Autumn 2018

A news magazine presented by Hokkaido University

Litterae Populi Autumn 201801

R ec ent Ne w s f rom
Hok k a ido Un iver sit yContents

03

Feature: Challenges
04 Division of Soft Matter, Graduate School of Life Science/				Global Station for Soft Matter, Global Institution for
Collaborative Research and Education (GI-GoRE)

10 Center for Advanced Tourism Studies
12 Usu Volcano Observatory, Institute of Seismology and		

Litterae Populi
Litterae Populi is a bi-annual magazine
with the latest news about Hokkaido
University. Its name is Latin for “lettersof the poplar trees.”

Volcanology affiliated to Faculty of Science

14Interview by the President

20

Refining: Cell Biology

22

Alumni Interview

Since its establishment as Sapporo Agricultural College more

Ken GamadaRadio Personality, Timely-Office Co., Ltd.

than 140 years ago, Hokkaido University has continued to24

Letters from Ambassadors and Partners

The university continually rises to new challenges to help resolve

26

140 Years of Challenge

28

Topics30

Campus Landscapes

Toshihiko Sato
Senior Managing Director, Citizen Watch Co., Ltd

Feature:Yasuyuki Fujita
Professor, Institute for Genetic Medicine (IGM)

Challenges

cultivate a frontier spirit — one of its founding philosophies.
global and local issues in this new era.
Under the theme of “Challenges,” this feature highlights threeongoing research initiatives at Hokkaido University.

Litterae Populi 2018 Autumn Vol. 61
Published by:
Public Relations Division
Kita 8, Nishi 5, Kita-ku, Sapporo,
Hokkaido 060-0808, JAPAN.
pr@oia.hokudai.ac.jp
https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp
Edited by the Litterae Populi Planning and Editing Team
Cover photo by Akihito Yamamoto (HARE-BARE SHA-SHINN)
Photos by Hiromi Terashima (Kotoha-sha)
Production assisted by Morikatsu Sato (Morikatsu Sato Design Office)Printing by Iword Co., Ltd.
Cover photo taken at The Second Farm

Picture: Ono Pond
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Welcome to theWorld of Soft Matter

Students engage in their own individual research projects at a laboratory in the Division of Soft Matter.

Division of Soft Matter, Graduate School of Life Science/
Global Station for Soft Matter, Global Institution for
Collaborative Research and Education (GI-GoRE)
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In April 2018, Hokkaido University launched the Division of Soft Matter in
the Graduate School of Life Science to produce world-leading, globally minded
professionals. The division was created through the university’s Global Stationfor Soft Matter (GSS) within the Global Institution for Collaborative Researchand Education (GI-CoRE), which has hosted research teams from universities
abroad and promotes world-class research programs.
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Feature: Challenging

Challenging | Division of Soft Matter, Graduate School of Life Science/Global Station for Soft Matter, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-GoRE)

Students and staff of various
nationalities in the division—a familiar sight.

Students adopt their own analysis methods to analyze gel strength.

In the ever-advancing field of life science, the developmentof interdisciplinary research involving scientists in materials
and information science has spurred expectations for nextgeneration innovations. Soft matter is an up-and-coming
field at the forefront of materials research, and it is attracting
attention in a wide range of sectors, including industry,
medicine, and green energy.
Hokkaido University established the Division of Soft
Matter in the Graduate School of Life Science in April
2018, becoming Japan’s only research and educationalorganization with a world-leading soft matter research
center. The division offers a master’s program and a doctoral
program that provide systematic education on soft matterscience for students who will become global leaders in thefield of soft matter research and development. The division
includes the Functional Soft Matter Laboratory, which wasestablished to provide education in collaboration with the
National Institute for Materials Science and to produce
professionals capable of finding comprehensive solutions to
issues in wide-ranging materials and life science fields.
In April 2018, a total of 29 students enrolled in themaster’s and doctoral programs. The master’s program
received far more applicants than it could admit, indicating

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the division’s popularity with students.

Multidisciplinary and international curriculum
The Division of Soft Matter is characterized by its
multidisciplinary curriculum, as the life sciences today
involve research in various fields that extend beyond
the traditional boundaries of academic study. Since
multidisciplinary education requires collaboration among
different departments, faculty members hailing fromvarious backgrounds—from the Faculty of Advanced Life
Science, the Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University
Hospital, the Research Institute for Electronic Science andmore—teach classes on theory, experimentation and basic
research. The division also invites guest instructors fromthe National Institute for Materials Science and privatecompanies, including Bridgestone Corporation and Osaka
Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
Playing a central role in the division is the Global
Station for Soft Matter (GSS) within the Global Institution
for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-CoRE).
Launched in 2016, the GSS consists of three units: the
Hokkaido University Unit, the U.S. Unit and the France
Unit. Each unit takes charge of its own research: the

Hokkaido University Unit in soft matter development,
the U.S. Unit (Duke University, North Carolina State
University, and Iowa State University) in theoreticaldevelopment, and the France Unit (ESPCI Paris, University
Pierre and Marie Curie, University Paris Diderot, andUniversity of Bordeaux) in soft matter fracture. The GSS’s
implementation of a cross-appointment system with theseoverseas universities enables world-class researchers to teachclasses at the division, making its curriculum even more
appealing.
The advanced classes given by these faculty members
are not just lectures; they also include practical education
through research guidance. Researchers invited from

Fiber-reinforced hydrogel that is highly flexible and tougher than metals.

overseas frequently come and stay at Hokkaido University,
creating an atmosphere where world-leading specialists canalways be found at the division to share the latest researchand provide research guidance through seminars anddiscussions.
The Division of Soft Matter provides doctoral students
with internships at overseas businesses, offering special
programs to familiarize students with processes fromresearch and development to distribution and marketing,over a period of approximately six months.

Familiar materials
So what is soft matter anyway? It refers to all materials
whose state lies in the intermediate region between
liquids, like water, and solids, like rock. Numerous
materials around us exist in a soft matter state,so soft matter science plays an important role insolving countless issues we face.
Soft matter has a wide range of applications,from daily necessities such as shampoo and facial
cleansers to state-of-the-art medical devices suchas artificial internal organs and joints. Soft matterscience is a relatively new academic discipline, but
it’s closely connected to our everyday lives.
Hydrogels epitomize the research into soft matterthat is being conducted at Hokkaido University.
While living organs—the ultimate soft matter—are durable and functional due to their flexibility
and high moisture content, most artificial
materials don’t manifest the high functionalitythat living organs do because the materials aremostly hard and low in moisture content. As

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Feature: Challenging

Challenging | Division of Soft Matter, Graduate School of Life Science/Global Station for Soft Matter, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education (GI-GoRE)

A structural colored hydrogel that displays vivid colors when force is applied.

soft, wet materials that contain water, hydrogels may be
developed into materials that are even more functional thanliving organs. Hydrogels, which are high in elasticity andstrength and are resistant to corrosion and wear, have a vastpotential for the development of biological replacements.
Professor Jian Ping Gong of the Laboratory of Soft &Wet Matter in the Division of Soft Matter enthuses about
the potential of soft matter. “Conventional artificial
hearts and artificial joints, which are mostly hard, create
friction where they come in contact with living organs,causing stress on the soft living organs and damage to thesurrounding tissues,” Professor Gong says. “However, theuse of materials that are as soft as tissue can mitigate suchadverse biological effects.”
Examples of ordinary gels include foods such as konjac
jelly and other jellies, and contact lenses. They’re softdue to their high water content, but they lack strength.
To overcome these issues, Professor Gong’s laboratory
developed a hydrogel that is known as a double-network gel(DN gel), which has gained worldwide attention. The DN
gel exhibits high strength and toughness stemming fromthe combination of two different networks.
Amazingly, DN gel has a water content of 90% but istough enough to resist cutting even with a utility knife. It
also has a high breaking stress—so high that a piece of gel
as small as a one-yen coin can withstand the weight of 30
adults without breaking. DN gel is also highly stretchable,with some types capable of stretching as much as 30 times
their original length. Such highly elastic, ultra-tough DN

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gels have a broad range of applications and are creating highexpectations within the scientific community, particularly
for their use in the aforementioned artificial joints andother biological replacements for damaged tissues.

