My relationship with the AIKOM programme has been very close. After being involved in the preparatory work for the establishment of the programme, I became its second head in April 1996 succeeding Prof. Yasunari Takada, who played a crucial part in its foundation. The two and a half years during which I helped the programme in that capacity gave me valuable experiences, and I cherish numerous unforgettable memories both about the overseas students who came from various countries and about the Japanese students whom we sent abroad.
One student, whose name always comes to my mind when I think of those days, is Agus Muliawan from Indonesia. Around the time when his stay in Japan was drawing to a close, I had lunch with him near the Komaba campus and he enthusiastically told me that he wanted to become an active journalist. He did become one and strenuously reported about the turbulent situation of his home country. Tragically his activities resulted in his death in East Timor in September 1999. I can remember vividly the profound shock that I felt when I saw his name in the satellite TV news about the murder of a young Indonesian journalist in East Timor.
It may be unusual to describe such a personal memory in this greeting message about the AIKOM programme, but what I would like to emphasise is that this programme is a wonderful one and has been attracting excellent student like Agus. I hope that the AIKOM programme will continue to flourish and to serve as an important intellectual arena in which foreign and Japanese students mix freely.
