It was late June when I went to Tokyo to take the Toshiba entrance exam.
I remember that I wasn’t too enthusiastic about taking this exam.
The exam consisted of two subjects in the morning: physics and English.
There were two physics exam questions.
The first question was to make a physical difference between a hot and stationary ball and a moving and cold ball. Another question was to use a 20-meter measure and binoculars to explain to high school students living on the island that the earth is round and moving.
The English test was a one-page English translation written in A4 size.
I could do the English test without difficulty, but I couldn’t do physics at all.
I was supposed to have an interview in the morning, but my turn was past 12 o’clock and there were only four interviewers in front of me. Judging from the tables lined up there, it seemed that there were probably about ten interviewers.
One of the interviewers first apologized to me for being late. And he gradually asked me a question.
“Mr. Sato, isn’t it better to move around outside than to read a book in the room?”
I was surprised at the unexpected question. And I returned:
“At first glance, it may seem like that, but it’s not always the case. I also like reading books in the room.”
Then another interviewer asked a question.
“Why did Mr. Sato choose Toshiba? What do you want to do at Toshiba?”
I answered without hesitation.
“It was the professor who recommended Toshiba to me, and I haven’t thought about what I want to do yet. I know that Toshiba manufactures home appliances. What other businesses does Toshiba have? ”
Then the interviewer explained briefly.
So I replied that the medical device business is interesting.
At that time, I was completely selfless, so the interviewer looked like a normal person.
Perhaps the answer was appreciated.
About three weeks after I returned from Tokyo, I was called by Professor Sano.
According to the professor,
“I honestly didn’t think you would pass.”
“Mr. Sato, you passed, and Mr. Katayama of the graduate school failed. What kind of magic did you use as a whole?”
I answered simply.
“Maybe the interviewers were unique people.”
As a matter of fact, I was never happy with my inner feelings when Toshiba passed. Because, in my mind, I still had no desire to go out and work.
However, I had a strong feeling that I had to graduate in four years for my parents.
I immediately told my parents that I had passed Toshiba.
Then my parents were much more pleased with it than I had imagined.
The second sister wrote in her letter:
My mother is very happy and she wants to attend my graduation ceremony next March.
After all, at the graduation ceremony, her sister and her bag came to Okayama.
However, I quickly withdrew my boarding house and sent my luggage to Toshiba’s dormitory.
I myself moved to Yokohama before the graduation ceremony. I just didn’t want to attend the graduation ceremony.
There were a total of 27 classmates in the department of physics to which I belonged, but one committed suicide and one was transferred, so there were 25 at the time of graduation. Among them, about 3 people went to graduate school. Maybe about 5 people got a job at each company. That is, 17 people remained in the university.
I fought the university struggle together for four years, and as a result, I felt strongly guilty about my graduation.