Fusion of soft matter and medical science
Efforts are also underway to use soft matter in clinicalmedicine.
Cancer stem cells are known to cause cancer recurrence
and metastasis, and the eradication of these cells is required
for a complete cure for cancer. But there’s a limited numberof cancer stem cells in cancer tissue, making it a major
challenge to separate such cells for analysis by conventional
methods. Against such a background, Associate Professor
Masumi Tsuda and her team in the division’s Laboratoryof Pathology recognized the advantages of the DN gel
developed by Professor Gong and her team. Their joint
research team found that non-cancer stem cells cultured on
a DN gel change into cancer stem cells within 24 hours andenhance the tumorigenic potential of the cancer stem cells.
This means that cancer stem cells can be induced swiftlyfrom a patient’s cells cultured on a DN gel for screening
to identify anticancer drugs effective against the patient’s
cancer stem cells. Clarification of induced stem cells’
characteristics can also lead to treatments for recurrence
prevention. Going forward, if DN gel becomes available in
an in-vitro diagnostic kit to identify cancer stem cells, itwill lead to precision medicine and personalized treatmentsthat are quick, simple, cost-effective, and efficient.

An ultra-tough double network gel (DN gel), which has a high breaking stress thatoffers the prospect of its application as a cartilage substitute, among other uses.

Difficulties in establishing a new academic
division
Professor Makoto Demura of the Laboratory of Protein
Science looks back on when he and his colleagues prepared
to apply to the Ministry of Education for the establishmentof the Division of Soft Matter. “We had a hard time,” hesays, “because the names of degrees to be conferred on
students contained katakana characters and not the kanjionly names that have traditionally been used.”To get the green light from the ministry, Professor
Demura and his colleagues conducted numerous surveys
while planning details about the division, including surveys
on student needs, social needs, business needs (ideal humanresources), and curriculum needs. Difficulties they facedin establishing a new division within an existing graduate
school included coordination with existing divisions about
its size, but Professor Demura says they took it all in stride,saying with a smile that he remembers only fun things.
Professor Demura and his colleagues also had to recruit
members of other Hokkaido University departments to join
the division. They visited various departments to request
cooperation and negotiated with researchers outside Japan.
Professor Demura said that everyone was cooperative andreadily accepted their requests due in part to a track recordof joint research and other collaborations. In this way, it
was thanks to the contributions of many people that theDivision of Soft Matter was established.

A trailblazer on the world stage
There has been research on soft substances and materials
since early times, and the term “soft matter” came to be
used to denote a concept that unifies such substances andmaterials. The term gained worldwide currency whenthe 1991 physics Nobel laureate Pierre-Gilles de Gennesdelivered a Nobel Lecture titled “Soft Matter.”Today, soft matter research is entering a worldwide boom,with soft matter centers having been established in the
U.S., Europe and China. That said, Hokkaido University
is the first institution for higher education in the world tohave established a dedicated division with a curriculum
specializing in soft matter.
The Division of Soft Matter is committed to forging
ahead, remaining at the forefront of soft matter researcharound the world.

Summer School on Soft Matter: The lecturers are world-leading
scientists in the field of soft matter.

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Faculty members of the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies areactive in Japan and elsewhere in their fields of expertise.

Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS)The Center for Advanced Tourism Studies is the first tourism studies center
to open in a Japanese university. As new forms of tourism have recently
come into the limelight, the center engages in various research activities inorder to become a Center of Excellence in tourism studies in Japan.

local governments, private companies and otherorganizations in Japan and abroad. In Hokkaido,
CATS signed a partnership agreement with the
Town of Biei and has engaged in formulating
the town’s landscape ordinance and landscapeconservation action plan. Partnership with the
Town of Ikeda began with the renovation of the
Ikeda Wine Castle and includes the provisionof advice and the coordination of initiatives todevelop tourism resources and attract tourists. In
2016, CATS signed a partnership agreement with
the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, a professional
baseball team, to research sports tourism and look
into the relationships between tourism and baseballspectating. Projects implemented by CATS are notlimited to Hokkaido. CATS helped Okinawa’s
Taketomi Island with landscape preservation andtourism promotion, and assisted Gifu Prefecture’s
Shirakawa Village with the development of aWorld Heritage Master Plan and a Fundamental
Tourism Plan. In Toyama Prefecture’s Nanto City, CATS
has studied regional revitalization using anime as part ofits research and educational programs in media content andtourism.
Noticing the results of these domestic research projects,
the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) asked
CATS to take part in its overseas projects. After initially
feeling its way through a technical cooperation project inEthiopia and a tourism development project in Jordan,
CATS formulated a management and tourism plan for a
World Heritage site in Fiji and supported the promotionof community-based tourism for poverty alleviation in
Zimbabwe. In 2017, it conducted a survey for future
support in Iran.

Training people of diverse backgrounds

Toward the “Creation” ofTourism
In 2006, three years after then Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi stated his goal of making Japan a tourismoriented country, the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies(CATS) was established as the first tourism studies centerin a Japanese university. Since then, the center has opened
new paths in the relatively new academic field of tourism
studies through research and education programs thatare designed to promote regional revitalization, tourism
industry transition, lifestyle innovation, and international
collaborations through tourism.

Tourism for regional development
The Director of CATS, Professor Noriaki Nishiyama,stresses the importance of tourism studies that are oriented

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Findings from domestic and international projects
conducted by the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies
are also utilized in teaching at the Graduate School ofInternational Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies(IMCTS), which annually admits graduates from various
undergraduate schools in the sciences and humanities, aswell as adult learners with rich experience, despite the fact

toward regions and not toward specific industries, because
tourism should cover wide areas and lead to regional
revitalization and development. Although conventional
college courses in tourism-related fields have focused on
promoting the tourism industry, CATS has spotlighted
regions ever since its establishment. A division in the
Graduate School of International Media, Communication,
and Tourism Studies (IMCTS), for which CATS faculty
members are also responsible, was named the Tourism
Creation Major based on a belief that tourism is something
to be created and nurtured by regions.

From regions to the world
CATS is engaged in numerous projects in collaboration with

Brochures that CATS has been involved in publishing. CATS has
provided this type of support domestically and internationally.

On behalf of Hokkaido University, a CATS faculty member gave a lecture at aTokyo Otona University event in December 2017.

that Hokkaido University has no undergraduate school intourism studies. Although it’s not easy to teach tourism
from scratch to students of different backgrounds, IMCTS
has produced graduates who pursue careers not just in
the tourism industry, such as in travel and transportation
businesses, but also in a wide range of tourism-related fields,
including government organizations, NPOs, the media,
and retail businesses. Professor Nishiyama emphasizes that
IMCTS welcomes motivated students regardless of theirmajors, as it’s committed to fostering professionals who candraw on their experience in various fields based on theirsound knowledge of tourism-related social phenomena.
In 2017, IMCTS launched Japan’s first destination
manager training program. It’s a program that confers
a certificate of completion for prospective leaders ofdestination management organizations (DMOs)—a hotphrase in tourism these days. Destination management
involves perceiving one’s own region from a visitor’s
perspective as a destination to rediscover, brand, andmanage the appeal of. Professor Nishiyama maintains that
DMOs will play a vital role in tourism going forward andthat DMOs must benefit the regions by not only remaining
viable as businesses, but also by inspiring locals as sourcesof pride. To this end, careful thought must be given to the
future of tourism and regions, he says. Expectations arehigh for this newly launched program, as shown by thelarge number of applicants.
According to the United Nations World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO), the number of tourists isincreasing around the world, but Japan has been slow to
respond to such increases. Professor Nishiyama senses thisgrowing public interest in tourism as he has been receiving
increasing media requests for interviews.
As new types of tourism capture the limelight, carefulconsideration must be given to how tourism should beconnected to regions and made sustainable so that they
don’t end up as a passing fad. CATS remains committed torising to new challenges to “create” tourism.

