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 -- We often hear that many students opt out of science-related subjects. What do you think about that?
Matsuo: Since Japan's population is decreasing, we must raise the percentage of people who are involved in science-related fields, to make sure we maintain the collective strength of Japan's science. A decline in population and in the number of people engaged in science would lead to the downspin of Japan's national power. We can't afford to let that happen, and we have to come up with preventive measures. I would like engineers, and researchers in general, to be "cool" - though I'm not saying that any particular people around me must change (laugh)!
Matsuo: I agree. It's all right for them to say something like "Money doesn't matter as long as we can do our favorite research." But it's also all right for them to make a great deal of money. People used to say engineering was a 3D job - dirty, dangerous and demanding - but it's also cool enough for engineers to be able to use a lathe and turn out something skillfully. I teach at the department of engineering, but I still don't know what to do with a lathe at all (laugh).
Matsuo: Now that I have become a member of the accident investigation commission, I have come to realize the importance of the accident analyses in the past and the resultant improvements, and the important role this work has played in making aircraft and aeronautical systems more safe. This kind of work is low-profile and time-consuming. So much so that I can't afford to make such complaints as "This is five times as hard as expected." (laugh) I understand that, in the space-development field, a lot of energy and money has been spent on the investigation of rocket and satellite accidents since last year. Maybe the people involved are so exhausted, both mentally and physically, that they have lost their motivation. But I'm sure their efforts will be rewarded and we must make sure that they are rewarded. They must stand up straight and deal with it in a "cool" manner. I'd like to give them moral support.
[Interviewed on June 2, 2004 at Matsuo Laboratory, Keio University]
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