Notes from the President

To our new students—congratulations on your admission.
To your families, friends, and everyone who supported you—please accept my heartfelt appreciation.

I would like to take this opportunity firstly to convey my sincere apologies on behalf of the university for the concern and inconvenience caused by administrative errors on our part. Please know that we take this issue very seriously and are doing everything possible to prevent it from happening again.

The most important thing is your learning and growth. APU takes pride in its multicultural environment, where all students can study with peace of mind and lead fulfilling university lives, and this environment remains fully intact. To ensure that new students who have not yet been able to enter the country can continue their studies, we will be conducting some classes online this semester. However, APU has experience as a pioneer among universities worldwide in transitioning to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that learning was never interrupted. We ask all new students to warmly welcome your peers who will be arriving soon.

From today, you become part of the APU community.
In this very venue, we have people with different languages, different cultures, and different life stories, all sitting side by side.
Before we begin, take a moment to imagine.

Who will you be four years from now, when you descend from this hill of Jumonjibaru on which APU stands, and step out into the wider world?

1. Knowing the times we live in — peace is not a given

We are living in an age of division.
We see headlines of conflict, division, and a growing sense of powerlessness.
But you who are gathered here today, you are different.

Peace is not something we receive. Peace is something we build.
That is the resolve that brought you here. That is what I believe.

Even in the face of conflict, there is work that we can do here and now.
Become someone who understands what is happening, learns how support systems work, and takes consistent small steps that build up into something bigger.
What can one person do alone? A lot. One person’s action moves the next person.

2. Don’t drown in a sea of information — train your thinking muscle

Social media is awash with strong language, hasty conclusions, and vague justifications.
What is needed is the ability to verify facts, to consider the other person’s point of view, and to continue to engage in dialogue.

APU is a place where this ability is nurtured.
Every day, in classes, in AP House, in the cafeteria, in the library, in Green Commons—you will disagree face to face, misunderstand one another, and then try again to talk it through. This is exactly what will form the foundation of human judgement that is not swayed by misinformation or bias.

3. How we learn — Expertise × Diversity × Practice

What I want you to gain is more than just expertise.
Expertise matters. But learning only turns from knowledge into strength when it is combined with a perspective tempered through multicultural experience and being put into practice in the field.

Come up with ideas in the classroom, try them out on campus, and put them to work in the city.
Fail, learn from your mistakes, and try again.
This back-and-forth is the type of learning that APU proudly offers to the world.

4. Three questions, three promises

Now I have three questions for you.
Write your answers in a notebook, on your phone, or simply in your heart.
Decide today, here and now.

Q1: What moves you the most?
Put what excites you into words. It’s okay if it’s vague, just put it into words.
Promise #1: I will put what moves me into words.

Q2: With whom will you shape the world?
Don’t form a team with only people who think the same way as you.
Instead, invite someone with different opinions to yours to join you on your team.
Promise #2: I will purposely team up with people different to me.

Q3: What problems will you take on as your own?
Climate? Poverty? Education? Business? Tourism? Community building?
Don’t stop at ambiguous topics, make it small and concrete, something you can make a reality.
Promise #3: I will take concrete steps starting tomorrow.

5. Your first 100 days — five steps to take

The steps you take at the starting line should be small, fast, and many.

1. Learn the names of 100 people.
   Calling someone by name is the first act of respect.
2. Have 10 challenging conversations.
   Choose topics that split opinions. Be courteous—and be honest.
3. Fail properly three times.
   Failure is proof that you’ve tried. Write down your reflections and be sure to try again.
4. Connect with the city once.
   Join a project or work with a local group, company, or NPO in Beppu. Get off campus.
5. Take a half-day for quiet thought each week.
   Even if it’s just for half a day, put your phone away, read, write, and reflect.

In just 100 days, your view of the world will already start to change.

6. Become a beacon

APU wants to be a beacon of empathy and mutual understanding, lighting the way in a darkened sea, a hope that can be seen from near and far.
But that beacon is not just an institutional slogan on the university wall.
It is you who becomes that beacon.

Be the person brave enough to raise your hand first.
Be the person who listens to differing opinions, all the way to the end.
Be the person who stands up after a loss and offers a hand to others.
- Your actions become a guiding light for those that follow behind you.

7. Finally — Shape your world

Your years up here on APU campus will feel both long and suddenly short.
Say it. Do it. Review it. Repeat.
This cycle will shape the world around you.

Please remember:
Peace is made.
The ability to think is trained.
The future is chosen.

Welcome to APU.
I am sincerely looking forward to learning with you and from you.
Once again, congratulations on your entrance to APU.

Hiroshi Yoneyama
President
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
April 1, 2026