Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to deliver the closing address at this significant symposium, on behalf of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Although my packed schedule did not allow me to participate yesterday’s sessions, I enjoyed very much the papers and discussions today.

Our university, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, has been very proud of the program of Peace and Conflict Studies. The importance of this program is quite obvious to everybody. However, it is particularly important for our university which covers languages and area studies of the world. Many researchers and students of our university have greatly been interested in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Possibly you already have some information on our PCS program, glancing down the brochure. This program is the most internationalized part in our university, not only because all lectures are offered in English, but also because the students enroll from many parts of the world. PCS program is also active in connecting our university with the overseas counterparts by inviting scholars, sending our scholars, and offering lectures and seminars via internet.

I am very sure that this symposium gave great stimuli to our students who are interested in this field. I also hope that this occasion will be the first step to closer ties and further cooperation of the world scholars in this field.