{"id":21787,"date":"2025-01-23T14:49:28","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T05:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summerinjapan.com\/?page_id=21787"},"modified":"2026-11-11T15:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T06:33:08","slug":"fromuniversities","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/summerinjapan.com\/en\/fromuniversities","title":{"rendered":"From Universities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Opening Messages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hiroshi Yoneyama<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

President of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening Speech Summer in JAPAN 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good morning, everyone. It is a great pleasure to join Governor Sato here today, and to welcome all of you to the opening of Summer in JAPAN 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you to two people: Ms. Hirotsuru Mari and her daughter, Ms. Hirotsuru Sumire. Many years ago, they had a simple idea, that every child, no matter where they are from, deserves the chance to discover what they love and what they are good at. Since then, they have given their time and their hearts to make that idea real, again and again, every summer. We are all here today because of their dedication. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Yoneyama Hiroshi. I am the president of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, or APU. My university is very close to here, in Beppu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, you will meet wonderful mentors – university students from Harvard in the United States, and also from Oita University and APU, right here in Oita. They come from many different countries. This week, they are here for you: to teach you, to guide you, and to share a bigger world with you, all in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At APU, we see something similar every day. Half of our students come from Japan, and half come from more than 120 countries around the world. When you get to know someone from a different place, even just for a week, you start to understand the world a little better, and the world becomes a little more peaceful. That is something APU believes deeply, and it is something this program believes too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of what you do this week may feel a little hard at first. That is okay. New things often feel hard right before they feel wonderful. So please be brave. Raise your hand. Ask your mentors questions. Try speaking English, even if it feels difficult. I want to give you one word to remember this week: possibility. By the end of this week, I hope you discover something new, maybe a new skill, a new friend, or a new idea about yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you again to Ms. Hirotsuru and Sumire-san, to Governor Sato, and to all of you. I wish you all a wonderful Summer in JAPAN 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warm regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YONEYAMA Hiroshi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Monte Cassim<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

President of Akita International University<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Opening Speech Summer in JAPAN 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello everyone and thank you for coming all the way from the US. I think scholarship is something that Harvard holds dear, and scholarship is an important component of lifelong learning, which is one of my thoughts on how the Summer in JAPAN program should evolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I must also thank Sumire for yesterday’s wonderful concert. Not only was it a fantastic musical burst of creativity, she brought what was local in Japan and Oita to the forefront of the universe, and that was fantastic. When I was listening, I imagined the hills of Yufuin, as I used to pass when I lived here for 6 years. In the autumn, in the evening light, the hum is slowly growing, and I was imagining this badger coming crashing down this hill with many obstacles such as black lava stones, which make it an extraordinarily beautiful place to have experienced. So please, my dear friends, as you think of the global, think of the local as well in your lifelong learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people see Japan as homogeneous for many years. That is a myth, as an international university student experience will tell you. They come from every prefecture in Japan and know, by living together, that neighboring prefectures have such different and mixed cultures. It is natural. The distance from the north of Japan to the south of Japan is nearly twice the distance from northern to southern of Germany, so there is no way that it can be homogeneous. So let us break this myth through our lifelong learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I must also thank Hirotsuru Mari for the wise pillars that she has established as her mission, because I think she has caught you young. Some of you are seven or eight years old, others of you are 18 years old, and then you have slightly more mature instructors, and much more mature leaders. So the thing is, this transgenerational aspect is very important for personal development. You have to recognize that we are not alone. We always have others who we can fall back on. It is our nature to help, and this we must bring to the forefront. Sometimes there are people who might think differently and who are in positions of power, and they might distort this. But we must be mindful that empathy, recognizing weakness in others, forgiving it, loving, caring, sharing. These are all important elements of what will build personal development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, contributions to humanity is actually something that embraces not just universality, but also recognizes the richness of localities. So please use this as your inspiration. Make an impact on society. As Hirotsuru Mari said, leave the Earth better than we found it. And in your lifetime, it will not only be the Earth, maybe it will also be space. In your lifetime, there will not only be big things that we see around us, but also very, very little things as quantum science becomes important. Biology and physics, machines and humans will all become integrated in some fashion. We do not know what the future is, so it is very important going back once again to lifelong learning. Thank you for this wonderful initiative. I wish the young people here all the very best and I hope that Summer in JAPAN will outlive all of us and go on to become a pillar of strength for humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monte CASSIM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President, Akita International University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opening Messages Hiroshi Yoneyama President of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Opening Speech Summer in JA […]<\/p>\n

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