Time
sure does fly. Seven years have passed since I joined the Slavic
Research Center (SRC). I never imagined that I would one day become the
director.
Thanks
in no small part to the endeavors of my past predecessors and
respectful colleagues, the SRC has become one of the most prestigious
organizations of its type in Japan. The SRC continues to serve as a
springboard for advancing Slavic Eurasian studies while making
contributions to Japan’s area studies beyond our direct research field.
The SRC also has the unique status of being a national collaborating
institution for Slavic Studies, and was awarded the prestigious
twentieth century “Center of Excellence” (1995-2001) and the
twenty-first century “Center of Excellence” (2003-2008) by the Ministry
of Education and Science. The SRC staff members have received various
prizes and awards from research associations, the Japan Society of the
Promotion of Science, the mass media and others. Publications and
information appearing from the SRC are respected and appreciated, and
has even, on occasion, influenced policy. All of us are proud of the
SRC and give our best gratitude towards the Japanese public, which
always provides the SRC with generous support and understanding.
However,
during my ten-month long absence from the SRC, I gained valuable
insight and experience as a visiting researcher of the Center for
Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Because of
this experience, I now view the SRC in a new light. Though the SRC
promoted its international networks, organizing many multi-national
conferences and seminars and publishing books and journals, its
exposure and appreciation has yet to reach a global audience. Even
domestic issues seem to present a challenge. The on-going reform of
Japan’s research system urges us to reconsider administrative
efficiency and to build closer relations with other related
institutions and foundations. The time has come to rethink SRC
management.
It’s
too early to discuss the details of our planned innovations, but we are
now working toward making “changes” within the institution to maximize
our potential and productivity. Getting the SRC right beyond Japan is
also a vital task. The SRC is committed to establishing an East Asian
community on Slavic Eurasian studies in collaboration with our Korean
and Chinese colleagues. The SRC would also like to stretch our research
field and regional interaction beyond the former Soviet and East
European spaces toward South Asia and the Middle East. The SRC will
strive to cooperate with our American and European counterparts in a
more effective way.
I
look forward to hearing your suggestions on how the SRC could best
achieve its goals. The SRC could not survive and develop further
without your broad and ardent support. I am eager to work with you
together!
August 1, 2008
IWASHITA Akihiro
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