Young People, Aim for the Blue Sky

After days of gray skies, a glimpse of blue appeared between the clouds this morning. It reminded me of something else I hope young people in Japan will continue to seek: the wider world beyond the familiar horizon.

For days, I had been longing to see a blue sky, and finally, this morning, I caught a glimpse of one between the clouds.

Even a brief patch of blue can brighten my mood.

The heat also seems to be making a comeback after a while, but apparently it will not last very long. On that point, I suppose I will simply have to accept it.

There is something I must do first when I arrive at the hospital today.

I need to help a clinician who is preparing to study abroad.

There are some documents that I have to write, and the deadline is rapidly approaching.

The paperwork itself is rather tedious. But more than that, when I think that I can be directly involved in the future of a younger colleague in this way, I feel both the weight of the responsibility and, at the same time, a certain happiness.

In recent years, we often hear that fewer young Japanese people are going abroad.

Even if only for a short period, I hope they will go out into the world and broaden their horizons.

In my own case, I spent only three months abroad. During the weekdays, I was practically confined to the laboratory, working hard with my eyes fixed on a microscope. Yet that experience continues to influence me even today.

It was not simply a matter of learning technical skills.

I want young people to encounter many kinds of “difference,” including differences in lifestyle, and to experience diversity firsthand.

Otherwise, Japan risks drifting back toward a modern version of sakoku, the isolationist policy of the past.

Of course, this would be very different from the sakoku of an age when there were no modern means of communication.

Precisely because we now live in an age when information from anywhere in the world can be obtained instantly, there is still great value in actually going abroad, seeing things with one’s own eyes, and experiencing differences for oneself.

Fortunately, Japanese researchers and professionals who go abroad are generally expected to return to Japan eventually. That should make host institutions relatively comfortable about accepting them.

Young applicants should make the most of that advantage.

And those who return will undoubtedly contribute to the advancement of science and culture in Japan.

But then comes the difficult question: who pays for studying abroad?

The other day, at a university, I saw a poster outside a medical department advertising a grant to support overseas study. The amount of support was stated in Japanese yen.

Apparently, the grant has existed for many years, but at today’s exchange rates, the amount would hardly be sufficient.

I think such support should instead be calculated on the basis of U.S. dollars or euros.

Of course, individuals themselves must make an effort to finance their time abroad. But we should not leave the burden entirely to them.

Government and the private sector should work together to create a system that makes it easier to send young people out into the world.

I hope as many young people as possible will aim for the blue sky they can see beyond the clouds.

And yet, human connections are strange things.

Only a few years ago, this person and I did not even know each other’s faces.

Now, before I knew it, I find myself deeply involved in an important turning point in that person’s life.

That is exactly why I want to give my full support.

Beyond the clouds, there is always a wider sky—and I hope our young people will have the chance to reach for it.

・・・

Vocabulary for Learners

broaden one’s horizons
To gain new knowledge, experiences, and ways of thinking by encountering unfamiliar people, places, or ideas.
視野を広げる。新しい経験や考え方に触れて、自分の世界を広げること。

be confined to
To have to stay within a limited place or situation. Here, “confined to the laboratory” means spending almost all one’s time working in the lab.
〜に閉じこもる、〜に缶詰になる。

firsthand
Directly through one’s own experience rather than through someone else’s description.
直接、自分自身の経験を通して。

drift back toward
To gradually move or return toward a previous condition, often without deliberately intending to do so.
徐々に以前の状態へ戻っていく、逆戻りしていく。

host institution
An organization, university, hospital, or research center that receives and supports a visiting student or researcher.
留学生・研究者を受け入れる大学、病院、研究機関などの受入先。

make the most of
To use an opportunity or advantage as effectively as possible.
〜を最大限に活用する。

exchange rate
The value of one country’s currency compared with another country’s currency.
為替レート、通貨の交換比率。

turning point
An important moment when a situation, career, or life begins to change significantly.
転機、人生や状況が大きく変わる節目。

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