(I.e.

As you know, technical college education begins at the age of 15, and is taught from the basics to university level, while also focusing on ``what is it for?'', ``how does it contribute to the world?'' and ``how is it implemented in society?'' The main feature is that it always connects and makes you think about whether you should do it or not.
Since its founding 60 years ago, technical colleges have started with classes of 55 students instead of the 40 students that were common at the time, and the main reason for this is to carefully examine the characteristics of each student and nurture them so that they can demonstrate their full potential. was. I tell students to have high aspirations from a young age, to be useful to society, and to have people say ``thank you'' to them, but in order to do that, they need ``practical skills,'' and from the basics to practical application. You must also have the ``basic abilities'' up to. In addition, recently, it has become important not only to learn technology but also to have the ability to judge whether it is truly useful to society, so we are also focusing on learning the so-called "liberal arts", which is the ability to think from a broader perspective. I want you to have that feeling.
In Japan, people think that they have "understood" something if they can take a test, but in reality, they can only truly say that they have "understood" when they can explain what they have learned to others. Technical college education, in which more than 3% of classes are conducted through experiments and practical training to develop "practical skills," is the essential education. Therefore, I believe that education in Japan would be better if we declared that ``technical college education will lead Japan's education.''

Tohara

That's wonderful. I think the key word you just mentioned is "solving social issues." There are various social issues such as environmental problems and the declining birthrate and aging population, but I think it is extremely important to have the ability to view these as ``personal problems'' and independently solve them. Raising your perspective and thinking about things as ``your own business'' is an important point in human education. If you only think about your own ideas, social issues will look like someone else's problem, so I think it's important to have the ability to empathize with others in order to make them your own.
I say the same thing at work. For more than 1910 years since his founding in 110, Hitachi, Ltd. has essentially been a manufacturing company. Starting with his first 5 horsepower induction motor, he has produced a variety of products. We have created a culture of products and technology, or a ``factory-centered culture.'' However, with the advancement of digital technology, we have changed the direction of not only manufacturing, but also using digital technology to combine OT (operational technology), IT, and products to solve problems for customers. .
In recent years, various social issues have emerged, such as the environment, food loss, and the declining birthrate and aging population, and it is becoming difficult to solve them through "co-creation" alone with fixed customers. The people who can play an active role today cannot just say, ``I have a product, so please buy it.'' They must understand what customers want and what they are looking for. When it comes to social issues, we need to proactively think about where the problems lie and how to solve them with empathy. I think this is a major trend of the times.
The other thing is that Japan also has to compete in the global market. We need to bring out more of Japan's strengths. I believe that education at technical colleges develops human resources who can develop Japan's strengths and play an active role in solving problems around the world.

(I.e.

Engineering was originally a science for improving society, so it is important to think about this once again. This is not to say that industry is unrelated to agriculture and fisheries. Engineering allows us to see things in new ways. Engineering is related to everything in society, such as collaboration between agriculture and industry and medicine and engineering. Engineering is needed in every field if you have the perspective of how to truly solve problems.

Tohara

No, that's exactly right. We talk about industry, agriculture, and fishing, but if we look at problem solving, those barriers disappear. For example, to solve food loss, food must be delivered to consumers just in time. To achieve this, if we approach the issues by asking, ``How much should producers produce?'' and ``How much should fisheries deliver just in time?'', the barriers between agriculture and fishing will disappear. In industry, the barriers between materials, processing, and manufacturing will disappear. When it comes to environmental issues, from the viewpoint of solving problems such as energy minimization and resource recycling, it is necessary to ``connect ideas'' that transcend all barriers.

(I.e.

A Taiwanese company will construct a semiconductor factory in Kyushu. Japan's semiconductor industry seems to have weakened over the past 20 to 30 years, but in response to this news that came out in February 2022, some technical colleges in Kyushu will be introducing a semiconductor industry starting this April. I started the class. The good thing about technical colleges is that they are flexible and can respond quickly and flexibly to situations. He won't be able to talk if it takes him 2 years just to argue.

