The 2009 Atsumi International Scholarship Foundation Research Report Meeting was held in the afternoon of March 6, 2010 at the Atsumi Foundation Hall in Sekiguchi, Bunkyo Ward in Tokyo. About 50 people were gathered including the scholarship recipients, Raccoon Kai members, guests from foreign student support groups, officers and staff of the foundation. Unfortunately, it was raining but the presentations by the scholarship recipients of this fiscal year were so marked by their distinct personalities as to make one forget about the rain outside.

At the start of the research presentations, the audience listened with great interest as Directress Itsuko Atsumi, in her greeting, introduced the Japanese culture of Hina Matsuri as well as shared episodes of her personally decorating the dolls.
We next went to the presentations, where the scholarship recipients, as required, challenged to explain their research in terms that could also be understood by a child, within 15 minutes, and using PowerPoint. The scholarship recipients, of which 3 were from the natural sciences and 9 were from the social/liberal sciences, gave presentations on a wide set of topics, ranging from forest science, earth eco-system, international communications, regional culture, Japanese culture, and political thought history. They conveyed their passion for their research to the audience.

After the presentations, a get-together was held at the same hall. Participants engaged in genial conversations, while looking back the presentations made and their daily research activities.

March is graduation season that holds both feelings of slight apprehension and big hopes. “It is an ice-age for jobs but please steadily go on with your research, without giving up or hurrying”. These were words from Managing Directress Junko Imanishi during the research presentations, which surely gave the scholarship recipients the courage and vitality to achieve their dreams.

(by Zhu Lin, translated by M. Maquito)