Statement: With the rapid growth of communication capacity standing at 40 % per year, ICT industries in Japan are suffering from pricey business models, competition with large foreign companies, and technological standardization. The number of students whose ambition is to work in the ICT community is not increasing because ICT has become like the air in our daily lives, and as a result students do not find it academically attractive. I think it is very important to inspire young people to recognize the fun and rewards that can be found in ICT.
　The fundamental mission of the IEICE is to energize the ICT industry and inspire new academic fields. I believe that it is very important to merge ICT with science, agriculture, medicine, and even humanities, resulting in the creation of a new research field and new industries. If we can accomplish this, it may be possible to propose novel technologies faster than the US or European communities, which would allow us to take the initiative in terms of new industries and academic fields. I will do my best to further accelerate the activities of the IEICE.

Background: Masataka Nakazawa received a B.S. degree from Kanazawa University in 1975, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1977 and 1980, respectively. In 1980, he joined the Ibaraki Electrical Communication Laboratory of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Public Corporation. He became a professor of the RIEC at Tohoku University in 2001. He has received many awards from the IEICE including 5 paper awards, 2 achievement awards and the merit award, the Purple Ribbon Medal from the Emperor in 2010, and the Japan Academic Prize in 2013. Dr. Nakazawa is a Fellow of the IEICE, IEEE, OSA, and JSAP.