In this beautiful season of blooming cherry blossoms, I would like to say welcome to a new world and congratulations on your entrance into this university.

I wholeheartedly welcome all incoming undergraduate and graduate students of St. Luke’s International University. This university extends its roots from St. Luke’s International Hospital, founded in 1901 by American missionary physician Dr. Rudolph Bolling Teusler. Following that, the St. Luke’s High Grade Nursing School attached to St. Luke’s International Hospital was born in 1920 from the need to improve medical standards and the quality of nursing in Japan. This year, this university welcomes in its 100th anniversary in nursing education.

I am sure that there is much confusion with your lives as students beginning during the global spread of this unexpected novel coronavirus. We are currently in a state where as a prevention measure, people are being recommended to make sure that the three conditions (closed spaces, crowded spaces, close-contact settings) do not overlap, shaking the very foundation of human society in which people gather and act together. This has taught us that the day-to-day that we thought of as obvious is instead a highly precious moment in time. It is my hope that this danger leads to fruitful outcomes such as new bonds among people, new healthcare systems, development of treatment methods, and preparation for the next epidemic disaster.

No matter the trial, there is always a tool to get through it when we use humanities wisdom to its highest degree. As academics of healthcare, nursing, and public health, search for the treatment and care of those suffering from disease, and act with integrity through the selection of reliable information, instruction on prevention activities, and prayer.
The beliefs of those that gather to St. Luke’s as written into the school song have been entrusted to you as a fellow member. I wholeheartedly await the day we all may gather and together sing this song.


Bright message of the cross of gold enfolding,
Friends, let us improve ourselves,
Devoting our efforts
To make the world a better place,
Living in vigour, seeing the beauty of life

HORIUCHI Shigeko, President