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Usu Volcano Observatory,
Institute of Seismology and Volcanology affiliated toFaculty of Science
The Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (ISV) Usu Volcano
Observatory of Hokkaido University’s Faculty of Science is located near
the Usu Volcano. Completed in 2001, the current building replaced theoriginal built in 1978. The observatory attracts researchers from acrossJapan, as it offers valuable firsthand insights into the workings of this
volcano, which erupts every 30 years or so. The observatory is also used by
students for fieldwork.
The Faculty of Science’s ISV Usu Volcano Observatory is
located in the Tatsuka district of Sobetsu, a town bordering
the eastern half of Lake Toya. About 8 km east of the
Usu Volcano summit, the observatory affords a view of
the Usu Volcano and Mt. Showa-Shinzan, which tower
as if overlapping each other. This view is a favorite of Dr.
Hiromitsu Oshima, the specially appointed associate
professor who is in charge of the observatory.
The Usu Volcano Observatory was established in April
1977 as part of the Faculty of Science, and in August of thesame year the Usu Volcano erupted. Since the constructionof the observatory building had not yet started when the
volcano erupted, members of the observatory were forced tocollect data in a prefabricated building. Construction of theobservatory building began in March 1978, when seismic
activity had subsided to some degree, and was completed

that October at Sobetsu Onsen near Lake Toya, 1.5 km
north of the volcano summit. However, only one week after
completion, accommodations for faculty members near theobservatory were hit by a debris flow. The observatory staff
have been combatting the forces of nature from the start.
More than 20 years later, in March 2000, the Usu
Volcano erupted again. After the eruptions, the observatory
was moved to its current higher location for safety, taking
advantage of advances in telemetry. Since eruptions draw
many volcanologists and their data-collecting instrumentsfrom around Japan, the observatory was ingeniously
designed to house as many instruments as possible in its
limited space.

At the forefront of Usu Volcano observation
The observatory receives data in real time from 19

Conversation with
the Earth with an Eye
toward the Future

The Gin’numa Crater and the new mountain that formed
from the 1977 eruption, a fieldwork site for students.
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observation sites installed around the Usu Volcano forsharing with numerous local governments, observatories
and research institutes within and beyond Hokkaido. Since
facilities at observation sites entail large costs and longterm maintenance and operation, Dr. Oshima considers it
desirable to use systems that lab staff can maintain on theirown as much as possible.
Currently, only Dr. Oshima and one other staff member
are stationed at the observatory, but in summer, students
from the School of Science’s Department of Earth andPlanetary Sciences use the site to engage in practicaltraining in Earth observation through volcanologicalmeasurement. This popular fieldwork enables students to
get a firsthand look at the activity of the Usu Volcano,which emits fumes as hot as 300 degrees Celsius even inits current stable period. Dr. Oshima has students come up
with their own observation themes and methods, and theirideas and viewpoints are “pretty sharp”, he says pleasantly.

Dr. Oshima inspects instruments at the Kita-gairin observationsite. He’s been engaged in research at the Usu Volcano Observatory
for nearly 30 years.

Striving to understand the mechanisms behind
volcanic eruptions
Records show that the Usu Volcano has erupted eighttimes since 1663. Each eruption in this series began withearthquake swarms that included numerous noticeable
earthquakes. The eruptions were accompanied by billowing
fumes and the formation of new mountains from ground
uplift, the latter of which continued for some time evenafter the eruptions stopped. In fact, it took several years for
all these activities to end, during which time damage wasoften caused by cinders, ash falls and debris flows. Recent
eruptions have occurred every 30 years or so, each of theminvariably preceded by noticeable earthquakes.
The last eruption took place in 2000. It caused such damage
to the Hokkaido Expressway and the JR Muroran Line thatthey became impassable. Rising magma lifted the groundsurface along part of National Highway 230, a major trafficroute, disrupting traffic and ultimately turning the area intoa swamp. Parts of areas damaged by crustal deformation
were turned into soil erosion control facility sites and havebeen preserved as remnants of the eruption. Prior to theeruption, the Usu Volcano Observatory promptly informed
local governments of signs of the imminent eruption, theexpected eruption time, and other details, and provided
advice as necessary. In addition to appropriate responses by
the local governments, local residents’ thorough knowledgeof previous eruptions enabled their evacuation without any
loss of human life.
Dr. Oshima, who also assists with the region’s
disaster mitigation activities, finds local residents’ fullunderstanding of previous eruptions unique to the region.
The residents have accepted that in exchange for periodic
volcanic eruptions roughly every 30 years, they receive
the volcano’s blessing: hot springs. The observatory hosts
many fact-finding missions from other local governmentswith volcanoes, but the necessary levels of preparedness
vary depending on volcanic characteristics and local
circumstances. Dr. Oshima says he feels a sense of frustration
as a scientist when people claim it’s possible to predict all

As part of an earthquake prediction project, the observatory developed the so-called “Oshima System” and is testing it for practicalapplication together with municipalities in Hokkaido.

Former National Highway 230: The 2000 eruption lifted theground surface, disrupting traffic and ultimately turning the area
into a swamp.

volcanic eruptions, without realizing that not all volcanoes
show clear warnings of eruption.
There are still lots of unknowns surrounding the Usu
Volcano. For example, an approximately 1,000-meterdeep boring survey failed to shed light on the depth of
the top of the magma body. Crater locations vary withevery eruption, making damage prediction and disastermitigation planning difficult. Dr. Oshima says, “We can’t
really say we’ve successfully predicted a volcanic eruption
until we’ve been able to identify the location beforehandand not just forecast when the eruption would occur. People
praised our response to the 2000 eruption as a great success,but as a scientist, I believe there was more that could’ve
been done. There’s a long way to go before we can elucidate
the mechanisms behind volcanic eruptions, because ourconversations with volcanoes and with the Earth havejust begun. This is a challenge we bequeath to the next
generation of scientists.”
Eighteen years after the last eruption, the Usu Volcano
Observatory continues to keep an eye on the volcano.
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Interview by the President

Guest

Toshihiko
Sato
Senior Managing Director,
Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.

Citizen Watch Company has led Japan’s watchmaking industry for the 100 years since its foundation. As one of the world’s few manufacturesd’horlogerie (watchmaking manufacturers), Citizen has introduced its own technologies and designs to the world. Citizen has garnered domestic
and international acclaim for its products, andnearly 70 percent of its sales come from overseas
markets. In addition to its core watchmaking
business, the company also manufactures andsells machine tools, devices and components, andelectronic products, continuously rising to newchallenges as a global company.
Dr. Toyoharu Nawa, in his second year as president of Hokkaido University and busy working
on university reforms, asked Mr. Toshihiko Sato,a Hokkaido University alumnus and senior managing director of Citizen Watch, about his life,
the company’s philosophy, and his expectationsfor Hokkaido University, among other topics.

Striving to Carve Out
an Exciting Future
Taking on New Endeavors to Respond to Changes on the Horizon

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Spending all his time helping the familybusiness and working part-time
Dr. Nawa: Without further ado, let me ask where you’re
from.
Mr. Sato: I’m from Honhorobetsu Peyaman Bangaichi,
Utanobori Town, Esashi-gun, Hokkaido. Thisaddress, which includes “bangaichi” (unnumberedlocation), sounds so out of the way that seniorcolleagues who saw a copy of my family registerwhen I joined the company would often teaseme about my hometown. My house didn’t haveelectricity until I turned four years old, so we wereusing oil lamps.
Dr. Nawa: What was your childhood like?
Mr. Sato: I disliked skiing to school in winter, but I had
to because I needed to climb over a mountain to
get there. It was bitter cold in winter, with thetemperature sometimes as low as minus 32 degrees
Celsius. It snowed, occasionally as much as 50
centimeters at once, and the snow could pile up
two meters deep. I woke up at 5AM and cooked
breakfast and made boxed lunches for my family.
After returning from school, I cooked supper, andwhen school was off I was on the farm helping myparents with dairy farming. During my elementary
school and junior high school years I spent most of
my time outside school working.
Dr. Nawa: It was tough, wasn’t it?
Mr. Sato: My elder brother went on to high school because
he was to take over the family business, but being
the second of four brothers, I was told that myparents couldn’t afford to pay for my high school. I
managed to persuade my parents to let me just takethe high school entrance exam and owing to thehigh score I happened to get, my father allowed me
to attend high school as long as I agreed to work myway through school. I worked part-time at a small
grocery store on both weekdays and weekends, so I
can’t remember ever studying back then.
Dr. Nawa: Yet you were admitted to Hokkaido University,
which I think is great. What made you choose
Hokkaido University?
Mr. Sato: In high school, I spent lots of time playing table
tennis and working part-time, but for some reason
I had good grades. I was at the top of my classfrom the third term of my second year onward.
Although I’d given up on college due to my family

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circumstances, I started to become interested ingoing to college in the third term of my third year.
I decided to go to a national university (due to lower
tuition fees) since I had to work my way through it,
and I ultimately chose Hokkaido University. I took
the entrance exam but couldn’t answer most of thequestions. I then attended a private cram school in
Sapporo while working part-time. I spent two wholeyears preparing for the entrance exam, sacrificing
hours of sleep, before I finally managed to pass.
Dr. Nawa: You worked hard, didn’t you?

