30 years is said to be the equivalent of one generation. The 30-year milestone of SFC was drowned out by a pandemic (a global epidemic of infectious diseases) thought to be on a scale that only occurs once every 100 years. As we previously held extensive celebrations for the 20th and 25th anniversaries of the campus, we talked about various activities that could be carried out slowly over the course of the year to commemorate the 30th anniversary.

Most of these plans never came to fruition; however, after surmounting the turmoil caused by this once-in-a-century crisis, a bright and vibrant era will surely follow. That being said, this will entail a great many changes and will likely be accompanied by variety of social issues. SFC was designed in the midst of major changes in the late 1980s, opening its doors in 1990, and we will surely face a multitude of new challenges in the 2020s. We should strive as a campus to ensure that we do not flinch before these challenges but have the courage to tackle them head-on.

Thirty years from now, the campus is bound to have even stronger ties with local communities. With the full-scale development of Fujisawa-city's “forest of health and culture” plan here on out, facilities, services, and businesses collaborating with the campus, as well as the lifestyles they facilitate, will continue to spread throughout the area. An initiative to transform SFC from a residential campus where young people stay for extended periods into a garden campus that expands together with the community will begin. Meanwhile, we are continuing efforts to remain a base for education and research that is visited by people from around the world.

In 1990, Nintendo launched the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the so-called Super Family Computer (SFC) in Japanese. Many gaming masterpieces materialized as a result of the vastly improved graphics and sound, and the SFC was an important factor in allowing gaming culture to take root. Who could have imagined that professional e-sports players would appear only 30 years after video games were played by inserting cartridges?

In 1990, the WHO decided to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. Until about 30 years ago, homosexuality was still considered a disease. Going back another 30 years around 1960, homosexuality was even a criminal offense in many countries (Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science, was convicted under British law at that time as a homosexual, ultimately taking his own life). There was once an era of extreme homophobia that is almost unimaginable now as the word LGBT has ingrained itself in our everyday consciousness.

In a period of just 30 years, our common-sense understanding has been repeatedly overwritten as technology has created new cultures and economies, and science has reinvigorated faith in universality. This gives us a sense of the awesome power of time. The spirit of SFC, which has survived all the ordeals that were encountered along the way, may be our greatest asset. Let’s all work together over the next 30 years, while identifying what should change and what should be protected.

About this time a year ago, we were all getting excited about preparing various events and goods to celebrate the 30th anniversary of SFC’s opening. Soon after, we found out that such celebrations would not be possible due to the impact of COVID-19. Although 2020 was such an important “milestone,” the momentum fizzled out in a way we could not have anticipated. Nevertheless, the SFC30 website was released and the official logo design selected.

In reality, however, there is no difference between the official and unofficial when it comes to celebrating SFC’s anniversary. Each of us can congratulate SFC on its 30th anniversary in our own way. I am hoping that this website will serve as a platform for us to express and share our congratulatory sentiments together. While the new year has already begun and a new academic year will start soon, we will keep “SFC30” in mind when thinking of the coming 30 years.