Minister of State Taro Kono

Acquire the English skills to compete globally and soar beyond the horizon

Minister of State　Taro Kono(Konotaro)

■ Profile

Born January 10, 1963. Graduated from Georgetown University in the United States in 1985. Joined Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. in 1986.
He joined Nippon Tanshi Co., Ltd. in 1996. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th district of Kanagawa Prefecture in the general election, and has been re-elected for eight consecutive terms since then. He has served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, State Minister for Justice, Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Minister of State for the National Civil Service System, Minister of State for Disaster Prevention, Regulatory Reform, Consumer and Food Safety, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense, and more. In September 2020, he was appointed Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Minister of State for the National Civil Service System, and Minister of State for Regulatory Reform and Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, and has also served as Minister in charge of COVID-19 Vaccinations since January 2021.

■What was your student life like?

I attended Keio University's affiliated school from junior high school onwards, and with the goal of competing in the Hakone Ekiden, I went on to Keio University as well.
I joined the track and field club at university, but I realized that even if I was selected as one of the 10 members of the relay team, I would not be able to get into the top 15 schools that would pass the preliminaries and compete in the Hakone Ekiden, so I dropped out and went to the United States.
After I arrived in the U.S., I struggled with English. On my first day at summer school in Massachusetts, I couldn't ask the people around me in English where to eat, so I couldn't get a meal.
So I decided I had to study English, and when I enrolled at the boarding school Georgetown University, I would stay up until 3 a.m. reading textbooks written in English, even after lights out.

What will the younger generation need in the future?

Currently, most of the managers of Japanese companies are men over 50, and many of them are originally from Japan.
When you go overseas for business negotiations, the people you deal with vary in age, gender, and country of origin. Japanese companies should also become more diverse, just like their overseas counterparts.
Many Japanese students do not consider the option of working overseas, and assume that employment will take place within Japan.
I think this problem is related to the English ability of Japanese people. I wonder why Japanese students are not able to acquire practical English skills, even though they study English for 10 years from junior high school to university.
There are many interesting jobs overseas, so it would be a waste not to improve your English skills while you are a student and look beyond the horizon.

■Please give us a message for university students

In order to compete at a global standard in the future, I hope that students will be able to work in English by the time they graduate from university.
To acquire practical English, you need a wide vocabulary. Rather than just memorizing the meanings of words, I think it's a good idea to read sentences written in English and learn the various ways words are used.
You are all in your 20s, so you still have a long way to go, both physically and mentally. Cherish your potential, look at the world with a broad perspective, and spread your wings.

Student Newspaper, October 1, 2021 Issue, Tsuda University, 2nd Year, Sato Kokoro