Tohara

I agree. My girlfriend and I entered the technical college in 1970 as his 8th class students. He was only at the technical college for three years, but during that time he was allowed to actually make things using lathes and other tools. The English education was also excellent, and I was able to take classes taught by foreigners and study English conversation in the LL classroom. During those three years, he developed the habit of learning what he wanted to know, which is a great asset in his life. In particular, I believe that the mathematics taught by Kentaro Yano (former professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, specializing in differential geometry) is something you will need for a lifetime.

(I.e.

Mr. Yano studied mathematics at Tokyo Institute of Technology. I didn't graduate from a technical college, but I remember a physics teacher who told me that there was an exam where he couldn't do a question and thought he'd get about 20 points. However, when he returned, he had a score of 75. When I went to ask him, ``Teacher, why?'' he answered, ``The first assumption is wrong, but the rest of the logic is correct.If the first assumption wasn't wrong, it would have been possible.'' Think about that and give the score. "I did." I think it's very important to learn the process, rather than just looking at the answer and getting a "fail". I believe that technical college education does a good job of this.

Tohara

I think that technical college students like mathematics and physics, but it is also important to acquire a wide range of general knowledge. When solving problems, it is easiest to model them using mathematical formulas, but there are many problems in society that cannot be solved using mathematical formulas. At that time, I think it would be a good idea to explain it with a similar example. These include lessons in history and similarities in social life. I have been in charge of the computer business. I once had trouble explaining to everyone how his OS (operating system) for Von Neumann-type computers was created and how it worked. For example, as a similar explanation, while reading, a voice comes to you saying, ``It's a courier.'' At that time, I put the bookmark on the page I was reading and went to pick up the delivery, and when I returned, I started reading again from the bookmark. This kind of "interrupt processing" is done inside the computer. Humans decide the priority of reading books and the priority of going to the delivery service. The same thing happens in computers. So we can think of processing algorithms based on similarities. In addition, we will now make various predictions for the economic trends after the coronavirus based on the economic trends after the Spanish flu outbreak. I think similarities are very important in that sense.

(I.e.

It is important for students to have a broad perspective and firmly understand that there are many different points of view. If you don't have knowledge of things like STEAM education and art, you won't be able to connect well with society.

(I.e.

There are many contests at technical colleges. That is very important. Even if I don't have to tell you anything, if I don't make it in time for the preliminaries, I will absolutely meet the deadline, and since we will be taking on the challenge as a team, we will not be able to communicate if we can't explain things within the team. For example, when building a robot, there are weight restrictions and budget restrictions. I have no choice but to think about how I can make the most of my abilities. I think these things are included in the contest. I believe that learning through such contests is another important element of technical college education.

Tohara

I also watched Robocon on TV, and it's just a type of project management. To complete a project, we create a process, appoint a responsible person, and manage the project to keep it within budget. However, things don't always go according to plan, and if something goes wrong, we may create a plan B and start over. In that sense, I think it's a very good project for learning project management.

(I.e.

After deciding on the year's theme around May, the robots are completed in about three months until the summer, and the robots are gradually improved by observing the results of other teams before the main competition. When I tell people from other countries that 5-year-old students are doing this, they are surprised. While valuing the positive aspects of contests such as these, I think it is also important to incorporate new perspectives.
I always say, "Success is the source of failure." ``Failure is the key to success, but if you rest on your laurels for five years, you will become a failure.'' He says it is very important to always be aware of this.

Tohara

It is very important to learn from both successes and failures. I hope that you will continue to attend Robocon, and that you will learn various lessons that will lead to personal growth.

(I.e.

Earlier I talked about ``contributing to society,'' but when I am asked in a foreign country, ``What are the characteristics of technical college education?'' I explain, ``We train doctors for society.'' It's a "social doctor." Everyone knows about medical doctors, but society too faces many troubles. If you say, ``I'm a doctor for society,'' who can cure people or prevent them from getting sick, people in other countries will immediately understand.