Struggles in the liquid crystal business and aturning point
Dr. Nawa: What made you decide to work at Citizen?
Mr. Sato: I wanted to join a precision equipment makerin Nagano Prefecture, which is known for having
a natural environment that’s similar to Hokkaido’s,
but I couldn’t take the job application test for thatcompany. My supervisor at Hokkaido University thentold me I might enjoy Citizen if I wanted to work at
a precision equipment maker. This was how I chose
Citizen. Immediately after joining the company, newNo matter how fluent you soundin English, you can’t makeStudents must acquire skills to

yourself understood without

communicate in Japanese first.

communication skills.

– Dr. Nawa

– Mr. Sato

Mr. Sato: I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it physicallybecause I didn’t sleep more than four hours a day.
Dr. Nawa: What were your college days like?
Mr. Sato: In those days, tuition fees increased every year,
which ultimately left me unable to afford them. I
took a leave of absence and worked a high-paying
waterproofing job for one year to pay for my tuition
fees and living expenses. The president of thatcompany generously asked me to stay, but I went backto college because I thought that once I’d entered, Ishould graduate.

employees were asked to share their aspirations, and I
declared my aspiration to become a vice president of
the company.
Dr. Nawa: That was great.
Mr. Sato: I got a scolding from my senior colleagues. I was asmart aleck who called a spade a spade.
Dr. Nawa: I think it’s just that you had faith in yourself
because you’d worked hard from childhood and
you’d graduated from college on your own without
depending on your parents.
Mr. Sato: You’re right. I was overconfident in myself, andthis was mistaken as arrogance. There was a seniorcolleague who grabbed me by the collar and said I
was too cocky, so I set a mental goal of going out fora drink with him. Ultimately I made friends withhim, so things turned out fine and I had fun.
Dr. Nawa: Among the various lines of business you’ve been
engaged in, what’s left the strongest impression onyou?
Mr. Sato: A series of experiences in the liquid crystal
business leading up to the establishment of a liquid
crystal plant in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, haveleft the strongest impression. Citizen began R&D
on liquid crystal panels in the late 1960s. As my
major had been mechanical engineering, I wanted
to engage in watchmaking, but I continued to be
assigned to the liquid crystal business. In those days,
the company was pursuing business diversification,and the liquid crystal display business was one of
the company’s business segments. I figured that theliquid crystal business would be a difficult challenge
for Citizen, but the business kept growing, and in1985 the company got contracts to manufacture
personal computer displays for U.S. companies.
Dr. Nawa: Citizen was manufacturing liquid crystal panels
for personal computers?
Mr. Sato: Yes. While developing liquid crystal panels, wewere also working to mass produce them because
the technology for mass production had not yet
been established. Initially, production yields were
20 percent, and naturally the business was in thered. I asked the general manager of the liquid crystal
business division why the business had produced no
profits, adding that I didn’t want to be drawing asalary from an unprofitable business. I was about
27 years old then. I told him I would raise theyield rate to 80 percent, asking him to tell all theemployees of the division to follow my instructions.
We assembled at 6:00 PM every evening to bringto light all the factors that might cause defects.
Eventually, the yield rate rose to 60 percent in one
year and to 94 percent in a year and half.
Dr. Nawa: That’s great.
Mr. Sato: The general manager was promoted to a directorof the company. Although my salary didn’t increase
much, he rewarded me with a three-month overseas
training stint.
Dr. Nawa: Citizen is a great company in that it readily
accepts proposals from young people and rewards

Litterae Populi Autumn 201817

them for their achievements.
Mr. Sato: I was thinking about changing jobs after theoverseas training, but when I returned home, thegeneral manager told me about the plan to build aplant in Hachinohe based on my ideas and design. I
was taken to Hachinohe as if dragged by the scruffof the neck.
Dr. Nawa: It must have been a major turning point in yourlife.
Mr. Sato: Indeed. My transfer to Hachinohe marked aturning point. I made up my mind to stay with thecompany for the rest of my career.
Dr. Nawa: Are there people who influenced you in yourcareer?
Mr. Sato: Yes, there are. First and foremost, my father
taught me that life isn’t easy. When I would playinstead of coming straight home from school, myfather would come to me by motorbike, give mea scolding, and then return home without taking
me back on his motorbike with him. Other people
who have influenced me include the top executivesof overseas companies that I had opportunities totalk with through my work. I had great experiences
talking with them face to face, not just aboutbusiness models, but also about technical theories,
future prospects and various other topics.
Dr. Nawa: Do you speak in English with people overseas?
Mr. Sato: Yes. I don’t think it matters whether you’regood at English or not. I believe Japanese people
should develop communication skills in Japanese
before trying to improve their English. No matter
how fluent you sound in English, you can’t makeyourself understood without communication skills.
Dr. Nawa: Agreed. Students must acquire the skills tocommunicate in Japanese first. Hokkaido University
is working on fostering global leaders, but I often
tell faculty members that students must be taught
in Japanese until the fourth year because they must
cultivate their minds. You can build character byfostering your mind and speaking in your own words.
You’ll then become able to make yourself understoodin English.
Mr. Sato: Exactly. I also believe that learning a foreign
language boils down to communication skills.
Dr. Nawa: I believe you can get your ideas across to foreigners
because you know your own mind and have theability to act. Depth of thought can be seen in how
one talks.
Mr. Sato: Indeed. People can see right through shallow
thinking.
Dr. Nawa: That’s exactly what I’d like you to talk about with
our students.

Traditions that have been passed down
Dr. Nawa: Next, let me ask about Citizen. What’s the originof the company name?
Mr. Sato: It’s from the first pocket watch the company’s
predecessor developed specifically so that every
citizen in Japan would be able to afford one. The
then mayor of Tokyo, Shimpei Goto, christened thewatch Citizen in the hope that it would be forever
loved by the citizenry. The name was later adopted
as the company name, and the ideal has since beenenshrined in Citizen’s corporate philosophy: “Lovedby citizens, working for citizens.”Dr. Nawa: Citizen was founded in 1918 and celebrated its
centennial this year. Does Citizen have values or
traditions that it has passed down during its long
history?
Mr. Sato: Citizen was established during Japan’s drive tocatch up with the West—a period when the people
were full of hope and the passion to develop productsthat would excel in global markets. Citizen opened awatch school in 1921 to offer its engineers a superior
technical education. Since the beginning, thecompany has been willing to take on new challenges
and has released numerous world-firsts, and thispioneering spirit has been passed down to the present.
The company continues to develop innovative
products based on the “Better Starts Now” belief
that “it’s always possible to make something better,and now is the time to start doing it.” Actually, we
unveiled another world-first in March of this year:
the Cal.0100 Eco-Drive movement with an annual
accuracy of ±1 second. We’re planning to put it on themarket in the near future. Our manufacturing sector
has also continually risen to new challenges to develop
skills and techniques, and our veteran engineer won
the Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award’s Prime
Minister’s Award in January of this year.
Dr. Nawa: Citizen has steadily passed down its traditions,hasn’t it?
Mr. Sato: Watches aren’t just tools for checking the time.
We’re committed to continuously developing newtechnologies to respond to changes on the horizon sothat we can carve out an exciting future in timepieces.

