第9届东亚四大学论坛东京会议 / BESETOHA

Feedback From Students／The University of Tokyo

◆Same Moon, Same Dream

You can easily find the cultural exchange program for the students here in Japan; many students are involved in the club activities such as “Japan-US Student Conference”, “Japan-Korea Student Conference”. I, for one, participated in “Japan-China Student Conference” in 2006.

But few are the opportunities for Japanese to attend the programs of multinational kind. In this sense, I am very grad to participate in this BESETOHA Forum which features 4 countries in East Asia. That framework enabled to understand the differences and the similarities in this region much better.

Preparations for Student Panel was really troublesome, but the experiences I got there were invaluable and unforgettable; any moment there was precious for me. There I found not only cultural diversities and separated national identities but also same laughs, joy and sorrow among us. Just as Japanese youth have ambiguous anxiety against their future, so do other Asian youth. Just as Japanese students find joy in friendship, so do they. These similarities made me very delightful.

Here I hope to introduce my favorite Japanese poet who worked as a governmental officer in Tang Dynasty China: ABE Nakamaro. At beach he wrote one poem: This mountain I now look up in China, is the same one hang near the Mount. Mikasa, Japan. Yes, we look at the same moon every night. Why not the same dream to integrate East Asia for the global tasks like the environmental problem?

Finally, I hope to express sincere gratitude toward every person involved in this forum; without your help, we student organizers couldn’t do anything.

◆Unforgettable Days

“There’s never a dull moment at BESETOHA Forum…there’s always something which surprises you…and there’s always somebody who impresses you”

I’m glad to have this opportunity to attend BESETOHA Forum Tokyo conference 2007. BESETOHA Forum has really exceeded my expectations – not just as a place to discuss but also somewhere where you can have fun, meet people and enjoy yourself.

One of the most important things I want to do in my university life is to discuss as much as possible with the students all over the world. It was this forum that provided me to have an invaluable opportunity to achieve this purpose. Indeed, we can’t easily find the place where students from four Asian leading universities gather together, have fun, and make hot discussions.

Besides the student panel, where we had a discussion on environmental problems, we enjoyed the cultural exchanges. I was worried about how the students from other countries feel when seeing Tatami, which surely did surprise them. Throughout the forum, each of us must have been surprised at each other, and also impressed by each other.

Again, I appreciate this opportunity, and hope this forum continues forever. There is never a dull moment at BESETOHA Forum, there is always something which surprises you, and there is always somebody who impresses you.