Hashimoto Yu (Part 1)

Question: First, please tell us what sparked your interest in Myanmar.

 

It began with a joint press conference held in Washington, DC, in the United States in May 2012 by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Myanmar’s foreign minister. At the time, I was studying at American University through Ritsumeikan University’s undergraduate joint degree program (DUDP), and I attended the press conference as a student reporter for Kyodo News. This sparked my interest in Myanmar, which was attracting international attention. After completing my study abroad, I visited Myanmar through an internship run by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

 

 

Question: Why did you then decide to actually establish IDFC?

 

The direct trigger was the day I first visited a university in Myanmar. While interning at the local chamber of commerce, I held a career workshop for local students. The connections I made there led to an invitation to a university in Yangon. There I met Myanmar students studying international relations, just like me. As we talked, I realized we had many interests in common and thought, “They are thinking about the same sorts of things as I am. We are alike.” They told me, “Our country is still developing. I want to work with people overseas to help this country develop.” I remember being overwhelmed and deeply moved by their sense of responsibility. One of the students showing me around the university said innocently, “You are the first foreigner to visit this university. Bring your Japanese friends along if you like!” That made me realize, “I see—there is a need for this kind of exchange.” Then they took me straight to the university president. (Laughs.)

 

“Now is the time to start.” Those were the university president’s words to us at the time, and they gave me the final push to launch IDFC.

The reasons the university president explained revealed a history of Myanmar that went beyond anything I had imagined. Under the former military regime, university students were at the center of calls for democratization in Myanmar. Fearing that students would unite for democratization, the government reportedly closed universities in city centers and restricted student gatherings even at universities in the suburbs. Under those conditions, student organizations interacting with students from overseas could never have been permitted. I was convinced that it was highly significant for university students from Japan and Myanmar to build relationships ahead of other countries, without missing this moment when democratization had begun, and I started working toward establishing IDFC.

 

 

 

Question: I think IDFC can be described as “a program in which students from Japan and Myanmar work together on social issues.” Why did you focus on social issues?

 

There are two reasons. First, when considering the needs of students in both countries, I thought that few Japanese students would say, “I want to go to Myanmar,” or Myanmar students, “I want to interact with Japanese people.” But I thought many people wanted to “work on development in developing countries” or “make today's society better,” so I wanted to target those young people and bring them together. I felt that, first of all, we needed to get people to join.

The second point was that only just under 20 people from each country could take part in that one week. I wanted them to do more than use the experience solely for themselves.

 

Question: I see. That is why you created opportunities to present to the public and workshops that involved other people.

 

Yes. Another important point is that addressing social issues is simply a means to an end. My greatest wish was for participants to understand one another and build deep relationships through the experience of working toward one goal as a team in the short span of one week. I felt that they could not achieve that by only doing fun things, so I wanted to offer them “a place to challenge themselves.” I believe that having something to overcome together as a team makes deeper exchange possible.

 

 

Question: Now that Myanmar is developing more connections with other countries, what role do you think IDFC can play?

 

Certainly, I think opportunities have increased considerably over the two years since we founded IDFC. That makes me very happy. In particular, the Myanmar students who came to IDFC are among the country's top students and have many opportunities. Some members have already ventured abroad. In fact, IDFC's Myanmar-side representative in its first year is working hard to attend university in the United States, and other members have secured government scholarships to study in Australia or the UK. When it comes to opportunities to go abroad, I do get the impression that they tend to center on Europe and North America.

 

In the course of these developments, I feel that we need to ask again why IDFC exists. I think a clue lies in the fact that it is an exchange between “Myanmar and Japan.” For example, if Japan is the first point of contact for Myanmar students, some connection to Japan will stay with them, and I think they may continue to engage with Japan in some way in the future. I am sure the same can be said of Japanese students. I think creating these seeds of exchange between Japan and Myanmar may be one of the roles that IDFC is uniquely able to fulfill.