Dr. Nawa: You said earlier that approximately 70 percent ofsales come from overseas markets. Could you pleaseelaborate on the company’s global strategy?
Mr. Sato: Citizen currently operates in more than 130
countries. To cater to ever-diversifying customer
needs, a multi-brand strategy is effective, because
leveraging multiple brands allows Citizen to quickly
respond to market needs.
Dr. Nawa: Is there anything you hope for Hokkaido
University?
Mr. Sato: I have the impression that there are fewer
ambitious researchers at private companies.
Corporate researchers may lack the real desire tocreate novel business models through their own
R&D efforts. I believe ambitious research is possibleat Hokkaido University, so I hope students will beambitious, as Dr. Clark suggested, and engage in
research that will contribute to the well-being ofsociety.
Dr. Nawa: Before ending this interview, I’d like to ask for acomment for our students.
Mr. Sato: I’d like them to pursue their studies while asking
themselves what their ambitions are and whatboundaries they want to push. There are things
they’re uniquely qualified to do in Hokkaido. I also
hope they’ll visit other countries while at college tolearn about other cultures and lifestyles.
Dr. Nawa: I also think it's important for them to reflect
on themselves in the cold, severe Hokkaido climate
Thank you for giving us your valuable time today.

I’d like them to pursue their18

studies while asking themselves

I also think it important for them

what their ambitions are and what

to reflect on themselves in the cold,

boundaries they want to push.

severe Hokkaido climate.

– Mr. Sato

– Dr. Nawa

Toshihiko Sato

Toyoharu Nawa

Senior Managing Director, Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.

President, Hokkaido University

Born in Hokkaido in 1955, Toshihiko Sato received hisbachelor’s degree from Hokkaido University’s Faculty ofEngineering. In 1981, he joined Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.,
where he has been the director and general manager of theTechnology Department of Citizen L.C. Tec Co., Ltd., thedirector and head of the Hachinohe Plant of Citizen Displays
Co., Ltd., and the general manager of the R&D Divisionof Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd. (today’s Citizen Watch Co.,
Ltd.). He became a director of Citizen Watch in 2015 and amanaging director in 2017. He’s been the senior managing
director since April 2018.

Born in 1954 and from Hokkaido, Toyoharu Nawa received
his bachelor’s degree at Hokkaido University’s School of Engineering and his master’s degree at the university’s Graduate
School of Engineering. He is a Doctor of Engineering (Tokyo Institute of Technology). He joined the Central Laboratory of Chichibu Onoda Cement Corp., before being hired
as an Assistant Professor by Hokkaido University’s Graduate
School of Engineering in 1997. He became a Professor in the
Graduate School in 2004, before holding the posts of the
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dean of the Graduate
School of Engineering and Dean of the School of Engineering at Hokkaido University. He has been in his current position since April 2017.

Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

Litterae Populi Autumn 201819

Refining:
Cell Biology

Laying the Foundation forCancer Prevention Studies
with Cell Competition

20

Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

Yasuyuki Fujita
Professor, Institute for Genetic Medicine
Yasuyuki Fujita, M.D., specializes in fundamental medicine, biological science, and cell biology. He received his bachelor’s degreefrom the Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine and worked for a
hospital before going on to earn his Ph.D. at the Kyoto University
Graduate School of Medicine. He served as a postdoctoral fellow
at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and then agroup leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology,
the University College London (UCL). He’s been a professor at the
Hokkaido University Institute for Genetic Medicine since 2010.
He is an up-and-coming researcher and has received the title of
Hokkaido University Distinguished Professor.

Data showing the behavior ofRas-transformed cells surroundedby normal epithelial cells. The transformed cells are seen to deviate overtime as if expelled by the normal cells.

Elimination of cancer cells by normal cells
Despite rapid medical progress, there are still many patients
who lose their lives to cancer. It is widely known that cancer
develops when normal cells mutate into cancer cells due tosome fault in one or more of a cell’s genes. If researchers could
identify early signs of normal cells turning cancerous, thatwould lead to cancer prevention, ultra-early-stage diagnosis
and ultimately the development of cancer prevention drugs.
Today, however, none of these are anywhere near possible
because current pathological diagnostic technologies
can only identify relatively advanced-stage cancer cells.
Against such a background, Professor Yasuyuki Fujita of
the Hokkaido University Institute for Genetic Medicine
has been engaged in progressive research focusing on aphenomenon known as cell competition.
Professor Fujita says he’s had ambitions to research andcure cancer since he was in high school. After graduatingfrom the Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine in 1990,
he worked for three years at Maizuru Municipal Hospital
before going on to graduate school. He says, “I’d madeup my mind to pursue a career in medical research, but I
thought it’d be shallow if I engaged in basic research without
any experience of actually working with cancer patients.”
Those experiences treating cancer patients have provided to
be a powerful motivation to keep his research going. After
three years of experience as a hospital doctor, he earned
his Ph.D. from the Kyoto University Graduate School of
Medicine before becoming a postdoctoral fellow at the Max
Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin in 1997.
In 2002, he became a group leader and had his own lab
at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology at the
University College London (UCL). It was about this time
when he began to engage in cell competition studies.
In conventional cancer research, normal cells andcancer cells are cultured separately in order to compare
their differences. However, Professor Fujita focused on
phenomena that occur at the interface between normal
cells and cancer cells when cancer cells are surrounded bynormal cells. The phenomena were largely unknown; amystery within the field of cancer research. Professor Fujita
began to study the phenomena using newly developed cell
culture systems. He vigorously advanced his research, andas there were no previous studies on this topic, he spent
great time and effort to create the environment necessary
to materialize experiments from his ideas. Subsequently,
he discovered that normal cells can eliminate cancer cells
from their community. Known as “cell competition,” in thisphenomenon cancer cells surrounded by normal cells are
exposed to stress and excluded by the surrounding normal
cells. His idea about cell competition was inspired by agraduate school classmate who was totally uncooperative.
Professor Fujita thought this classmate was truly cancerlike, and while wondering what he should do about him,
Professor Fujita realized he could think of the situation interms of a cell community. The idea was that “Villains—those too harmful to be handled by ordinary people—arehandled by the police, but for slightly wayward boys likemy classmate, the people around them try to do something
about them. Similarly, while malignant cells are handled byimmune cells, slightly wayward cells—those in their initialstage of malignant transformation—might be handled byneighboring normal cells rather than by immune cells.”

Striving for the development of a new cancer
prevention and treatment strategy
Professor Fujita has published his findings about cellcompetition in journals from 2009 onward, causing asensation worldwide. Although experiments proved that
normal cells have the ability to eliminate cancer cells, themechanisms underlying the phenomenon have yet to be
fully explained. “In cell competition, it remains unknown
how normal cells recognize transformed cells,” says
Professor Fujita. “It’s also largely unknown what differencesin transformed cells are recognized by normal cells, hownormal cells recognize such differences, and how normal
cells eliminate the transformed cells upon recognizing thedifferences.”
While working to elucidate the mechanisms of cellcompetition, Professor Fujita is also seeking to develop a
new cancer prevention and treatment strategy. Identifying
early signs of cancer cell elimination by normal cells willlead to the realization of ultra-early-stage cancer diagnosis,
which has been impossible until now. Furthermore, thedevelopment of drugs to enhance the normal cell’s inherent
ability to eliminate cancer cells may open potential avenues
for cancer prevention, a topic which has been considered
to border on the taboo. “Of course, I’d like to find a curefor cancer,” the professor says, “but the fact of the matteris that little is known of how cells recognize each other.
I’d like to shed light on those mechanisms in some way.”
Professor Fujita continues to challenge himself in studies tofully understand and apply cell competition to minimize thenumber of cancer patients.

Stress management
through badminton

Busy with research and other work,
Professor Fujita spends his lunch breakpl ay i n g ba d m i nton at t he c a mpu s
gymnasium—an effective way for him toeliminate stress.

