日本財団 図書館


Message from the Chairman
AN ERA OF MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND DIALOGUE
BOLD IDEAS IN THE SERVICE OF THE WORLD
The world is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, and Japan is no exception. However difficult a position it might find itself in, however, Japan must apply all its capabilities in charting an independent course for itself in the international community. One aspect of this is to be of service-to make a contribution―to others, and to think about mutual assistance from the other's point of view.
 The era of dialogue is already here. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, located in Washington, D.C., was established by the U.S. Congress in 1968 with the aim of serving as a bridge between the world of learning and the world of public affairs. Gathered at the Wilson Center are people from all over the world deemed worthy of being invited there. The center's dining room is not only a place where researchers take their meals. It is also where members of Congress, senior government officials, journalists, and many others come to eat and talk. Service is buffet style, so everyone just puts what he or she wants to eat on a plate and looks for somewhere to sit. Naturally enough, people tend to gather around those in the limelight. Those who want to get into the limelight themselves hold forth mightily on their views, and there are also those who ply such people with questions. Similar sights can be observed in the library and elsewhere. Because the center provides an arena for free discussion by persons involved in many fields, the latest information flies back and forth. In other words, the Wilson Center is a one-stop information center―a base where information is created and from which information emanates that allows one to understand what is happening in the whole world.
 As regards The Tokyo Foundation's mission and its mode of operation, sometimes we have to take bold, unconventional steps that will make a deep impression on people in both Japan and the rest of the world in order to be of service to humanity. That requires passionate enthusiasm, but it also requires insight. As well as gaining a firsthand understanding of people and society, we have to acquire knowledge, accumulate wisdom, and nurture a sense of purpose in order to be able to perceive the future of the world. When we have amassed such a body of competences, creative ideas start to flow naturally, and we, too, can become a fountainhead of information.
 The Foundation will continue to try to foresee the overall direction of the new age and examine ways of coping with new trends. We want to find talented people, nurture them, and provide them with forums for exchanges and a stage for them to make a contribution. In due course, we want to be a source of leading-edge information, disseminating the innovative ideas born from such an environment. We at the Foundation will continue to lend an ear to outside voices and to engage in ceaseless self-examination and selfreform.
 I earnestly hope that The Tokyo Foundation will receive your continued support in this endeavor.
 
Kimindo Kusaka
Chairman








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