See the World! You’ll never know what you’re going to get without being a minority in a cross-cultural environment. Jump out to the world to interact with people from different nationalities, races, lifestyles, and values!

    The first task to note was the launching and conducting of a development program in Eastern Indonesia.
    I was assigned a new post in the JICA Indonesia office in my fourth year. During my residence in Indonesia, we established a field office (kind of a branch office of JICA Indonesia office) in the major urban areas of eastern Indonesia, Makassar of South Sulawesi Province, with an aim to develop areas which were particularly poor. Although I was in my early 30s, I got promoted to a substantial local representative of the field office, designed the development program of eastern Indonesia, and then launched some specific projects. There, I also hired a local staff member as an office manager. This experience of conducting business alongside building a team has developed me substantially as a “human”.
    What made me happy was the word given by the head of the Development Bureau of South Sulawesi Province when I was going to be dismissed, saying “You should not go yet. If you really must go, please be sure to send out a successor as reliable as you.” At that point, I was relieved to find out that what I had been working hard was appreciated by local people, and I realized that we were successful in building trust with each other.

    The second is my African journey as a manager in charge of African Basic Education. One of the reasons I chose to work at JICA is that I wanted to provide an equal opportunity to everyone regardless of one’s born and raised situation. In that sense, it is essential to provide a learning opportunity to children so I worked hard on various projects such as “the project enabling everyone to go to school” with the purpose of building a society in which people can be convinced that “if I do my best now, my dream will come true,” “the school constructing project,” and “the math education project” which Japan is good at.

    The third is the tasks I engaged in as a Director, Strategic Planning Division such as designing the management strategy of the JICA or making a mid-term plan. I discussed seriously with my colleagues about the future vision of international cooperation or the role of Japan and JICA, and in line with our ideas, I newly established JICA Development Studies Program and formed a framework that enables young staff members to propose a new business. As I gained experience, I started to realize the importance of increasing the number of domestic people who understand international cooperation, as well as how important it is to have the Japanese, especially the young Japanese, go abroad and accumulate experience.

    The fourth is the current tasks as a Director General, Secretariat of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
    Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOVC) will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2025 and boasts 56,000 volunteers participated as of now. People may still imagine JOVC as digging a well in Africa, however, there are more than 180 categories including sports instruction, dispatch of the fields of education, health, environment education, business and marketing, and so on. As of today, there are approximately 1,500 volunteers active in 74 countries around the world with females accounting for 60 %. Although the fields in which volunteers are being dispatched have increased, our philosophy remains the same. That is, “a volunteer should live with the local people in a developing country and work on tackling issues hand-in-hand. We must not forget the perspective as an “outsider” as well as a “foreigner,” we must not act superior just because we are from the developed country, Japan. Such an attitude will never work. An important attitude is to come up with solutions together as a partner. However, it is not a piece of cake to communicate broadly with people from different nationalities, races, lifestyles, and values. The volunteers develop themselves by overcoming troubles and learning from failures. As a result, many volunteers who came back to Japan appreciate their experiences saying “I was supposed to teach local people but I turned out to be taught a lot,” “I went there to help local people but I found myself being supported instead.”

    What underpins the future of Japan is the youth who possess such cross-cultural experiences, and we are proud to be nurturing such human talents. The door is always open for Chuo University students here!

    I am fulfilled with my job. The world is now facing a complex risk and stands at a turning point in history. Geopolitical risks have posed a threat to the global order, which is based on the rule of law and contributed to the stabilization and prosperity of the post-war global society. The world is also battered by an infection spread and inflation of food and energy prices. Furthermore, climate change is striking the world with more concrete issues than before. These risks arising from complex issues are a great threat to all human beings, however, vulnerable people in developing countries are prone to be affected significantly. In the end, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal by 2030 is in danger. 　

    It is impossible to solve complex issues only in one country so we, the whole world, need to work together. I believe it is Japan’s role to drive this cooperation forward. The JICA holds the vision of “Leading the world with trust.” We believe that “trust” can be built by co-creating solutions for social issues with not only developing countries but also with many domestic partners specializing in various fields. We are sure this is a crucial task for the development of Japan and our children’s future.

    Our goals are to convey the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) mission and how attractive we are to as many people as possible, with an aim to increase the number of participants. Volunteer members also play an active role in Japan after returning to their home country. As Japan faces various issues including regional revitalization and the building of intercultural society, they are blessed with opportunities to leverage their experiences.

    I worked on many things such as club activities, swimming, a part-time job, a short-term foreign exchange program, and so on. I am definitely satisfied with my university days; however, I was not a kind of role model student. What has meant the most to me is the fact that I made lifetime friends during my campus life. I spent all my time playing tennis at “CLOVER” (the name of the tennis club I belonged to), and the friends I made there are my assets. I still keep in touch with them and whenever we meet up, I am happy to mingle freely and be transported back to my old days. I remember we sometimes discussed things such as “What is real wealth?”

    Four years at university are valuable. I believe it is important to devote much effort to something such as studying, club activities, or whatever is fine. What is important is to struggle with something as much as possible so you can confidently say “I worked hard on blah-blah in my college days.” I am sure such an experience will be one of the elements that make your future happy. Also, as Japanese Society is transforming into an intercultural society that co-lives with people from different countries, you should study abroad or at least travel abroad while in university. There will be not much time to go after graduation. Although going abroad is not the only solution to prepare for an intercultural society, you can learn more or discover new values by interacting with international students at the University.

    Please experience being a minority. Fly to the world, whether as an exchange student or as a volunteer member to feel the cultural and customs differences, through being a “foreigner.” You’ll never know what you’re going to get without being a minority in a cross-cultural environment. Jump out to the world to interact with people from different nationalities, races, lifestyles, and values! It is those human talents who possess such experience that can play a vital role on the global scene and also become the facilitators of intercultural society building.

    Now is the time to jump out into the world and undergo good and bad. See everything, try anything. That’s the stance we want young students to take. Actually, what is a human being? What kind of people live there? Feel everything from your bones and think. Start by showing your courage to step forward.