Litterae Populi Autumn 201821

Alumni Interview

Encountering, Learning, and Communicating:Broadcasting People’s Thoughts, Charms, and the Unknown

batting-practice pitcher will throw. So if I were the battingpractice pitcher, the first thing I’d do is to look into whatpitches Ohtani hits best. Naturally, I’d have to be able tothrow difficult ones, because lobbing softballs would bore thecrowd. I’d have to pitch at about 130 km/h, if not 160 km/h,
and maintain command by moving through several typesof pitches in my repertoire. I’d work to have the spectators
impressed by letting Ohtani hit low outside curves, forexample. To make that happen, I’d need the skill to pitch
such curves. This is exactly what I do as an interviewer, too.
As a batting-practice pitcher, I research the player in advance.
If the player is good at hitting inside balls, I throw plenty of
inside balls with the occasional low outside ball to keep theplayer focused and respectful of me. This is what the spectators
really want to see. Likewise, an interviewer has to prepare forthe interviews and then ask the best questions while assessing
the reactions of the interviewee.
What was a turning point in your career?
The turning point came when I started a radio talk show
in 2006, titled the Radio Version of Gakumon-no-Susume(Encouragement of Learning). I had experience in narrationand deejaying for live morning programs, but I was poorat interviewing—or so I thought. I’d also found telephoneinterviews challenging. Anyhow, the new program began,
and I honestly thought it would be a challenge to keep aninterview going for an hour, but I gave it a try because I was
given the opportunity. It was difficult at first, but I gave it
my all to find myself, and lo and behold, I’m pretty good at
it today. I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’ve drawn on thatexperience to serve as an emcee for events and to conduct
interviews onstage.

Ken GamadaRadio Personality, Timely-Office Co., Ltd.
| School of Letters Graduate |Mr. Ken Gamada is a graduate of Hokkaido University anda Tokyo-based veteran radio personality with approximately
20 years of experience. He also makes appearances on TV
and narrates television commercials. During the interview, hetalked about his thoughts on his career and college days.
What made you pursue the career of radio personality?
Back in college I was living in a boarding house, and all I
had was a radio. I loved listening to the radio and music, andI’d spend all day listening to FM radio. I was particularly
influenced by the popular narrator Tatsuya Jo, who served for
decades as the first host of the program Jet Stream. I admiredhim, thinking I wanted to be like him someday. That’s how I
came to aspire to become a radio personality, and I still hope
to work for Jet Stream.
Has any work you’ve done left a strong impression onyou?
Every project is interesting to me because no two are thesame. I find it particularly fascinating that I can learn a lot

22

Litterae Populi Autumn 2018from all the people I interview on radio programs. I’ve served
as a stadium disc jockey for the JEF United Ichihara Chiba
professional football team since 2001, and the team left a vivid
impression on me when it won the title of the Nabisco Cup
for the first time in 2005. I was pleased with the opportunity
to see an underperforming team become strong over the years
and to introduce the players at the final.
How would you describe the work of a radio personality
in a single word?
Working as a radio personality boils down to encountering
unknowns. It gives me access to things I don’t know, givingme the opportunity to know what I don’t know.
Could you share some tips on how to make aninterviewee open up and talk?
I suppose interviewers are like batting-practice pitchers.
If I compare an interview to batting practice for the “twoway player” Shohei Ohtani, what spectators want to see is
how great Ohtani is as a slugger, not the types of pitches the

Let me ask you about your college days. What madeyou decide to enter Hokkaido University?
At cram school, I read Ryoma-ga-Yuku, a novel about the lifeof Ryoma Sakamoto, one of Japan’s most revered historicalfigures. The book convinced me that I should aspire to dosomething great as a man. I chose Hokkaido University
because I wanted to head to a place where I had no friends
or family to support me and “be ambitious”, without fully
understanding what that meant. I applied for the Faculty of
Letters since I’d been interested in behavioral science andpsychology.
What impressed you most during college?
After passing the entrance exam, I decided to join the rowing
club when I read a brochure of sports clubs that was sentby the university together with other documents. Rowing
is a sport which many people begin at college, so I thought
my late start wouldn’t handicap me. The decisive factor inchoosing the club was the phrase “A chance to become No.

Live on the air for a radio program where Mr. Gamada works as a personality on
Wednesday and Thursday mornings; his lovely voice can be heard nationwide.

1 in Japan” on the club’s page in that brochure.
The Hokkaido University rowing club became
No. 1 in Japan in 1954, and I thought it was
great. I always biked from the university to theboathouse in Barato—a 10-kilometer trip thattook about an hour in a headwind but only
20 minutes in a tailwind. It’s a wonderful
memory for me today.
What’s your plan going forward?
I think the time to build my career islimited. I’ve been in this for about 20
years—time has flown by. I think I
should focus on small goals in front ofme, tackling one at a time. Since time islimited, I have to stay focused and not
succumb to distractions.

Mementoes from Ken Gamada’s
college days: When he crewed aboat for the first time, he wassurprised how far a single stroke
could propel him, he says.

You’ve also been engaged in lots of sportsrelated work. What are your thoughts about the Tokyo
2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
I’m very much looking forward to the Games. My dream is
to emcee the opening ceremony of the Olympics to roaring
cheers at the new national stadium. I’d also like to work at
various sports competitions.
Finally, do you have a message for current students at
Hokkaido University?
As an alumnus, I really think Hokkaido University is agreat institution. I hope current students will appreciate thewonderful environment they’re in and enjoy campus life.
Since time is really limited, I hope they’ll enjoy each day tothe fullest.

At the studio where theRadio Version of Gakumon-no-Susume was being
recorded, with Mr. Takeshi
Tsuruno as a guest.
PROFILE
Born in Tokyo, Ken Gamada received his bachelor’s degree in 1991 from the
Hokkaido University Faculty of Letters (Department of Behavioral Science).
After working for Mitsukoshi, Ltd., a Japanese department store chain, he began working as a radio personality and narrator in 1999. He has been active invarious fields, making appearances on TV and radio, narrating commercials,
and serving as a stadium disc jockey. Having been involved in many activities
related to the Olympics and other sporting events, he hopes to play an active
part in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

23

From

Southeast Asia

Letters from Ambassadors and Partners

This issue features contributions from HU Ambassador Christofora Hanny Wijaya, representativeof the Liaison Office in Indonesia, and HU Partner Evangeline Cancio Amor, representative of the
Liaison Office in the Philippines. Both have greatly contributed to the Ambassador and Partner
System and are active in their respective liaison offices.

1

2

1

Dr. Christofora Hanny Wijaya

Dr. Evangeline Cancio Amor

Professor, Head of Hokkaido University Liaison Office in Indonesia, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB),
Chairperson of Hokkaido University Indonesian Alumni Club, appointed as a Hokkaido University Ambassador in September 2016

T

1

3

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Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

coat or shovel snow!
In conclusion, I would like to invite all HU alumni from all over theworld to feel free to contact us if you
have any inquiries. It is our destiny
to come into one “Wa” (circle) as
a big family of HU, and as family
members, it is our obligation to help
each other. I am waiting for yourcomments, suggestions, and proposals for our next step together in thevery near future. Finally, to quotefrom Clark-sensei, “Boys (and Girls)
should be Ambitious”, shouldn’t we?
Gambarimashou!
Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu!

The Hokkaido University Liaison Office in Indonesia was established in2017 and provides information about
services such as research opportunities,
the summer school program, student
exchange programs, and scholarshipprograms between HU and IPB. Daily
operations are supported by volunteers
affiliated with HU, such as alumni
and former PARE and HUSTEP participants. I hope that the HU Liaison
Office in Indonesia (LO Hokudai) can
provide not only information, but also
work toward concrete action in implementing available MoUs and benefits
for both countries.
I love Sapporo very much andconsider it my second home town;
a beautiful, clean and “warm” citywith hearty people. We do not havesnow here in Bogor, Indonesia, sosometimes I miss those beautiful (although very cold!) days in the “winterwonderland.” I also love that “spring
spirit” when the leaves start appearing
after the long winter, and that beautiful, romantic “Koyo” (autumn leaves)scenery during the autumn. However, I do feel blessed as well living now
in Bogor since I don’t need to wear ahe first thing that came to mymind when I received the offer
to become a Hokkaido University
Ambassador was a mixed feeling ofhonor and doubt; I wasn’t sure that
I was the proper candidate for thisposition. On the other hand, I also
felt I had an obligation to do something good for Hokkaido University,and saw this as an opportunity for me
to give back to the institution which
helped propel my career. I do hope
I can do a lot to help HU become
one of the 100 top universities in theworld.
At HU, I studied in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry for
my master and doctoral degrees. My
time at HU not only sharpened myskills to work as a professor in Bogor
Agricultural University (IPB), but it
also gave me an opportunity to create a dream and the tools to pursue
real action to achieve that dream.
Even now, I am still working on my
dream to “create a better world by investing in people as the most valuable
resource through love, honesty, passion, and education in the agriculture
field”.

