 children from 48 countries so far. They were also introduced in the Japanese television program “Ururun Taizaiki.”
Hearing this, you may regard Mr. O as someone who is different or special, but Mr. O said “There were many setbacks. I was about to give up. But I owe what I am today to those hardships.” Mr. O also stated that the words of educational leader Paul J. Meyer determined his way of life. Mr. Meyer’s message was this: “Put your thoughts onto a big piece of paper. If you set out to fill the gap between what is on that piece of paper and what is your present reality, life will unfold in the way you desire.”
“I wish to urge students to develop a blueprint their plans.” Mr. O says, “I think dreams are not only to dream, but they are there for you to attain. I wish to use my remaining days to put forth this message through my philanthropic work. The speech contest is a part of this scheme. It is going to be an event that awards an “amity prize” in commemoration of 150th years of German-Japanese relations. I will also be participating in this event as a judge. The award ceremonies are going to be held in the German Embassy in Tokyo on May 27th, and in the Japanese Embassy in Berlin on July 1st.”
Sophia University is a school supported by alumni such as Mr. O. I urge you to keep your eyes open to the world, and 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 will 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 further realize our educational spirit of “Men and Women for Others, with Others”, to help make 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 health and 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
