学長室

３年以上にわたる新型コロナ感染症の中、困難な状況にも負けず大学院博士課程及び博士後期課程を修了した皆さん、本日は誠におめでとうございます。ここに列席の研究科長、学域長及び指導教員を始めとする全教職員を代表し、皆様に心よりお祝い申し上げます。
また、今日まで修了生を支え続けてこられたご家族と関係者の皆様にも心よりお慶び申し上げます。

パンデミックでさまざまな制約の中、厳しい教育研究環境だけでなく、経済的にも辛い状況を経験してきた修了生も多いと推察します。そのような状況で、本日は７４名の方が長崎大学から博士の学位を授与されました。経済学研究科１名、工学研究科９名、水産・環境科学総合研究科８名、医歯薬学総合研究科５５名、熱帯医学・グローバルヘルス研究科１名がそのたゆまぬ努力の結果博士の学位を取得し、そのうち１９名は留学生でした。

　今年の学位記という証書は、従来となんら変わるものではありませんが、コロナのパンデミックという厳しい条件の中で勝ち得た学位記は極めて価値あるものと、私は考えています。皆さん、実際、日本人で学位を有する人は何パーセントいると思いますか？
わずか、0.012％。科学技術・学術政策研究所の2019年のデータでは100万人あたりわずか120名。つまり、君たちは、日本にとって、0.012%の貴重な存在なのです。皆さんの３年から５年間の研究生活と学位を取ったという結果に、自信と誇りを持ってください。
https://www.nistep.go.jp/sti_indicator/2022/RM318_34.html

私も、病理学という基礎医学の大学院に入り学位を取得しました。
私が若い頃は、医学博士は足の裏の米粒と揶揄されていました。つまり、一人前の医師になる人は、学位くらい取って当然という考え方で、取ったところで、何ら変化が起こらないということでした。でも、私は、自分で何かしらの変化を求めていたのでしょう。大学院を修了後、日本を飛び出し、米国へ２年間留学をしました。
　振り返ると、大学院の４年間と留学の２年間は、試行錯誤、もがきながら必死で課題の解決に当たる日々でした。困難に直面した場合には、いろいろな方向から考え、解決策を探らなければなりません。そのために、先輩や仲間から得た助言、また、異文化体験が大変貴重な財産となりました。おそらく、皆さんも同様だったでしょう。自分のフィールドからの一辺倒の見方だけでは、新しい研究や学問に貢献することはできないと思います。多面的な思考は課題解決への一つの解答です。

「一番強いものが、生き残るのではない。一番賢いものが生き残るのでもない、変化できるものだけが生き残る。」と言われるように、学位を取得した皆さんは、これからも変化を求めて、歩んで行ってください。そして、多くの人と交わり多面的な思考を発展させ社会に貢献してください。それが、0.012%の存在である皆さんのミッションだろうと思います。
皆さんは、これから社会的には、能力あるエリート層と分類されると思います。

エリート層とは、どんな人たちなのでしょうか？
『白熱教室』で有名なハーバード大学のマイケル・サンデル教授は、こう述べています。〝能力主義がエリート達を傲慢にし、敗者との間に未曾有の分断をもたらしている〟と。
アメリカ社会では、政治的社会的な分断が進んでいるのはエリート層達の能力偏重主義によるものと教授は指摘し、エリートとはすべての人に共通した善、つまり幸福に寄与するべきと最近の著書（『実力も運のうち　能力主義は正義か？』）で、述べています。
私もサンデル教授の意見に賛成です。
なぜならば、本学が掲げるプラネタリーヘルスへの貢献とは、まさに世界の共通善、幸福に寄与するコンセプトだからです。人類がその行動のために引き起こした様々な不都合な事象を解決する。それに、貢献できる人が、本日、学位を授与された君たち長崎大学人です。能力は、人の幸せ、地球の健康のために使うべきなのです。皆さんが長崎大学人として、社会で広い視野を持って、考えて行動する人になっていかれることを大いに期待しています。