2

2

Program to Foster Pioneers to Transform the PopulationsActivities-Resources and Environments (PARE) Chain.
PARE is conducted by the PARE consortium comprised of 6
partner universities in Indonesia and Thailand.

1

Professor, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of University of the Philippines Dillman,appointed as a Hokkaido University Partner in March 2017I

felt honored to be asked to becomea Hokkaido University Partner. I
was excited to facilitate and strengthen the connection between Hokkaido University and University of thePhilippines Dillman, especially considering the ongoing collaboration
between the two universities on the
Diwata micro-satellite project.
In the first quarter of this year, the
Hokkaido University Liaison Office
was established in the University of
the Philippines – Diliman, which isthe first of its kind. Because renovations are planned in the original location, we proposed to call it the HU
Nook until a permanent place is built
after the renovations are done. The
HU Nook is envisioned to be a place
where students interested in knowing
more about Hokkaido University can
go to and find information they arelooking for. It also provides a facility

for tele-conferencing between current
and future collaborators of Hokkaido
University and UP Diliman where
they can interact and hold discussions.
The HU Nook is housed inside
the Office of International Linkages-Diliman, which is the main officein charge of the relations between
students and faculty of UP Diliman
and its various partner universities.
Hosting the Nook supports the International Linkages-Dillman Officein carrying out its main activities: international student mobility, faculty
and REPS (Research, Extension, andProfessional Staff) mobility program,joint academic and extramural program, and research, creative and extension work.
Quezon City, where The Universityof the Philippines-Diliman is located,is the largest city of Metropolitan

Manila and the former capital of thePhilippines. Sapporo and Quezon
City both enjoy a summer season
but where Sapporo’s daily mean temperature during the summer is about
22 oC, Quezon City’s is about 33
oC. Another stark difference is that
Sapporo experiences four seasons,spring, summer, fall, and winter,
while Quezon City and the rest of
the Philippines experience only thesummer and rainy seasons.
I invite you to explore many possibilities and look forward to welcoming you to the University of thePhilippines-Diliman, and I am excited to witness productive engagement
between our two universities.
Mabuhay!

2 The Hokkaido University Short-Term Exchange Program.
A ‘junior year abroad’ type program designed to provide
undergraduate students from affiliated universities with theopportunity to study at Hokkaido University.

4

1. The Appointment Ceremony for Prof. Wijaya at
Hokkaido University.
2. The Appointment Ceremony for HUAPs fromIndonesia at Jakarta, Indonesia.
3. Traditional Sundanese dancers at the opening
ceremony of the HU Liaison Office in Indonesia.
4. Professor Hanny and volunteers of the Liaison
Office wearing HU symbol printed original
batik (a traditional ware of Indonesia).

3

1. International students at the University of the Philippines Dillman.
(Credit: UP Diliman Information Office)
2. UP Dillman Administration Building. (Credit: UP Diliman Information
Office)4

3. Q ue z on Memor i a l Ci rc le , Q ue z on Cit y, Ph i l ippi ne s . (Cre d it :Communications Coordination Center, Quezon City Local Government)
4. Hokkaido University Liaison Office Opening Ceremony group photo.
(Credit: Office of International Linkages Diliman)

Litterae Populi Autumn 201825

Hokkaido University Archives

140 yearsofchallenge
SCENE-9

1887-1924
Sapporo Agricultural College’s
Engineering Division

7

6
1

8

2

1. Toyohira Bridge, designed by William Wheeler. (1877, Hokkaido University Archives)
2. Practical training in surveying by the Department of Civil Engineering.
(ca. 1908, Hokkaido University Archives)

3. W. Wheeler. (ca. 1879, Hokkaido University Archives)
4. Rough sketch of the drill hall, by Wheeler. (1878, Hokkaido University Archives)
5. Schematic of the Sapporo Agricultural College Garden and Arboretum, by Isami
Hiroi. (“Fourth Annual Report of Sapporo Agricultural College, 1879-80”)
6. Isami Hiroi’s notebook for the civil engineering course taught by C. H. Peabody.
(1881, Hokkaido University Archives)

7. Graduation photo of the Department of Engineering’s inaugural class.
(1891, Hokkaido University Archives)

The third person from the left in the front row is Professor Isami Hiroi, and next tohim (the fourth from the left) is Professor Shosuke Sato. On the far left in the second
row is Takimatsu Hirano, and on the far left in the third row is Bunkichi Okazaki.
8. Opening Ceremony of the School of Engineering. (1926, Hokkaido University Archives)
9. Professor Isami Hiroi of the Department of Engineering.
(ca. 1896, Hokkaido University Archives)

10. A letter dated January 20, 1887, sent from Isami Hiroi to Kingo Miyabe.
(Hokkaido University Archives)

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4

5

Teaching both Agriculture and Engineering

Hokkaido University, which was originally founded as Sapporo
Agricultural College (SAC), has its roots in agriculture, butsince its inception it had also set its sights on engineering. In
fact, the Kaitakushi (Hokkaido Development Commission)
Provisional School, the predecessor of SAC which opened inTokyo in 1872, had planned to foster experts who would beengaged in Hokkaido’s development in the fields of engineering(geology, surveying, mining, architecture, civil engineering,and mechanics) and agriculture (agricultural science, botany,
zoology, and animal husbandry). However, the plan fellthrough because of the lack of faculty members’ competence
and students’ academic ability. After its relocation to Sapporo,the school opened as SAC in 1876. It was one of the earliest
institutions of higher education specializing in agriculture in
Japan, along with the Komaba School of Agriculture (today’s
Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo), which
opened in 1878.
Joining the faculty of SAC together
with Vice President W. S. Clark was W.
Wheeler. Credentialed as a civil engineer,
Professor Wheeler taught classes on
civil engineering, mechanics, andmathematics, among other classes. He
also doubled as a civil engineer for the Kaitakushi, designing the
Toyohira Bridge over the Toyohira River and the SAC Drill Hall
(today’s Sapporo Clock Tower). C. H. Peabody, who succeeded
Wheeler in 1878, specialized in mechanical engineering andtaught mathematics and civil engineering. Through theirguidance, engineering was taught at SAC from the very start.

Shosuke Sato, a graduate from SAC’s inaugural class, wasappointed as professor. In 1886, Sato presented a written opinion
on the reorganization of SAC to the Governor of the Hokkaido
Government, stressing the need to establish an engineering
department for the construction of roads, bridges, drainage
canals, river ports, railroads, and houses across Hokkaido, as
well as for the surveying of the wildernesses on this Northern
island.
Approval was given for the establishment of a Departmentof Engineering as Sato requested, and it was planned that
Hiroi, who had been in the United States, would teach in thedepartment. SAC appointed him as assistant professor in April
1887 with an order that he study in Germany. Hiroi studied
civil engineering and hydraulic engineering at the Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology and the University of Stuttgart.
While in Germany, Hiroi expressed his delight at the ongoingreorganization of SAC under Sato’s leadership in his letter toKingo Miyabe, also a member of the second graduating class,“I hear quite often from Sato. Glad to know Sapporo
I am of the opinion that it should be called Sapporo

Isami Hiroi

A member of the second graduating class of SAC, Isami Hiroi
studied under the tutelage of professors Wheeler and Peabody.
After graduating in 1881, Hiroi moved to the United Statesin December 1883, where he engaged in flood control on theMississippi River as an engineer.
SAC put a greater emphasis on engineering education after
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Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

adding that SAC should be renamed Sapporo Polytechnic
Institute.

