Fairlilyne Aiwa, energetic, beautiful, and self-sufficient woman from Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is studying at Graduate School of Law, Waseda University.
I want to see how far I can go
“I was not anxious about coming to Japan,” she said.
“I do miss my family and my boy a lot, but I wanted to see how far I can go myself.”
Fairlilyne is a young, talented lady and is also a mother to a two year old boy.
Before coming to Japan, she had working experience in the fields of taxation and petroleum, after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Law in 2010.
Why did you choose law?
“Being a lawyer is like being an engineer of society.”
Well, at first, I was not interested in law. I used to dream of becoming a teacher.
But when I completed my senior high school, I wanted to challenge myself, and I decided to try out for Law School. No one believed that I was able to obtain a degree and start my career in law, not even myself sometimes. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do anything once I have set my mind to it.
When I started studying law at the University of Papua New Guinea in 2007, I began to realize and appreciate how interesting law was. Law is a set of rules, principles, customs and practices created by societies, in order to govern societies. Law defines our freedom and rights, while at the same time regulates our everyday conduct. But one thing Law is – is that, it is constantly evolving, shaping societies, preserving culture, maintaining good relations and keeping most of us safe.
I am currently studying International Law with Professor Kawano at Waseda University. I am always interested in how law affects our daily life and international relations. What human beings need in order to relate and govern their relations within the municipal and international communities is “LAW.” I think being a lawyer is like being an engineer of society.
Why Japan?
Going to Australia (the neighboring country) to get a master’s degree is a popular choice in my country, but again, I wanted to do something different.
When I had the opportunity to come to Japan with MEXT Scholarship, I thought it was karma, and I grabbed the opportunity. I have always been fascinated with this country, its people and culture. In terms of choosing one university in Japan, I made a lot of effort by searching through the internet, reading about experiences of other foreign students in Japan. I came to know about Waseda University because of its reputation as one of the top private universities in Japan, its diversity of foreign students, and because Professor Kawano’s interesting background which was related to my interest and field of my study (International law).
How do you like living in Japan?
Japan never ceases to amaze me. It is fun, safe and very welcoming. I found a share house nearby Waseda University before coming to Japan and I am now living there with girls from all around the world.
People in Japan are nice all the time. I often have difficulties finding my way to certain destination since I am not good at speaking Japanese and many signs and instructions are only written in Japanese, but whenever I need help, I am always assisted by many local people , even with my use of very limited Japanese and mostly hand gestures.
How do you like Waseda?
Waseda is a melting point of culture and diversity.
Everyday I get to meet students from different parts of the world and to learn their culture, languages, lifestyle etc, always excites me. I would never get such opportunity in my home country. Often times we only get to read and hear about a certain country through media or books, but to actually learn about a foreign country from an individual can completely break all stereotypes one has. I am glad that Waseda creates that environment for such conversations and friendships to bloom.
My professor (Prof. Kawano) is very experienced and accomplished in her field of expertise, and the fact that she is a woman, she also inspires me very much in terms of how much she has attained in her professional life. She is very helpful, polite, intelligent, and a pleasure to be around with.
Her classes are always interesting and she has a way of making law “fun” and “interactive” when she teaches it, especially in English classes.
I am excited for the spring 2018 when new Waseda LL.M. program will be launched. More foreign students will join to the Graduate School of Law, and more law courses in English will be offered.
Without a doubt, coming to Waseda was the best decision I made.
I hope that I can be an ambassador for the Graduate School of Law, Waseda University not only in my home country Papua New Guinea but also in the Pacific region.
What do you want to do at Waseda or in Japan?
It has only been two months since I arrived in Japan, but I realize that there are more opportunities here than in my country.
When I arrived in Japan I realized that generally graduate students here are much younger than graduate students in my country because they go from undergraduate straight in to graduate school, where as in my country we do not often have the opportunity (and financial support) to go on to postgraduate so usually find employment after attaining our bachelor degrees.
I would like to keep studying law and improve my Japanese, and someday, I want my son (and my family) to have this opportunity, too, to be here in Tokyo.
June 30, 2017
The new Waseda LL.M. starting next spring!
Graduate School of Law will launch its new one-year English based master’s program called “the LL.M. in Asian Economic Integration and Law” in next spring, April 2018.
All classes are conducted in English and a diverse group of students from a variety of background will gather in Waseda LL.M.. If you are interested, please come to our website below.