Yasushi Akimoto Youth is the ability to bounce back even after failure. It's a waste of time to stand still!

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Yasushi Akimoto
Born in 1956, he began to distinguish himself as a television writer while still in high school, and has been involved in the composition of numerous programs.
Since 1983, he has written lyrics for Hibari Misora's "Like the Flow of a River," Mika Nakashima's "WILL,"
He has many hit songs, including EXILE's "EXIT" and KinKi Kids' "SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!". In April 2005, he became a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design. In April 2007, he became the university's vice president. He also has a long history of working with Kyoto University of Art and Design.
He serves as director of the "Talent Bank" Social and Arts Research Institute, which Tohoku University of Art and Design established at both universities.
He is active in a wide range of fields, including planning and writing TV programs such as "Oshareism," "Utaban," and "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage Deshita," as well as being a radio personality on "Akimoto Yasushi's Mature Style" (TOKYO FM), and writing serials for newspapers and magazines. His films that he has planned and written include the "One Missed Call" series and "Densouka."
In addition, his novel "Elephant's Back" has been made into a movie that will be released nationwide on October 27th.

Turning "interesting" into reality
　Akimoto began working as a broadcast writer in his second year of high school, and has been active in a variety of fields, expressing his sensibilities through songwriting, TV program planning and composition, film planning and original storytelling, and producing for AKB48. He rarely attended classes during his university years, and even when he did, he would spend the entire day writing scripts at a nearby coffee shop. He has worked on numerous projects, but says he has never struggled to come up with ideas. This is because he doesn't come up with ideas by thinking about them, but by actually turning what he finds interesting into reality. "I've had a strong sense of curiosity since I was a child. For example, if the next time I go to a Western-style restaurant that serves delicious curry rice, I'll order the hayashi rice instead of the curry rice." For Akimoto, work isn't about working, but rather about repeatedly turning what he finds interesting into reality.

What is your own sensibility?
　Akimoto told his students to live "as you breathe." Breathing can be done consciously or unconsciously. However, there's no need to compare it to others or be conscious of the differences. Just like the rhythm of each person's breathing, everyone has their own "unique sensibility." So instead of comparing yourself to others, do what resonates with you and what you find interesting. And, without being swayed by criticism from others, believe in your own abilities and see it through. "I think the most wasteful thing in life is to stop for fear of criticism or failure. In my experience, no matter how hard we try, we'll make mistakes. So, even if we fail, just take action. If we take action immediately, we can correct course that much more quickly." Akimoto, who has experienced countless failures himself, makes these words very persuasive. He also taught us, "Youth is the ability to start over even after failure."
If you reach out with all your might, your dream is just one millimeter away
　Akimoto is currently serving as the vice president of Kyoto University of Art and Design. "When I heard about the offer, I initially thought about turning it down because it would be too tight on my schedule. But I've always wanted to give back in some way. I happened to come across the opportunity to become a broadcast writer, but that's not the case for everyone. I think many young people want to do the same thing as me, but don't know where to start. That's why I want to give those people even the slightest chance." Akimoto said that in his interactions with students, he feels that they lack ambition. "They should be more eager to come and ask, 'I want to do this,' or 'I think this, what do you think?' I think it's a real shame that they lack that kind of ambition."
I received a powerful message: "Know that your dreams are just one millimeter away if you reach out with all your might. We're rooting for you."

・Social and Art Research Institute (Talent Bank)
This organization was established within Kyoto University of Art and Design and Tohoku University of Art and Design. It is headed by Yasushi Akimoto. It discovers and manages talent among students, and manages and promotes their works. It also works as a think tank, leveraging the strengths of art universities, which attract a wealth of creative talent, to collaborate with companies and make creative proposals. While there have been previous instances of comprehensive production companies expanding their scope to include discovering and managing artists, this is the first time a production organization has been established within an art university.

From the August 2007 issue of the Student Newspaper