Become a civil servant for tomorrow!

Mr. Chiune Sugihara

Mr. Katsuhiko Oku

On 21 June, the National Personnel Authority announced the results of the National Civil Servant Exam (first-class), whose successful applicants typically become leading government officials. 1,674 applicants passed, which is 82 fewer than last year, but of those, 406 were graduates of private universities, making up 24.3 percent of the total, and this number and percentage are the highest ever recorded. 128 Waseda students or graduates (3 more than last year) passed this year. About 650 of the successful candidates are expected to receive positions in government offices. The number of people from Waseda who pass the National Bar Examination and the CPA exam have also been increasing in recent years. But it is not the number that counts. We should do our best to produce people who will work for the benefit of the whole society even if they face many difficulties and social contradictions.

One of Waseda’s traditions has always been “opposition spirit”. This tradition has been carried on not only by those who form part of the political opposition, but also by people who have worked ceaselessly for the benefit of society from the inside of rigid organizations. For example, during the Second World War, in the midst of the "see no evil" attitude spawned by the rigid hierarchy of the old Imperial University faction, for which the highest value was the welfare of one's own ministry, the Japanese consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara, who has become known in recent years as the "Japanese Schindler", acting against the orders of the Foreign Ministry, issued Japanese transit visas to about six thousand Jews who were fleeing Nazi persecution. Another example is the diplomat Katsuhiko Oku, posthumously granted the rank of ambassador, who resolutely dedicated himself to the return of genuine peace to Iraq and to the return of smiles to the faces of Iraqis until he was cut down by a terrorist bullet. With the rugby player's “one for all and all for one” spirit. Ambassador Oku visited more than 100 countries and regions and strove to understand the local circumstances, people and culture.

It is hoped that not only those who have passed the National Civil Servant Exam, but the students who hope to go into public service (both national and local), will make efforts to attain their ideals as public servants.