WASEDA University Graduate School of Finance, Accounting and Law

A dynamism to logically approach real-time events phenomena

I was originally drawn to enter the NFS when I started to feel, in the course of my day-to-day work, that I wanted to deepen my understanding of the stock markets by studying economic thinking that go beyond quick fixes. We are increasingly faced with situations in which responses have to be made to new issues that cannot be addressed by an extension of past or present responses. I thought that if I went back to the basics of economics and finance, and thoroughly studied them, it would prove to be a powerful asset in my career.

When I actually started to study finance I was fascinated to find that theory and proof are like two sides of the same coin, and that nothing can be concluded by theory alone. Furthermore, the Lehman Shock erupted while I was studying at the school, and the dynamism of immediately turning events that occur in real time into research material was extremely stimulating. I currently work in the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Listing Promotion Office, where I'm involved in nurturing the ETF market and providing support for new listings. One of the lectures I attended at the NFS that left a deep impression on me was Professor Keiichi Omura's theme of "Design for Financial Business and System," which considered what sort of business structures should be created in order to make the finance sector produce added value. my current work is precisely an on-the-spot pursuit of that lesson. In my work of considering and suggesting what sorts of devices would be possible in order to encourage as many as possible ETFs to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and even more investors to trade them, I frequently feel that the way of thinking and knowledge I cultivated at the NFS is proving to be immediately useful.

The possibilities that became apparent by studying the theory behind the practice

I sharply sensed my lack of knowledge as I had originally transferred to the finance sector from an ordinary company. I entered the NFS because I wanted to do a job that could be done only by someone with a perspective such as mine. that of a person who had experienced the anxieties and issues faced by ordinary companies. by effectively gaining the knowledge essential to business and through a deep and wide study of comprehensive finance theory and its current state. I had numerous encounters with wonderful teaching and people during my time at the school. I will never forget the tuition of Professor Megumi Suto on "Japanese Financial System and Capital Market," which enabled me to appreciate once more Japan's financial system, the functions of capital markets in the financial system, and the functions and roles of the financial intermediation sector. These provided an opportunity for a banker such as myself to create my own ‘axis of thought.' Elsewhere, Professor Hitoshi Takehara's "Topics in Investments" lectures left a great impression on me. In the lecture an in-depth study of the field of the asset management that is so important to companies was made, and I learnt about how to apply both theory and practice. Though it was a mentally and physically demanding couple of years, acquiring the academic theory that cannot be cultivated through practice alone, gaining a chance to create theories bearing new ideas, and the friendship of colleagues from different sectors and occupations with whom I could speak frankly and overcome difficulties, are irreplaceable and precious assets. I have always wondered what the financial intermediation sector can do in order to ensure Japanese businesses maintain their vigor in the constantly fluctuating financial and capital markets of Japan, but I think the clues to this target are without doubt what I learned at the NFS.