Memorial Service for Honorary Chancellor, Seiko Mizuta Held

A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. on January 17th at Gokoku-ji (Gokoku Temple) for Seiko Mizuta, the Honorary Chancellor of Josai University Educational Corporation and founder of Josai International University, who passed away on January 4th, 2013.

Around 2,000 people from the wider political, educational, and financial communities together with university staff and faculty attended the service to remember the deceased and bid final farewells. Attendees included former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Kunio Hatoyama; the Ambassadors of Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland; former Administrative Vice-Minister for Education Teiichi Sato; former President of the Japan University Accreditation Association Tadao Kiyonari; Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Teisuke Kitayama; President and Representative Director of the Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. Yutaka Asahina; and presidents and chancellors of our sister universities abroad.

The Director of the Memorial Service was Minoru Nagaoka, a member of our university’s board of directors. At the service, Eisuke Mori, former Minister of Justice (member of the House of Representatives) read his message of condolence: “Honorary Chancellor Seiko Mizuta founded Josai International University in Togane in 1992, later opening a campus in Kamogawa, the birthplace of Mikio Mizuta. During the years since then, the University has continued to develop at a steady pace. The University’s presence is both the pride of our locality and a shining ray of hope.” This was followed by a message of condolence from Akira Uehara, (Chairman and CEO of Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and a member of our university’s board of directors) and Yasunori Morimoto, President of Josai University. In addition, telegrams of condolences were received from Shinzo Abe, President of the Liberal Democratic Party; Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; and Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.

Representing the family, Chancellor Noriko Mizuta, gave the following address: “My mother, Seiko Mizuta, lived a full and productive life, both as the wife of a politician and, following the death of her husband Mikio Mizuta, as the Chancellor of Josai University. Blessed by numerous fortunate turns of fate, she was able to serve in the capacity of Chancellor, thanks to the support of all of you gathered here. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the many kindnesses you bestowed upon my mother, and request your continued support and assistance in the future.”

Taking the ideas bequeathed to us by the Honorary Chancellor as our guiding principles, all of us at Josai University Educational Corporation will continue to strive to further develop Josai University and Josai International University with the aim of cultivating human resources who possess a global outlook.