1. The changes we have brought in our environment — from global warming to the reduction and extinction of various fl ora and fauna — force us to face the question of how we will build a model for sustainable existence.
　　The environmental changes, such as global warming and the decreasing and dying out of various plants and animals, pose a severe question. That is: how we should develop an existence pattern in which we can maintain our environmental sustainability.

2. Events around the world remind us that we share a small planet among peoples with different beliefs, hopes and cultures, and that understanding and appreciating their ambitions and their history will be critical to building a better world for all.
　　What happens in the world reminds us that we live on and have to share the same “small planet” with peoples who have different beliefs, hopes, and cultures. And we should recognize and value each other’s desires, hopes, ambitions and each other’s culture and history, which is crucial to building a better world for us all.

3. I hope that you will discover a new understanding and appreciation for the pluralistic society in which we live and fi nd constructive ways to contribute to the world.
　　I hope you will fi nd a new way to understand and appreciate the diversifi ed society we live in and fi nd your own way to serve it.

4. You have chosen to attend a university that is not only a great educational institution; it is also a great research institution.
　　The university you attend not only offers you the best opportunity to learn, but also provides you with the best facilities and resources to do research work.

5. But it is your children, as individuals, who will choose what excites them, what generates intellectual passion and what engages their very able minds.
　　But it is up to your children to decide what ignites their eagerness to learn, what can stimulate their passion for knowledge, and what is the focus of attention of these talented people.

6. I hope your time here transforms your lives, just as it has transformed the lives of so many alumni.
　　I hope your university life here will be a once-in-a-lifetime journey and makes you ready for a new life, just as it has done to so many of the university’s graduates.