Graduation address for the 2025 academic year

Congratulations to the 2,530 graduates of Tohoku Gakuin University, the 59 students completing Graduate Schools master's programs, and the 3 students obtaining their doctoral degrees. We can only imagine the joy of the parents who have eagerly awaited this day. On behalf of Tohoku Gakuin University, I offer my heartfelt congratulations.

Now, four years ago, when you undergraduate students enrolled, it was the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we held the entrance ceremony in two separate sessions: three times in the Izumi Campus chapel and once in the Tagajo Campus chapel. I remember after the ceremony, the cheering squad and cheerleaders encouraging each other with shouts of "Now, this is where it all begins!" Four years have passed since then. Speaking of the nostalgic Izumi Campus and Tagajo Campus, you are the last graduating class to have experienced both campuses. As you graduate from Tohoku Gakuin University, I would like to share with you some things that I hope you will keep in mind.

The world and Japan are undergoing significant changes due to advancements in digital technology. In particular, as you have likely experienced, artificial intelligence (AI) has become accessible to everyone thanks to the widespread adoption of conversational generation AIs such as ChatGPT and Gemini. You probably attended school with BYOD (bring your own device) as the norm, and you have acquired the skills to retrieve necessary information and answers from your own device by utilizing layers such as the OS, the internet, the cloud, and data analysis.

The world is engaged in a runaway train-like competition over digital technology, and currently, two companies with completely different business models—NVIDIA, which specializes in design in the United States, and TSMC, which specializes in manufacturing in Taiwan—hold global dominance. NVIDIA, a "fabless" company without its own manufacturing plants, doesn't just design high-speed semiconductor GPU chips, but also controls the platform necessary to develop cutting-edge AI. On the other hand, TSMC does not have its own branded products and operates solely as a "foundry" (factory), earning the trust of customers such as Apple and NVIDIA, and playing the role of a "common factory" for the entire industry.

I have taught economic history for many years, and you may not believe it, but 40 years ago when I started teaching at university, Japan, which excelled in transistors, accounted for more than half of the world's semiconductor production. NEC, Toshiba, and Hitachi were among the top 3 in the world's top 10, and six Japanese companies were listed. At that time, semiconductors were at the memory level, but Japan was a digital powerhouse. However, the Japan-U.S. trade agreement led to a decrease in production, many prominent companies withdrew from semiconductor manufacturing, the bubble burst, and the "lost 30 years" continued, causing the Japanese economy to decline. During that time, American companies such as Intel gained dominance in CPUs, which are the brains of personal computers, and now Japan's semiconductor production accounts for only one-tenth of the world's.

So why has Japan fallen behind in the global semiconductor competition? Of course, there were concessions made to the United States in trade negotiations, but Japanese companies lost their competitiveness by clinging to a hierarchical, self-reliant approach and attempting to achieve vertical integration through their own brands. They tried to handle everything from raw material procurement to sales in-house, which resulted in the production of high-cost products. In the technological development competition in which they once excelled, the Japanese characteristics of seniority-based systems and an inward-looking, group-oriented mindset backfired.

In contrast to the decline of Japanese electronics manufacturers, you may be familiar with the rising Taiwanese company, Acer, which offers high-performance PCs at lower prices than Japanese products. Like Japan's Panasonic and Sony, it started as a small factory, but has now grown into a leading global company representing Taiwan. Founder Stan Shih studied electronics engineering at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, and after completing his master's degree, he founded Acer with his partner and colleagues. While manufacturing its own branded products, it also undertook OEM (original equipment manufacturer) production for IBM, Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. Unlike Japanese companies, Stan Shih did not adhere to vertical integration in manufacturing, and more than 30 years ago, he published an article in the Harvard Business Review predicting that "computer companies that don't make computers" and "fabless (factory-less) semiconductor companies" would become mainstream, foreshadowing the relationship between NVIDIA and TSMC today.

So why did Stan Sy implement vertical division of labor rather than vertical integration in a country with the same Confucian culture? In his writings, which advocate the right path, there is a phrase that shows his spirit as an entrepreneur: "Me too is not my style." If we were to translate it, it would be something like, "Following others is not my style." In an era where AI will make all information and answers the same, this phrase, "Me too is not my style," should offer great insight for you to create new value in the future, forge collaborations that transcend fields and industries, and shape the future.

Of course, for all of you who have studied at Tohoku Gakuin University, which is founded on the principle of Christian character education, these words do not mean self-righteousness or self-righteousness. They should be words flavored with LIFE LIGHT LOVE. That is, LIFE is the importance of life and individual dignity. LIGHT is illuminating the world with the knowledge and skills you have learned at university. And LOVE is creating relationships in which you love and serve one another. As graduates of Tohoku Gakuin University, in the age of AI, I hope that you will not lose sight of your individuality and brilliance, but will proudly uphold the spirit of LIFE LIGHT LOVE and believe that "Me too is not my style." I pray that your long lives ahead will be blessed by God and that you will contribute to the future of humanity, and with these words of congratulations, I conclude. Congratulations on your graduation.

March 23, 2026

Haruki Onishi, President of Tohoku Gakuin University