Message from the Minister of MEXT
	Kisaburo Tokai Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology

Distinguished University Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to address the opening ceremony of this first G8 University Summit, organized by Japan, and I sincerely thank all of you for your participation.

The G8 University Summit is an unprecedented attempt to bring together the representatives of leading academic institutions in order to address and promote cooperation on the global issue of sustainability. I appreciate the efforts of those involved in making this concept a reality, and express my esteem to the university presidents and officials. We expect this Summit will bring great outcome.

As you know, the initiative of Education for Sustainable Development was proposed by Japan at the Johannesburg Summit in 2002. Three years later in 2005, the United Nations launched the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. “Sustainable development” requires the participation of a wide range of education, research and social activities. My ministry is of course mainly involved in the fields of education and scientific research.

In order to respond to the environmental issues, particularly climate change, a unified global response is essential, and I place particular hopes on the role of universities. The advanced scientific contributions are well illustrated in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which focuses on evaluating and forecasting the evolution of global warming.

Universities face the unprecedented expectations, and the academic community must rise to this important challenge now. International cooperation is crucial to fully leverage the combined potential of universities, and so the timing of this meeting could not be more appropriate, as G8 leaders gather to discuss the issues of climate change and the environment, a key item on their agenda.

Please allow me to express one more wish concerning this Summit. International cooperation is the foundation that allows students and researchers to participate actively and freely. As you may know, Japan has approximately 120-thousand international students now. Our Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda has launched a new plan to bring this number to 300-thousand, and we are now working to achieve this objective.

As we strive to promote the development of international exchange between students and researchers, I sincerely hope that this forum will contribute to expanding academic relations beyond the group of universities represented here today.

Finally, I would like to thank all those involved in the preparation of this Summit, in particular the University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University, Keio University, and the members of the operating committee. I hope that this event will bring further innovation and strengthen friendly relations between participating countries.

Thank you very much.