Life's purpose begins at seventy!

Hirokazu Kobayashi

CEO, Green Insight Japan, Inc.

Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor, University of Shizuoka

People's gestures, speech, and voices do not change much after 55 years, whereas faces and personalities change so much that it is hard to tell who they are. Recently, I attended a seventy-year-old alumni association in my junior high school. “Seventy-year-old” is called “古稀 (koki)” in Japanese. "古稀 (koki)" is said to originate from a line in Du Fu's (712-770) seven-character regulated verse "Qujiang": "Life rarely reaches seventy," written in the Tang dynasty. This line means that living to the age of seventy is extremely rare. Currently, the average remaining life expectancy for a 70-year-old in Japan is 15.08 years for men and 19.61 years for women. One could say that eighty percent of life has already been lived. Therefore, it is essential to find greater value in the remaining twenty percent. Since the last reunion was at sixty years old, it had been ten years since I had seen many participants. For those who did not attend the last reunion, it had been almost 55 years since I had seen them. When I heard their names, I could "recognize" their faces were still there. When I listened to their updates, exciting stories, serious stories, short stories, long stories, and so on, this "recognition" became "conviction." The same goes for the attitude of listening. Some listen attentively, some talk with their neighbors, and some make jokes. As a generation that has almost completed its active career, I want to value the network of these alumni with whom I shared time and space. I invited them to stay in touch with each other through the website and the LINE group. However, it is also true that disparities have emerged based on social status and annual income. It is better to limit participation to those who wish to interact.

The quality of life is subjective and belongs to the individual. Furthermore, the subjectivity is influenced by the environment. I like the European atmosphere more than the United States, where I lived for nearly two years. The contrast between England and France is interesting regarding the differences in temperament and culture between the two countries. Subject to individual exceptions, I believe that British people tend to “eat to live.” Conversely, I get the impression that French people “live to enjoy eating.'' Specifically, British food is simple, bland, and does not take much time to eat. In France, it is the opposite; they love to talk about food. If we are invited to a meal in France, it will last from the evening until late at night, and we will deepen our friendships while enjoying food and drink. Personally, I find it easier to accept French values than British ones. In my case, it is not so much that I love food, but I grew old doing what I love. I want to call this "Latin optimism," I am grateful for my good fortune. A particular musician once said, ”There is nothing more valuable in life than music.'' To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than “research.'' My occupation is “researcher,'' and my hobby is “research.'' Although I was too involved in managing universities, my motto was “Curiosity and Mistaken Confidence.''

The British concept of working to live is like that of the Japanese. Japan has entered a super-aging society since 2007. A super-aging society is defined as 21% or more of the population aged 65 or older. Japan is now at the forefront of the world. Although the retirement age in Japan is being extended, the mainstream retirement age is still 60, and there are cases in which people continue working as part-time workers until they are around 70. Therefore, when we are in good health and have some savings after age, we can do what we like. People who want to be helpful to the world, people who want to enjoy their hobbies, people who wish to cherish time with their families, people who still want to earn money, etc. A friend of mine from university calls "Sunday every day." There is a weekly magazine in Japan called “Sunday Mainichi,'' and this is a joke that only Japanese people understand. That is, “Sunday Mainichi” means that it’s Sunday every day, although the word “Mainichi” comes from the name of a newspaper company. He and his wife spend their summers in Hokkaido and winters in Thailand. As for me, I decided to continue my favorite research, and if I could do it, I would be able to help the world and make money. So, I started a company after retiring from the university. The advantage of this is that there is no retirement age. I am working on developing and commercializing plant biotechnology while receiving grants from public and private foundations.