Excerpt from the keynote speech of Dr Mamoru Mohri at the 14th Biennial Conference of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA), which was hosted by the University of Adelaide and co-organised by the Japan Foundation Sydney in July 2005. Dr Mohri is Executive Director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan) in Japan and a JAXA astronaut who is a veteran of two space flights. He completed his PhD at Flinders University in Adelaide.

‘When we are able to see a community at 30 km above, we begin to understand that the individual is but a tiny part. Pulling back even further to about 300km, the orbit of a shuttle or the space station, we begin to lose sight of the community and instead see the continent. If we pull back to 30,000 km, we see our planet framed by the vast blackness of space. From the moon itself, we see the earth as a floating blue orb. Further still, and our planet becomes a dot and soon simply disappears. So much for humans being all-important!

‘Because of developments in science and technology, we can acquire these macro perspectives. If we continue our journey, closer and closer, we will acquire yet another view, this time at the micro or atomic level. We find that the 30 million species of life on Earth are connected to all other life forms, through a common, yet for each species, slightly different DNA. We are living in an age in which science and technology allows us to see the uniqueness of each life form and how they have survived, and understanding survival is imperative.

‘A human life, if lucky, can survive about 100 years. However, cultures built by humans can survive 2,000 years like the Japanese culture, or 4,000 years like the Chinese culture. What ensures the continuation of one species or one culture, and not another? I believe there are four primary elements to survival.

‘The first is diversity. In the evolution of life on our planet, it was alterations in DNA, combined with unyielding endeavour, that enabled life forms to move from the ocean to the land and to further diversify in a new environment to ensure survival. Each human also possesses a special sequence of DNA that makes that particular human unique. As a result, each human brings to the world their own qualities and abilities that may provide novel ideas, approaches and solutions to life.

‘The second element is challenge. Challenging the known, the usual is crucial for progress. For example, the life that formed in the ocean took up the challenge to leave its known environment to move to the land. We also see this challenging spirit in artists, musicians, scientists, scholars, athletes – anyone with notable success.

‘Being unique and different in approach and incorporating great effort go hand in hand, resulting in the third element, prosperity. Species prosper when they overcome threats to survival and when prospering, extraordinary feats are accomplished.

‘The fourth element is sustainability. This does not simply mean maintaining the status quo. On the contrary, to achieve sustainability, an entity must have the ability to be diverse and overcome challenges in order to prosper, and with prosperity, it can further diversify. Only then will the entity enter sustainability – the art of continuing in the face of never-ending changes. I purposely used the word “entity” as it can apply to a person, a company, a field of study, a culture, a society, or a species.

‘Someone once said that humans are at their best when conditions are at their most challenging. Perhaps Japan might be offered as a good example. Japanese society was confronted with a major challenge after WWII and our target was to become an economically stable nation. We incorporated methods from all over the world – we diversified – to rebuild Japan. By the early 1980s, Japan was heralded as “Japan Inc.” and we thought we had achieved our goal. We became comfortable and maintained the status quo, failed to continue to diversify and in the late 1980s the economic bubble burst. The entire country was shocked.

‘Japan has very little by way of natural resources – her greatest resource was and is her people. Japan could become more independent if innovative ideas coming from science and technology could find ways to provide for Japan’s needs. Science and technology are indispensable elements in addressing the challenges of the future. How to do this? The answer lies in education.

‘Most people believe they only need to adjust and adapt to local society, a basic type of diversity, so basic education takes care of that need. But advanced [higher] education, develops each person’s unique, innate abilities in order to help create a sustainable society. International survivability of the society is the next step, followed by the very survival and sustainability of the entire species. Thus we must turn to higher education to assure the sustainability of the species or society.

‘Our mission, therefore, is to build a stronger educational system, one that could continue to evolve and that would rise to meet the challenges facing us. One example of the steps being taken to heighten public awareness of and interest in science is a new concept in science museums (such as the Miraikan) where the emphasis is on the interaction of visitors with exhibits, aided by museum ‘interpreters’. Another example is the Super Science High School Project in which science professionals go to high schools to work with students. We are committed to helping science professionals to be better communicators, to explain what they are doing, why it is important and how it touches each person’s life.

‘From this we will develop new leaders who will understand the concepts of diversity, challenge, prosperity and sustainability. Leading by example will encourage others to attempt, to challenge and to prosper. Education and participation are the keys.

‘You too are involved, right now, by learning another language. Your life will be better and forever changed by this experience. Your ability to adapt has greatly increased, thereby increasing your ability to meet challenges and subsequently prosper. You are contributing and many will benefit from your construction of a bridge of communication between societies. No individual, species, or planet is indispensable, yet each has the potential to play an important part to help continue prosperity and sustainability. The question is “What role will you play?”’