Tohara

Around 2055, Japan's population will fall below 1 million. I think that GDP will also shrink and the problem of population onus will be inevitable. In that case, the place where technical college graduates will compete in the future will be the global market. I think it is very important to study carefully the differences in social values, culture, history, and religion in America, Europe, China, Asia, etc., and realize that ``Japanese ideas alone will not get you through.'' . This is particularly the case when it comes to social issues that are directly connected to values. The ability to understand cultural gaps from a global perspective is important. When we move from manufacturing to solving customers' problems and then solving society's problems, we need to understand things beyond Japanese values. Mutual understanding requires dialogue with people from different backgrounds.
It is important to think about ``diversity and inclusion,'' including the difference in sensibilities between countries where laws are made based on the theory of evil, and countries like Japan where the laws are based on the idea that ``God is watching over us.'' . I think it will be extremely important to develop future technical college students as human resources who can play an active role in the global society.

(I.e.

Of the Hitachi Group's approximately 37 employees, approximately 21, or more than half, are foreigners. Unfortunately, at technical colleges, only about 1% of the students are international students, so we have to double that number through games. Although the new coronavirus has had an impact, I believe that the number of international students is still small.

Tohara

The company Hitachi started out as a manufacturing company, and in recent years has grown into a company centered on OT (operation and control), IT (information), and products. When I looked around the world during my eight years as president and CEO, I realized that there were very few companies that had all three of these things, so I decided to make these characteristics our company's characteristics.
The most important thing is to have our founding spirit and corporate philosophy as our foundation, and to make our R&D, procurement functions, cybersecurity measures, and other assets common throughout the world. Our strategy is to line up a variety of solutions on an IT platform called ``Rumada'' and provide services by selecting and combining services that match the regional characteristics of each country from the showcase.
I call this "autonomous decentralized global management." Autonomous decentralization means ``responding to customers according to local needs,'' so customization for each country or region is carried out in accordance with the culture, history, and values ​​of that country. We launched the Lumada concept in Silicon Valley on May 2016, 5.

(I.e.

I understand the concept of autonomous decentralization. The idea is that technical colleges should also take advantage of the characteristics of each technical college, while taking into account the common denominators. If there were only commonalities, it would be Kintaro-ame, so the differences and characteristics of Hokkaido and Okinawa, Kanto and Kansai are important. However, I would like them to fully recognize what is important and develop each of their characteristics, rather than just doing it on their own.

Tohara

Autonomous decentralized systems can be constructed to suit the actual circumstances of each region, allowing us to quickly respond to the needs of local customers. Furthermore, it is possible to respond in accordance with the economic situation of each region, and it also helps diversify business risks. Additionally, autonomous decentralized systems are suitable for global management because they allow regional expansion in stages. Therefore, I think it is an autonomous decentralized idea that there is a technical college that was established first, and that the concept of the technical college is gradually expanded.

Tohara

In recent years, it has been said that we have entered the era of 100-year lifespans. In the future, I think that the era of Japanese labor practices in which ``after joining a company, a person will continue to work at the same company until retirement'' will soon disappear. I may end up changing jobs to another company in about 1 years. At that time, I think some people will re-study again and find employment in a completely different industry. I think that the ``fluidity of jobs'' will gradually increase as people change companies two or three times.
Looking at predictions for around 2050, the population will continue to decline, while the introduction of AI and robots will advance. I think it will be necessary to replace routine work with AI and robots, and to move people to jobs such as corporate planning and product planning. These are not issues that can be handled by a single company, and I think Japan as a whole needs to consider and decide on a direction.

(I.e.

I think teachers need to change along with students. You may need to consider coming to a technical college for support while still working for a company. There are some aspects that won't change immediately, but I think it will be necessary to have a lot of discussions and implement them jointly with companies. It is useful for those taking recurrent education, and teachers can also learn from it. The world moves fast.

Tohara

I agree. That's why I think it would be a good idea to clarify three educational patterns. First, if there are teachers at technical colleges across the country who are good at teaching, I think it would be a good idea to play basic education subjects on video and students could take the classes over and over again. Second, if you have a teacher who is great at interactive classes, I think it would be great to have classes where you can interact remotely with students from all over the world. Thirdly, how about dividing it into a style of learning through projects like "Robocon"? I think that these changes will make a big difference to teachers.

(I.e.

It's good for teachers to change their own mindsets, and I think it's also good for students. Like what I just said, it's okay for the teacher in charge to teach face-to-face once or twice, but for basic education, it's better to have the teacher who is the best at teaching over and over again so that everyone can understand. It might be a good idea to do that.

