Forging Harmony Through International Diversity — Alumni Profile, Hajime Hayashi ’85

While his work for the Embassy of Japan has taken him to all corners of the globe, Hajime Hayashi ’85 still credits Amherst, Massachusetts as the location which has most intimately shaped his identity today. From inspiring his commitment to diversity and empathy, strengthening his passion for cross-cultural understanding, and opening his eyes to the beauty of contemporary art, Hayashi’s time at Amherst enabled both his professional and personal successes. Hayashi hopes that the college’s liberal arts education will have a similar impact on current generations of Amherst students, inspiring them to incite meaningful global change.

Falling in Love with the Pioneer Valley

Born and raised in the bustling city of Tokyo, Japan, Hayashi knew that for college he “wanted to expose [himself] to a more out-of-the-city kind of environment.” While Hayashi explained that Amherst wasn’t necessarily well-known in Japan due to its small size, when he was applying to college he was fortunate enough to receive advice from people who understood a lot about the U.S. higher education system. Amherst proved to be Hayashi’s perfect fit, providing him with a good education as well as access to the Pioneer Valley’s breathtaking natural scenery.

In fact, Hayashi still feels a strong attachment to Amherst’s beautiful landscape today. He explained, “Since I’ve been living in the UK, I’ve been particularly attracted to the landscape of Yorkshire. It wasn’t until September, when I drove through the area, that I realized how similar it is to my memories of the Pioneer Valley.”

During his time at Amherst, Hayashi studied political science and economics. While he appreciated everything he learned about these fields through his coursework, Hayashi asserted that what has been most useful to his life and career today is the fact that Amherst enabled him to take courses in a wide range of fields, providing him with diverse knowledge that “shaped who I am as a human being in the world.”

Some of Hayashi’s favorite classes at Amherst were art and art history courses, specifically those which focused on modern and contemporary art. According to Hayashi, these classes not only gave him a “good understanding” of art that he utilizes when visiting museums and galleries, but provided him with important insight into contemporary western cultures, enriching his experiences living in Boston; Washington, D.C.; and, presently, London.

Hayashi also reflected on the wonderful friends he met at Amherst, explaining “I really exposed myself to many students who were different in their thinking and from different backgrounds.” For Hayashi, these relationships taught him the importance of diversity, tolerance, and empathy, values that have been crucial to his success in both his professional and personal lives.

While he loved interacting with people from varying backgrounds, he also found a lot of joy in connecting with his own cultural roots during his time at college. Some of Hayashi’s best memories from Amherst were organizing and participating in Asian cultural events with his Asian friends, both at the college and the wider Pioneer Valley. Hayashi said, “I can imagine there are more students from Asian backgrounds today, but at that moment — of course there were some — there wasn’t such a large number.”

Further, Hayashi frequently explored his love for classical music during his time at Amherst. He remembered the college hosting “a few wonderful, unforgettable smaller-scale concerts with quite well renowned musicians.”

“Sometimes, when I had the opportunity or time, I went to Boston and attended Boston Symphony’s concerts,” explained Hayashi. “Also, if I had the opportunity to go to New York City, I tried to go to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, all those famous places.”

Aside from just concerts, Hayashi also greatly enjoyed the other community-centered events that Amherst had to offer. He fondly remembers attending plays and movie screenings across the five colleges, and particularly loved going to Amherst football games, with his favorite being the annual game against Williams.

Foreign Affairs and Forging Harmony

After leaving Amherst, Hayashi began working full-time for the Embassy of Japan. Hayashi is currently stationed in London, where he works as the Japanese ambassador to the United Kingdom. While Hayashi expressed that he was always interested in foreign affairs, he cites Amherst’s diverse environment and emphasis on cross-cultural understanding as cementing his desire to work internationally. Throughout his career, Hayshi has, along with London and Tokyo, spent time in Geneva, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium; and New Delhi, India. Hayashi has also returned to the U.S on numerous occasions; he was stationed in Washington, D.C twice while working for the Embassy of Japan and was a visiting Fellow of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

According to Hayashi, the core tenet of his job as an ambassador is having empathy, a skill he cultivated during his time at Amherst. He explained, “Ambassadors will always take into account the position of the nation [they] belong to. In my case, it’s Japan. So the first thing I do is to change myself — my mind — to concentrate on the interests of the nation I represent.”

Hayashi explained that another crucial aspect of his work is trying to harmonize the different interests of various nations, a commitment that inspires one of his main passions: listening to classical music.

“It’s interesting to see a group of people and how they behave with each other,” said Hayashi. “Orchestra is interesting, not only in terms of the music itself, but also how those professionals work together and try to produce united, combined outcomes with each other.”

Continued Commitment to Amherst

“Genuinely, from my heart, Amherst provided me [with a] wonderful background and liberal education,” said Hayashi. He affirmed that Amherst taught him to “liberalize [himself] from his imprinted knowledge of society and the world, including possibly some prejudices [he] had before coming to Amherst.” Even though Hayashi has been away from Amherst for a long time, he still wears his purple tie with pride, feeling like the college shaped the most important parts of himself.

Hayashi also expressed his passion for connecting with Amherst alumni. He explained that, even though the college doesn’t have the same number of alumni as other larger universities, he’s been able to attend Amherst reunions in Tokyo and London. Hayashi said, “I particularly try to find new alumni, much younger than myself, and hear their thinking and reactions and learn about their life and careers after Amherst. It helps me rejuvenate and re-energize myself.”

Hayashi urges both young alumni and current Amherst students to take advantage of our globalized world, explaining: “There are such wonderful opportunities to expose yourself to and join the international world, both personally and by working internationally in fields like diplomacy, business, education, the arts. Of course, the U.S. and the Amherst area are so wonderful, but going outside the country may provide different kinds of experiences; some eye opening or even unforgettable experiences could wait for you.”