Notes from the President

Let’s Be Friendly!

Oct 2, 2015

Former Vice President IMAMURA Masaharu

 Congratulations on your admission to APU.

 This situation reminds me that our world is full borders: borders between here and there, borders between prefectures, borders between countries, and so on. Not all borders are physical, however. We establish many borders—between you and me, between people from Osaka and people from Tokyo, between Japanese and Koreans, between men and women—to demarcate differences. Somewhere in our hearts, we have each drawn a line to demarcate the border between ourselves and other people.
 With this in mind, APU might be considered a place packed full of ‘borders’ in every sense of the word. But you would probably go crazy if you had to sit and think about all of the different borders you encounter on a given day.

 Last year, I learned the word, or should I say the concept of, ‘Muslim-friendly’ from some APU students and teachers. It refers to efforts to welcome Muslims to Japan and make the country an easier place for them to live. The idea is for Japan to compromise where possible and do what it can to accommodate Muslims, even if it cannot provide them with everything they need. In any case, I like this word ‘friendly’. It sounds borderless. I like it more than the word ‘hospitality’ because hospitality suggests a border between the host and the guest. I would like to expand the use of the word friendly beyond this concept of Muslim-friendly to all kinds of people: vegetarians, the disabled, the chronically ill, sexual minorities (LGBT) etc. While it might not be possible to accommodate everything, we can still try to understand each other’s differences. I think you can all help make APU a great campus as long as you try to help each other solve your most vexing problems and troubles.  

 I really like the following passage. It is from a pamphlet for the Mixed Bathing World event that was recently held in Beppu:

“Hot water bubbles up from underground and collects in recesses just under the surface. It belongs to no one. People love it and strive to protect it. Local residents and visitors, men and women, all remove their clothes and take to the waters, fully naked, with no weapons; nationality and religion do not matter. In the hot springs, we all share a moment of our lives with our fellow bathers.”

 You have come to Beppu for your studies, but I think you will find it is a place where people live in peaceful harmony. It is already a friendly town. I can’t remember who, but someone once said that APU and Beppu are suited to each other.
 
 The Japan you are now studying in promised at the end of World War II never to make war again, and it has kept its promise for 70 years. It can now be considered a peaceful, non-aggressive country that is friendly to the world. Because of this, I believe APU will continue to be a place where students from around the world come to learn.  

 So, even if things may be difficult in Japan or in elsewhere around the globe, let us, the students of APU, go forth and be friendly!  

written on September 18th, 2015


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