Tohara

I think it is also important to develop ``pointed people.'' ``Pointy people'' simply do not accept the current situation. If you start thinking from the age of 15, ``Why are the rules the way they are now?'' and have an innovative mindset, you will probably be able to survive in any profession, no matter how old you are. I think it will be.

(I.e.

There are 51 national technical colleges across the country, so one way would be to provide special education to the 100 or so ``pointy'' students, allowing them to study at any technical college. However, it is not necessarily easy with the current system, so I think that if we properly set up and implement the system, we will be able to develop a different kind of human resources.

Tohara

This time, the Digital Garden City-Nation Initiative has been announced, and Japan will be fully connected through 5G. I think that in each region, local culture, industry, regional revitalization, etc. will be linked. Earlier you talked about leveraging the characteristics of technical colleges in each region, and I think there are things that can be done in common across all technical colleges nationwide, and on the other hand, there are things that can be done to enhance the characteristics of each technical college. Therefore, as ``5G'' is developed, technical colleges across the country will have common subjects, and technical colleges in Shikoku will have courses to learn local culture and history, and some clever ways of ``regional revitalization of education'' will be implemented. I wish I could.

(I.e.

The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), which aim to harmonize the environment, economy, and society on a global scale, are attracting attention, and I believe that the 17 goals are basically what Japan has been working on to date. Japanese people are not very good at expressing themselves, so it's easy to say to a foreign country that ``we're actually working on a variety of things'' just because the ``link'' between what we're doing and our goals isn't clear. I think it's fine.
However, the important concept in the SDGs is "No One (Will Be) Left Behind," and this does not just mean "nurturing everyone with care." It also means that each of you has something to do. Therefore, we must also teach people how to achieve their goals while being aware that each person has a role to play, rather than leaving it to others to do things like ``wealthy people do'' or ``skilled people do.'' not. It is necessary to firmly recognize the concept of SDGs and not treat ``achieving the goals'' as mere indulgence.

Tohara

That's exactly right. From a company's perspective, we have not paid much attention to the 17 goals until now. Hitachi is currently promoting its "Social Innovation Business." The major aim is to use digital technology to make social infrastructure more intelligent and improve the "quality of life" of people around the world.
Now, I'm saying to each employee, ``How did you connect with society today? Please think about that.'' Our railway business safely transports approximately 185 billion people each year. Among them, I think it would be okay to say, ``I am designing a railway project'' or ``I am doing cost accounting.'' This means that you should always be aware that we are providing safe and secure rail transport around the world. That's the first thing Chairman Taniguchi said, ``I'm grateful.'' I think this will lead to employee empowerment.

(I.e.

That's right. All work is connected to society. ``Transporting people safely'' cannot be done without people working in all departments involved, so it is important to be clearly aware of this.

Tohara

There are aspects of Japan that have lost confidence, saying that they have lost years. I think the market capitalization of stocks other than GAFAM is not much different from Japan, just because of the strong presence of GAFAM. However, I think the only difference lies in the fact that GAFAM is the first in the world to have a business model in cyberspace, and their evaluation in the market is different. Therefore, I think that the next generation should just give him one more try in the field of manufacturing. In this sense, I believe that the capabilities of technical colleges will receive a lot of attention in the future.

(I.e.

Japan needs to take on such challenges, and if we tackle them with confidence, we can do it. Japanese people tend to be quiet, so I think it's important for them to be more proactive and take on challenges in diverse fields. Social values ​​are changing, so if industry and academia work together to develop human resources that can meet the needs of a new era, it is possible to lead the world. By working together, we will do our best to help society develop and have a brighter future. It seems that we have reached a general conclusion, but in closing, I would like Chairman Higashihara to give a message to the technical college students and everyone involved.

Tohara

I think technical colleges are a great place to learn. The important point is that knowledge is knowledge no matter how much you cram it into your head. It is about ``considering your own wisdom'' about how you can contribute to society. I would like you to learn about that. I believe that if people who graduate from technical colleges think carefully about how they can contribute to society and take concrete actions, they will become highly desirable people in the world. Masu. Please do your best.

(I.e.

Thank you very much for your valuable opinion today. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.