News in Brief

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Furukawa lectures at Kyudai Deputy chief Cabinet Secretary and Kyudai old boy Teijiro Furukawa gave a lecture for the faculty and staff of Kyudai on September 14 at the Kyushu University Research and International Exchange Plaza. Mr. Furukawa graduated from the Faculty of Law at Kyushu University in 1958. Following his position as an administrative vice minister in the Ministry of Welfare, he has played an important role as the deputy chief in Murayama, Hashimoto, Obuchi, Mori and Koizumi Cabinets since February 1995. In response to Kyudai's offer to celebrate his longest term of office of all-time, he visited his old school Kyudai and spoke about "The expectations for Kyushu University in relation to the Government's structural reforms." He talked about his experiences as a bureaucrat and said, "I believe that the important things as a member of an organization and also as an individual, are to have a foresight, the power to challenge, responsibility and ambition. I have been trying to become a person who has those qualities." He explained that in order to deal with the hollowing out of Japanese industry, the government has to promote the privatization of governmental organizations, strengthen the foundations of science and cultivate human resources. He also emphasized that national universities need structural reforms. At the end of the speech, he said: "I am proud of my old school, Kyudai, and it's always in my heart."

The First Town Meeting from University in Kyudai On September 28, the Cabinet Office hosted the Town Meeting at the Memorial Hall of Kyushu University, Hakozaki Campus. It was the first time the Town Meeting had ever been held in collaboration with a university. The theme of the meeting, "The Future cooperation between universities and the community," aimed at developing a model of the community with a core university in its economy, and universities which are open to the public through discussions about the possibility of cooperation amongst universities, industry and the community. Representatives from the central government Atsuko Toyama, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Heizou Takenaka, Minister of State (Financial Services, Economic and Fiscal Policy) also participated in the meeting. President Kajiyama presented examples of Kyudai's contribution to the community through human resource development and research activities. Following the presentation, a panel discussion was chaired by Professor Komiyama from the University of Tokyo. The panel expressed their views before an audience of over 500 eager listeners.

Kyudai in Tokyo On October 1, Kyushu University Tokyo Office opened near JR Tokyo Station. This office functions as the information center for Kyudai's research and education activities, business-academia collaboration and also as the gathering place of alumni. For more information, please contact:, General Affairs Division, Kyushu University Phone: (092) 642-2107