For Immediate Release: March 18, 2015
Further information: Rachel Flor (617) 514-1662, rachel.flor@jfklfoundation.org
Tokyo —The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today presented its first international symposium on President Kennedy, titled The Torch Has Been Passed: JFK’s Legacy Today. Drawing on the themes of President Kennedy’s iconic inaugural address challenging citizens to give back, push the boundaries of science and innovation, and seek a more peaceful world, this half-day event celebrated the ideals he championed and examined how his words and deeds can help guide new generations in solving critical problems that we face today. The event was held in Okuma Auditorium at Waseda University where President Kennedy’s brother, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, delivered a speech in 1962.
The Torch Has Been Passed: JFK’s Legacy Today brought together distinguished American and Japanese policymakers, scholars, and business and industry leaders for two panel discussions: “The New Frontier: Innovation, Inspiration and Inclusion” and “A Strategy of Peace: Crisis Diplomacy & Non-proliferation.” Former U.S. President Bill Clinton delivered the keynote address, followed by special remarks from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy provided welcoming remarks. Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President Kennedy and son of Ambassador Kennedy and Dr. Edwin Schlossberg, introduced President Clinton.
“Over the past 70 years, through countless acts of sacrifice, courage, reconciliation and friendship, our parents and grandparents built an alliance that has provided stability in this region and beyond,” said Ambassador Kennedy during the program. “It is a gift we can never take for granted. Now it is our turn to continue that work…I hope that the discussion here today will help you decide how you can make your own contribution to freedom and democracy—and that 50 years from now, you will return here to Waseda to share your wisdom with another generation committed to peace.”
"The legacy of the Kennedy Administration and the President himself in science and technology, while profoundly important in space, goes far beyond space, to the unfilled space in all of our minds and hearts and the adventures we have yet to undertake," said President Clinton.
“The legacy that John F. Kennedy has left is leadership, the power to dream, and the decision to eliminate inequality,” said Prime Minister Abe. “I believe that the moral leadership that the U.S. has shown is what the world needs today. Japan has to be a country in which young people can dream. I want to make Japan a country that enables dreams come true.” Read the entirety of Prime Minister Abe's remarks here.
The first panel, featuring Charles Bolden, Administrator, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Carol Fulp, President and CEO, The Partnership, Inc.; Kiyoshi Higuchi, President, International Astronautical Federation and Senior Vice President, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA); Marie Oshima, Professor and Head, Center for Medical System Innovation, University of Tokyo; Koichi Wakata, Astronaut, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and moderator Seiichiro Yonekura, Professor, Institute of Innovation Research, Hitotsubashi University, explored the technological and scientific inquiries that resulted from President Kennedy’s initiatives around the space program, along with the removal of barriers to innovation and inclusion that stemmed from strides made in the U.S. Civil Rights movement during the Kennedy Administration.
The second panel, including Graham Allison, Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Christopher Dodd, former U.S. Senator and Chair and CEO, Motion Picture Association of America; Fumiaki Kubo, Professor, American Government and History, University of Tokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics; Koji Murata, President, Doshisha University; Hatsue Shinohara, Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, and moderator Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball and author of Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, considered how President Kennedy’s ideals and vision still resonate as inspiration for peace in our time and inform modern thinking about the challenges currently facing world leaders today.
Over 1,100 people attended the event, including leaders in government, business, and academia, along with several hundred students from Waseda University.
Waseda University’s connection to the Kennedy family began in 1962, when then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy attended a student debate in the historic Okuma Auditorium while visiting Tokyo to lay the groundwork for President Kennedy’s planned visit the following year. He was so moved by his experience with the students at Waseda that he donated the royalties of his book, Just Friends and Brave Enemies, to the University for the creation of the Robert Kennedy Scholarship Fund. The scholarship continues to this day.
The Torch Has Been Passed: JFK's Legacy Today was made possible through the generous support of lead sponsor The Raytheon Company, and supporting sponsors EMC Corporation, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, The Boeing Company, Morgan Stanley, MGM Resorts International and Ironshore, Inc.
Additional resources on these topics and the history of John F. Kennedy and Japan can be found at www.jfklibrary.org/japan.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
A year into his presidency, John F. Kennedy faced a diplomatic and military crisis unparalleled in history, and brought the world back from the brink of nuclear war with a peaceful resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nine months later, he negotiated the first Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He also inspired a new ethic of global citizenship by establishing the Peace Corps which in its first year enlisted over 500 Americans to serve as ambassadors of good will in nine countries. Today, over 220,000 have served in over 140 countries helping to promote greater understanding among people around the world.
In 1961, President Kennedy challenged Americans to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Within eight years, two Americans set foot on the moon, declaring “that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The space program set in motion an unprecedented investment in science and technology and resulted in over 1,500 inventions that are central to our lives today, including GPS navigation, infrared technology, LED lights, and de-icing. President Kennedy also took a bold stand on domestic civil rights issues calling for equal rights for all, and expanding the nation’s perspectives on human rights by advocating for people with intellectual disabilities.
ABOUT THE JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY FOUNDATION
The mission of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is to carry President Kennedy’s legacy forward. We aim to inspire and engage both Americans and people throughout the world with his timeless vision of public service, civic responsibility, civil rights, scientific discovery and creative cultural pursuits and ideals of peace, optimism and service, so they may learn how to translate them into action. As a major part of this mission, the Foundation supports the work of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, whose core function is to collect, preserve, and make available for research, the documents, audiovisual material and memorabilia of President Kennedy, his family, and his contemporaries. Today, the Kennedy Library in Boston is one of the most visited of the 13 presidential libraries in America. Over 200,000 people from around the globe visit the museum each year, and we serve 25,000 students annually through a host of free educational programs.
ABOUT WASEDA UNIVERSITY
Waseda University is a leading institution in Japan, based in central Tokyo with over 50,000 students, thirteen undergraduate and 21 graduate schools.
From its establishment in 1882, Waseda's mission has been to produce leaders, following three key principles: the independence of scholarship, the practical application of scholarship, and the fostering of good citizens. Waseda has stayed true to these ideals, counting among its alumni seven prime ministers and countless other politicians, business leaders, journalists, diplomats, scholars, scientists, actors, writers and artists.
Waseda was founded by the visionary and charismatic political leader Shigenobu Okuma. Okuma was instrumental in Japan's modernization and a key proponent of constitutional government. He served in many cabinet posts, including foreign minister, and twice as prime minister, but Okuma remained focused on the future, pursuing innovation unbound by habit and precedent. Similarly, Waseda's history and tradition is to tirelessly challenge convention, in favor of progress and innovation, protecting the freedom of academic pursuits from political interference.
Former President Bill Clinton is one of a long list of historical figures whom Waseda University has welcomed to its campus, including Albert Einstein, Jawaharlal Nehru, Nelson Mandela, Jiang Zemin, Walter Cronkite, Bill Gates, Corazon Aquino and Ban Ki Moon.