Secondary
Graduation Ceremony of the School Academic Year 2025-2026
On Monday, March 1st 2026, the 13th Graduation Ceremony of Gunma Kokusai Academy was held.
73 students have graduated from GKA.
Here is the principal’s speech.
【Principal’s Speech】
Ladies and gentlemen, …good morning! I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for joining us as we commemorate GKA’s 13th graduationceremony.
To the graduating students, today is truly a day to remember. In our school’s 20th year, having met all the requirements for graduation, I am proud to award you your high school diplomas.
I would also like to express my deepest respect and gratitude to the parents forchoosing our school as a place for their children to learn and grow. All of us at GKA are truly grateful to share the immense pleasure that today brings with our dear parents and our graduating class.
Graduates: your education at GKA is coming to an end. However, you are on a continuous journey of learning and self-improvement. Education never truly ends. I’m sure that after graduating from GKA, each of you will meet many people in your life. Whenever and wherever you meet someone, there will be teachable
moments which help you change and grow. All the people you will meet will be teachers for you as long as you have deep respect for them.
Looking back on my own life, I have learned a great deal from the people I met. Today, I would like to share one of the most impressive episodes that I heard from Mr. Akashi, who was Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. One day, when I was talking with him, he told me about having dinner with the former Emperor and Empress privately at one of the small rooms inside the Tokyo imperial palace. I was so surprised to hear that because having dinner privately with the Emperor and Empress was beyond my imagination. I was so curious and soon asked him why the Emperor invited Mr.Akashi for a private dinner. He explained it like this. The Emperor sometimes invited Mr.Akashi and his wife for dinner in order to learn the truth about international issues. The emperor knew that the information we get from mass media, especially about global matters, is not always true and some of the news might be distorted. During the dinner, the emperor asked lots of questions and so did the Empress. Both of them are very knowledgeable and ask profound questions, Mr.Akashi added.
And what drew particular attention to me was how the dinner ends. The emperor doesn’t tell them when to finish dinner. Neither does the guest, Mr.Akashi. Hearing that, I asked him, “Then, how does dinner end?” The answer was like this. Figuring out the right timing, a servant of the imperial palace knocks on the door of the room and says, “It’s almost time…” Then the Emperor might say, “Is it already that late?” And the party ends elegantly. I thought that the Emperor might think that by saying “Let’s finish the dinner.” directly, the guests might feel that the Emperor didn’t want to spend more time with them.
One more thing that drew particular attention to me was the case when the Emperor would like to talk more with Mr.Akashi. In such a case, at the moment a servant opens the door, the Emperor says to him, “Please give me one more cup of tea.” Then the servant says, “Certainly.” and turns around and goes to get another
cup of tea. Mr.Akashi understood that one more cup of tea means a little more time to talk. But if he says so directly to the servant, that might make him feel he made a misjudgment. This told me how peaceful and heart-warming of a relationship it was.
I learned from this episode that critical thinking skills, or having as many perspectives as possible, is critically important not only when we try to know the truth regarding issues around our society but also when we try to improve our soft skills like being thoughtful and kind to everyone around us. The emperor is always trying to see things even from the point of view of the servants.
Finally, I’d like to discuss an important skill regarding how to make correct decisions. Everyone might face a situation when two crucial matters exist, and occasionally, these two can conflict. At such moments, deciding what to prioritize can determine our fate. For example, in a company, there are two elements: generating profits and contributing to society. The question arises: should we prioritize social contribution even if profits suffer, or should we prioritize immediate profits even if it means losing social trust? Japan is said to have over 30,000 companies that have been in business for over 100 years. This number is by far the highest in the world. The reason for this is simply that Japanese companies have valued trust over immediate profits.
I believe this principle can also be applied to personal decisions. In your future lives, you will inevitably face situations where you must choose between pursuing personal gain and earning the trust of others. The decisions you make at those moments will make a decisive difference in your future happiness. I sincerely hope that you will grow into people who consistently make valuable judgments in a rapidly changing, unpredictable world, and that you will contribute to making the world a better place to live in.
May god bless you all, and congratulations on your graduation.