Opening Messages

Summer in JAPAN President and Founder: Mari Hirotsuru

Opening Speech Summer in JAPAN 2024

Dear SIJ students and parents, Team USA, Harvard University and Tufts university, Team Japan, APU, AIU, Oita University faculty of medicine, our staff and board members, and distinguished guests of honor, Oita Governor Sato, APU President Yoneyama, AIU President Cassim, I am very happy to announce the commencement of the 12th Summer in JAPAN.


Attending intensive, face-to-face programs like SIJ has three major benefits. 

  • First, it connects people of different backgrounds, which promotes internationally-minded thinking.
  • Second, it also helps discover unexpected talents or passions hidden inside each of us. Conflicts and differences in diverse groups are in fact blessings as they are opportunities to leave our comfort zones and grow.
  • Third, connecting the generations is vital for society. When I work with young people, I see they have two identities, one real and one virtual. Using modern tools, they share themselves with the world, uniting everyone as one.  To my generation, this power seems amazing. One of my favorite sayings goes, “A parent can learn from their own children.” At SIJ, I hope to learn from you.

 

Look at this picture. This anime, Sazae-san, was the stereotypical image of the Japanese family from the 1960s. Fune, and her daughter Sazae-san are both housewives while their husbands spend their lives working outside the home.  This was the norm until 1985, when my generation passed the Act on Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment.

 

 

Fune and I are of the same generation, but do I look like her? Wearing an apron all the time? Always cooking or cleaning? No! We made it. Women can work, and Men can love cooking. Now, it’s your turn to evolve our culture. 

 

 

 

I never imagined a time when cute cat pictures can get billions of views and likes, sharing positive emotions worldwide. This is the power of our time.

 
In the past, when someone felt sad, they experienced it in isolation. No, when one person feels pain, it spreads to the whole world via this interconnected cloud. That may seem like chaos,
 
 
 
 


but it is the challenge of your generation to achieve harmony. My generation is cheering for you.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I hope everyone takes full advantage of this opportunity at SIJ to discover what you love doing, and foster a lifelong love of learning under the guidance of our instructors from Team USA and with the help of Team JAPAN.  Thank you!