Presidentʼs Address at the 2023-Autumn Saitama University Entrance Ceremony
To everyone who has entered the graduate school at Saitama University, congratulations on yourenrollment. Today, we are welcoming 25 students into the doctoral preliminary course and 30 into thedoctoral advanced course, including 51 international students, to our graduate school. It brings us great
joy to welcome all 55 of you as comrades who will walk the path of academic research together. We sincerely
welcome you all. Additionally, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to the families and associates whohave supported all of you who have enrolled, thus far. All of us, the faculty and staﬀ, will support yourstudent life in various aspects. Please step forward conﬁdently as you embark on this new journey fromtoday.
Now, I wonder how each of you is envisioning the upcoming days at the graduate school. Some may
have clear goals already, while others might still be ﬁnding their way. Regardless of your individual
circumstances and backgrounds, I believe that everyone here harbors high aspirations and attends thisentrance ceremony with the hope of achieving something signiﬁcant. Please don't forget those aspirations,and immerse yourself fully in cultivating a deeper knowledge and engaging in research in your respective
ﬁelds. I pray that your time as students will be fruitful.
On the other hand, I want to share something important with all of you who chose to delve deeper intostudies and research at the graduate school. That is, in this place called graduate school, the deeper yourscholarly pursuits become, and the closer you get to the forefront of research, the more likely you are toencounter seemingly insurmountable walls, which no one can see beyond. You may question whether thedirection of your study was correct or if your research methods will lead to the answers you seek. Pleasebe prepared to face moments where you harbor such doubts and may ﬁnd yourself at a standstill. Naturally,
the path of academia and research is never easy to tread. Hitting a wall can indeed signify something
genuine, something real. I speak this from my unfeigned experience as a researcher who has walked thesame path.
Given that facing diﬃculties is inevitable, how should one confront them? This is the most crucial point
I want to discuss with you today. Everyone needs some form of guideline or a solid foundation to overcome
challenges. Having something to lean on and guide you during tough times will help you ﬁnd your way
amidst confusion. I sincerely hope that you will ﬁnd guidelines that not only empower you to face thechallenges during your student life but also support you throughout your lifetime.
Now, what might these life-supporting guidelines be? Broadly speaking, it could be books, words frompredecessors, friends, or even arts that soothe the soul; it varies greatly. Nurturing a rich knowledge base,even outside of your specialty, can help strengthen your core. While cherishing these is important, what I
fervently want to convey to you students today is something more concrete.
It is the desire for you to encounter "people," speciﬁcally to meet someone who could be deemed as a"mentor" in life. In retrospect, you might ﬁnd that a particular encounter deﬁned your path and served as1

a long-term pillar in your life. Encounters with people can sometimes be pivotal moments that signiﬁcantly
inﬂuence your life. This is not about "luck." It is a fortunate circumstance that only visits those who live
each day with a strong intention to seek such encounters. Throughout the various phases of your life at
the graduate school, I hope you maintain a strong will to seek such encounters.
Let me share a bit of my fortunate experience.
I have a mentor who I remember with reverence and gratitude to this day, a person named Dr. Ito Zen,a renowned physician in gastroenterological surgery and a leading researcher. Meeting him was indeed anencounter with a mentor in life for me, clearly deﬁning my subsequent research and life direction. Not
only did I receive excellent guidance in my specialized ﬁeld, but Dr. Ito also showed us, the members of
his laboratory, the essence of being a researcher/scientist and the way to live as a person.
For scientists, how we perceive the "facts before us" is a fundamental attitude, even before the contentof the research. During the research process, one can easily be swayed by prejudice or convenient
speculation, misjudging the "facts," a pitfall terrifying for researchers. I was no exception. However,meeting Dr. Ito introduced me to the teaching that "facts are facts. Recognizing them correctly is what
science is all about." This teaching, to "ﬁrst and foremost see the facts clearly," has supported my research
career, serving as a vital guideline to return to when I hit unseen walls. Furthermore, it taught me theimportance of verifying facts with an open heart before making judgments in various aspects of life. Infact, this teaching was passed down from Dr. Ito's mentor, Dr. Keizo Ishihara, showing that excellent
teachings are passed down like a baton. I hope that this baton has now been passed to you all.
Please ﬁnd a person who can be a mentor in life, not just in the realm of academic research, here at
Saitama University. The faculty and staﬀ members who interact with students daily are all committed toengaging with the students they are responsible for, with genuine concern. I always believe that merely
having state-of-the-art experimental equipment, facilities, abundant materials, and accumulated priorresearch is not enough to create a suﬃcient research environment for you students. At Saitama University,
there are "people" waiting to shine a light on your path. I sincerely hope that you seize the opportunities
to meet them here and that they become a lifelong pillar for you.
In conclusion, I wish you all the best in spending a healthy and fruitful next two or three years, achieving
numerous accomplishments not only in research and studies but also in a wide range of activities.
Congratulations on your enrollment today.

September 27, 2023
Takafumi Sakai
President, Saitama University2