Principal Philosophy and Mission
The term globalization has been used for a long time. Since the Meiji Period, Japan actively imitated Western civilization in a cultural enlightenment to catch up with the strength of the West and promote rapid modernization. It has been said that “The measure of our next century is in education.” There were spiritual supports and dreams during the course of Japan’s educational transformation in the Meiji Era, as described in Yukichi Fukuzawa’s “Gakumon no Susume” and Ryotaro Shiba’s “Saka no Ue no Kumo.” Today, the balance of power in the world is greatly fluctuating. Since World War II, the United States’ overwhelming power has gradually declined, and China has become a major Asian power both economically and militarily. Japan has not yet escaped from its lost 20 years. Now is the time for Japan, as a nation, to restore its focus on where it is headed. Education must be one of its pillars. And with that, the education of actuaries needs to be considered as well.
This past March, young people such as a busy graduate student from the University of Tokyo, a woman seeking to become an actuary, and a dedicated actuary working at a foreign capital company gathered to discuss a business model for an actuary education system. As it was with me in my own youth, their dreams were shining and abundant. That friendship is the meaning of my company, Yoshida & Co., Ltd. I sincerely wish to increase the number of friends at Yoshida School, and make dreams come true for young actuaries.
Since last year, I have worked as an actuary at a life insurance company in Vietnam; and, living there half the time, I feel its dynamic development in person. Outstanding young Japanese actuaries are dispatched to Asia, one after another, from major insurance companies. Even though it is a developing country, individuals and companies need to plan their strategy 10 or 20 years in advance. And recently, three major life insurance companies in Japan invested over 500 billion yen (approximately $5 billion US dollars) to acquire a US life insurance company. A domestically oriented major life insurance survived and entered the world’s largest insurance market. The age of globalization is not learning about the world from within Japan, but for Japanese to go abroad ourselves and imbue the world with Japanese technology – and to further grow and develop ourselves. If we do not develop enough young Japanese actuaries who can travel the world disseminating information, we will not have a future both in Japanese industry and the actuary profession.
In realizing my thoughts on actuarial teaching philosophy – to help students pass the Japanese and U.S. examinations, add on practical internship experience, and provide a school of special seminars which track the latest trends – I established the “Tokyo International Actuary Academy” on July 7, 2015. I am hoping to train actuarial talent who will span the globe.