SAC Department of Engineering

After returning home in August 1889, Isami Hiroi assumed
the post of professor at the SAC Department of Engineering.
He proposed in 1891 that the SAC be renamed Sapporo
Agricultural and Engineering College and that the Departmentof Engineering’s curriculum be revised. Although his proposal
for the school’s renaming was not accepted, a more detailed
curriculum was developed that covered roads and railways,
transportation and traffic theory, beam bridges, masonry,architecture, river port improvement and canals, sanitaryengineering, water supply work, and electrical engineering.

9

Hiroi suggests that Sapporo Agricultural College be renamed “Sapporo Polytechnic
Institute.”

10

The Department of Engineering turned out 16 graduates until
its abolition in 1896. These include Bunkichi Okazaki, whotook charge of flood control on the Ishikari River; Tsuneharu
Ono, who was responsible for port repairs as an engineer for
Karafuto Prefecture; Yoshitaro Togawa, who was in charge ofthe construction of the Port of Keelung as an engineer for theGovernment-General of Taiwan; Yukuma Totake, who was
responsible for the construction of subways in Tokyo; Takuichi
Omura, who served as director general of the Railway Agencyof the Government-General of Korea and president of the South
Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd.; Kenzaburo Mashima, who
advocated for the earthquake resistance of flexible structures;and Suetaro Sakaoka, who became professor of Hokkaido
University’s School of Engineering.
SAC provided advanced engineering programs from its
inception. The Department of Engineering was small, as
it admitted only several students each year, but it was thebest institution of higher education for engineering after

College is undergoing improvement.
Polytechnic Institute as that is what it is.”the Technical College of Imperial University (previously the
Department of Industry’s Engineering Section), which openedin 1873 and is today the University of Tokyo’s Faculty ofEngineering.

Following the path carved out by our forebears inengineering

Following the abolition of the Department of Engineering, SAC
attached importance to technical education and established a
new Department of Civil Engineering. The new department waslater reorganized into the Hokkaido Imperial University Civil
Engineering Department, which focused on the developmentof engineers. After SAC became the Agricultural College ofTohoku Imperial University and then Hokkaido Imperial

University, the School of Engineering was established in 1924.
Hokkaido University’s agricultural roots stemming from its
days as SAC are often emphasized, but the narrow path inengineering carved out by H. Wheeler has widened tremendously
thanks to the contributions made by Isami Hiroi and those
involved in the Department of Engineering, the Department
of Civil Engineering, the Hokkaido Imperial University Civil
Engineering Department, and the Hokkaido University Schoolof Engineering.
Ho k k a i d o Un i ve r s i t y

HISTORY1887-1924

1887 April		
September		Sapporo Agricultural College appoints Isami Hiroi as assistant 		
professor and orders that he study in Germany.
Sapporo Agricultural College establishes the Department of 		Engineering (higher education course).

1888 August		Isami Hiroi suggests that Sapporo Agricultural College be 		
renamed “Sapporo Polytechnic Institute.”

1889 September		On returning home, Isami Hiroi assumes the post of professor in
the Department of Engineering.

1891 February				
October

Professors Isami Hiroi and Bunzo Sugi of the Department 		
of Engineering propose that Sapporo Agricultural College
be renamed Sapporo Agricultural and Engineering College.
The Department of Engineering curriculum is revised.

1896 August

The Department of Engineering is abolished.

1897 August		Isami Hiroi resigns from his post of professor of Sapporo 		
Agricultural College.

September		The Department of Civil Engineering (engineer course) is 		
established.

1918 April				

Hokkaido Imperial University is established, and the Department
of Civil Engineering is reorganized into the Hokkaido Imperial 		
University Civil Engineering Department.

1924 September

The School of Engineering is established.

Hokkaido University Archives
This facility collects, classifies and preserves historical documents andrecords of Hokkaido University. It also conducts investigations andresearch on its history.
Litterae Populi Autumn 201827

To p i c s
Launch of the Hokkaido University Future
Investment Program

The 1st General Assembly Meeting of the
Association of Institutions of Higher Educationof the Russian Federation and JapanThe meetings were held as a part of the Human Resource
Development Platform for Japan–Russia Economic
Cooperation and Personnel Exchange (HaRP) at boththe Hokkaido University Conference Hall and Keio Plaza
Hotel Sapporo.
The assembly opened with remarks from Hokkaido
University President Toyoharu Nawa, who acted as
representative of one of the organizing universities andco-chair of the meeting. Following the opening ceremony,
faculty members of Hokkaido University delivered lectures
to the attendees following the General Assembly Meetingtheme of the “Promotion of Human Resource Development
for Japanese–Russian Economic Cooperation and Personal
Exchange.” The following day, Prof. Victor Sadovnichy,
Rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University, gave akeynote speech about the history of the Japanese–RussianForum of Rectors and the Russian Rector’s Union.
Three parallel sessions under the subtopics “Personnel
Exchanges,” “Health and Medicine,” and “Regional
Development” were held as well as the HU–MSU Round
Table “Russian–Japanese Cultural Dialogue.” In eachparallel session, exchange plans were introduced by each
university and there were active discussions concerning thepromotion of future inter-university exchanges. President
Nawa and Rector Sadovnichy agreed upon a shared visionof a new era in Japan–Russia inter-university exchanges,
promising that both universities would lead the future ofthese exchanges together.
In the last part of the General Assembly Meeting, acommunique was created based on the outcomes of theparallel sessions and the Japan–Russia Student Forum
discussions. The results of these discussions included theestablishment of the Committee for Personnel Exchanges

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Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

between Japan and Russia, the Japan–Russia Student Union,
and the Steering Committee for Specialized Sections. In
addition, both sides agreed to promote transdisciplinary
exchanges among young researchers, interdisciplinary
research, and industry–academia collaborations.
Coinciding with the General Assembly, the Japan–Russia
Student Forum was held on May 18th and 19th in the
Conference Hall of Hokkaido University. The purpose of
the forum was to build mutual understanding and friendly
relations through student exchanges. 34 students in total
from Japan and Russia participated in the forum andearnestly discussed the proposed Japan–Russia exchanges
for many hours. The students proposed the establishmentof the Student Union, which was agreed upon and praisedby both the Minister and Consul.

Since the establishment of the Hokkaido University Frontier
Foundation in October 2006, we at the university haveoffered various forms of support to students, including thosefrom outside Japan, thanks to the generous contributions
made by faculty and administrative members, alumni,
corporations and other organizations.
To further enhance this support, we have established the
Hokkaido University Future Investment Program as part of
the Hokkaido University Frontier Foundation.
This program is run by donations from alumni in Japan andabroad to support the studies of working students who arestruggling to support themselves and to aid extracurricular
activities, including overseas study.

We greatly appreciate the support and cooperation of ouralumni members.

Hokkaido University Future Investment Program
It’s you who will pioneer the future of Hokkaido University.

This program is for alumni who wish to donate funds to support current students.
Visit the Hokkaido University Frontier Foundation website at:
Hokkaido University Future Investment Program

SearchPresident Nawa and Rector Sadovnichy of Lomonosov
Moscow State University holding the communique.

Litterae Populi Autumn 201829

Campus Landscapes

Footsteps of WinterPhotographer: Akihito Yamamotoa

Hokkaido’s short summer is gone, and autumn breezes are in the air. The seasons change
so quickly. Before long, trees will take on their autumnal hues, enlivening the landscapeon campus.
When the seasons change again, and the campus becomes covered with a thin layer ofsnow, the trees brace themselves against the cold of winter. Those trees turn vivid green
again in the spring, with beautiful blooms, refreshing our memory of the appeal of thefour seasons.
Listen closely and you’ll hear the quiet footsteps of the approaching winter.

Litterae Populi Autumn 2018

c

d

e

a. Hokkaido University Museum
b. Main Streetc. Hokkaido University Museuma,cbd. Ono Pondde. Gingko Avenue
e

Main
Gate

30

b

N

Kita 13
Gate

Litterae Populi Autumn 201831

https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/

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Litterae Populi Autumn 2018