最後に、この中には、本日をもって、長崎を離れる人もいるでしょう。長崎大学は皆さんの母校として、皆さんが学び直しのため、あるいは若いころの学びを懐かしむためにも、いつか帰って来てくれる母なる港として待っています。これからの皆さんの前途に大いなる希望があふれることを祈念し私の挨拶といたします。

Congratulatory Address by the President of Nagasaki University at the AY 2022 Spring Commencement on March 20, 2023

On behalf of all the faculty and staff at Nagasaki University, including the deans of the graduate schools and institutes and supervisors who are present here today, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to all of you who have completed your doctoral degree program. Your accomplishment is especially remarkable given the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic that has lasted for more than three years. I would also like to express my sincere congratulations to your families, who have supported you along the way.

I suppose that under various restrictions in the midst of the pandemic, many of you have not only faced difficulties in learning and conducting research, but also harsh economic conditions. Today, 74 graduates have received their doctoral degree from Nagasaki University after their tireless efforts, of whom 19hail from overseas. By graduate school, the breakdown of the doctoral degree recipients is: 1from the Graduate School of Economics, 9from the Graduate School of Engineering, 8from the Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, 55from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences ,and 1 from the School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health.

The diplomas awarded this year are not at all different from those awarded in the past, but I believe that they are extremely valuable in the sense that they were awarded after the recipients had endured such harsh conditions in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the way, do you know what percentage of Japanese people earn a doctoral degree each year? The answer is only 0.012 percent. According to data from the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, only 120 per million people in Japan earned a doctoral degree in the 2019 academic year. This means that you are part of the precious 0.012 percent. You should be confident and proud of your three or five years of successful research and of the degree you have earned.
https://www.nistep.go.jp/sti_indicator/2022/RM318_34.html (Japanese)

I myself attended graduate school to study pathology, a basic medical science, and earned my Ph.D. When I was young, a Ph.D. in medicine was mockingly likened to “a grain of rice stuck on the sole of a shoe.” This means that it is only natural for someone aiming to become a full-fledged doctor to earn a Ph.D., but the degree makes no difference to one’s life. I guess I was looking for some kind of change myself at that time. After completing my graduate studies in Japan, I went to the United States to study for two more years.

Looking back on my four years of graduate study in Japan and two years of study abroad, I struggled to solve challenges and learned through trial and error. When we face challenges, we need to think about things from various angles to work out solutions. In such a process, I received advice from my mentors and peers. Such advice and cross-cultural experience have become valuable assets for me. Perhaps you have had similar experiences. It is my belief that it will be difficult to contribute to new areas of research and study only with a one-sided view from your own field. Thinking things through from many perspectives is useful in solving challenges.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” As this quote indicates, I would like you all to continue changing as you move forward in life. I hope that you interact with many people, develop the ability to think about things from many perspectives, and work hard to contribute to society. I believe that is a mission for you who are part of the 0.012 percent.

I am sure that you will be categorized as the competent elite in society. What kind of people do you think the elites are? Professor Michael Sandel of Harvard University, who is famous for his lecture, titled Justice with Michael Sandel, which was rebranded in Japan as Harvard Hakunetsu Kyoshitsu (Harvard’s Heated Discussion Classroom), argues that meritocracy has made the elite arrogant and created an unprecedentedly wide divide between them and the losers. In his recent book The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? he points out that excessive meritocracy for the elite has contributed to widening social and political divides in American society and that the elite should contribute to the common good or the well-being of all.
　
I agree with Professor Sandel, because our commitment to contributing to planetary health is based on the very concept of the common good and well-being of the world. Humanity’s actions have caused various unexpected problems. I am sure that you can help solve such problems. You should use the abilities and skills you have developed at Nagasaki University for the happiness of others and planetary health. I greatly hope that as members of the Nagasaki University community, you will contribute to society while thinking and acting with a broad perspective.

Some of you will be leaving Nagasaki today. As your alma mater, we look forward to welcoming you back one day, whether to take a refresher course or to reminisce about your student days. Finally, I would like to conclude my address by wishing you all great hope for the future.