On Friday, April 10th, I attended the "First Meeting of Scholars" as a 2026 Atsumi International Foundtion fellow. The gathering was an opportunity to appreciate the beginning of a new year as a scholar of Atsumi. I was somewhat nervous while heading to the venue, but my excitement to the people I will be meeting also grew.

First, the Foundation staffs greeted us, and then explained to us about the Foundation. Listening to their principle and activities throughout the year, I was very grateful for being selected as a fellow. The Executive Director explained the background and history of the establishment of the Foundation. I was deeply inspired to learn that the Foundation is not merely a place of providing financial assistance, but one that values connections between people and giving support to young researchers and student.

Afterwards, everyone introduced themselves. In addition to our name, hometown, and institution, we also answered the prompt "if you would just go hang around for an hour, where would it be?" Everyone's answers were quite unique, and expressed their interest as well as the kind of person they are, without talking about their research topic. To bring up an unexpected place, I brought up USJ (somewhere I have not been able to go because of research, despite living in Kansai), mixing in a bit of humor.

During lunch time, we spoke in groups while having the provided lunchboxes, and then presented about the discussion. The prompt was "if you would travel for a day, where would it be?," with each groups freely coming up with their travel plan. While contributing ideas, I could see not just stories about others' research and daily life, but also their preferences and how they think about things. I felt that we grew closer. In our group, we ultimately picked the place I had my engagement. A bit too personal perhaps, but that also brought out people's surprise and laughter. I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere.

The gathering was very fulfilling, and time flew by. There were many I did not have enough time to talk to, a shame the event did not last longer. Nonetheless, I also heard about the many events planned by the Foundation, and I am certainly looking forward to meeting everyone in the gatherings and the camp in the future.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone at the Atsumi Foundation for setting up this space of exchange. I endeavor to work hard on finishing my doctoral dissertation, while also treasuring this meeting with friends in the Raccoon-kai, growing as a researcher and as one human being. I would like to have a fulfilling year, holding in my heart the inspiration and gratitude I felt today.

Written by: Lee Jung-Hu (2026 Fellow)