My name is Gako Ikoma, and I took up the position of Chairman of the Board in April 2024.

Rissho Educational Corporation, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2022, has taken a new step towards the future after a century and a half of history. The origins of our university's Rissho spirit, which proclaims "truth, justice, and peace," can be traced back 800 years ago to Saint Nichiren, who thought of the country, thought of people, and prayed for social peace during the Kamakura period, a time of continuous natural disasters. A single drop of water gushed forth from the Lotus Sutra preached by the Buddha, and together with Saint Nichiren, has transcended time and become a great river that continues to this day at our university.

Nichiren Shonin's words include the following: "We, the members of our school, should refrain from sleep at night and stop wasting leisure during the day to think about this. Do not spend your whole life in vain and regret it until you reach your 30th birthday." This basically means that our members should cherish their sleep at night and not waste even the smallest amount of leisure time during the day, but should study and think thoroughly. And we should not spend our whole life in vain without thinking, leaving regrets until we reach our 30th birthday. The gist of this is that keeping in mind the attitude of "stopping leisure and sleep" leads to devoting one's utmost sincerity in the pursuit of truth, respecting justice and eliminating evil, and devoting oneself to the pursuit of peace and serving humanity. If we apply this to our everyday lives, I believe that by keeping this attitude in mind in the classroom or in extracurricular activities, students will be able to achieve deep results in their academic pursuits or reach a higher stage, and after they enter the workforce, I believe that the days spent studying at our university will help them overcome various difficulties and grow into people who will take on the responsibility of society. Mr. Hirotaka Takeuchi, a mountaineer who is a graduate and visiting professor at our university, is the 29th person in the world, and the only Japanese, to have climbed all 14 of the 8,000-meter peaks. He once said, "What is essential to taking on a challenge is curiosity and a spirit of inquiry, and whether you can place yourself in an environment where you can demonstrate these is the most important thing." I believe it was the environment at our university that nurtured Mr. Takeuchi's mind and attitude, leading him to achieve this great feat.

On the other hand, if we look at modern society, the environment surrounding universities is becoming increasingly harsh. In particular, addressing the decline in the 18-year-old population is an urgent issue, but this is also an opportunity to become a university of choice. The concept of Rissho Grand Design for the 150th anniversary of its founding, which outlines what our university should be like in 10 years, is stated as "an academy that respects diversity and fuses tradition with new knowledge to bring about innovation in society." In order to nurture such talent and become a university of choice, we need to not only be a place for student education and research, but also to utilize our presence in society on a daily basis as a "center of knowledge."

In this rapidly changing era, we are being asked how our university can contribute to social development through the results of its education and research, what can only our university do, and what kind of existence we want to be in 10 years. Professor Ishibashi Tanzan, who served as our university's president for 16 years from 1952, the 80th anniversary of the university's founding, preached a way of life that integrates the spirit of the Lotus Sutra with the practice of academic study, and established the university's founding spirit. Now, our university has 10,000 students who study with aspiration and their parents, excellent faculty and staff who nurture the students, and many alumni, including graduates since the university's founding who live in the future of the students. Saint Nichiren said that the deeper the roots, the more abundant the branches, and the farther the source, the longer the stream. The Rissho-nin who have cultivated our university's history and traditions are indeed deep roots and long streams. As one of the alumni, I intend to work together with you to develop the university, so I would like to conclude my remarks by asking for your understanding and cooperation.