In the latter part of March, 1996, a trusted friend sent me a copy of Professor Fumihiko Iida’s article, ”The Dawn of Meaning.” I read it immediately and was amazed that a traditional academic journal at a major public university in Japan had published a research article on life after death and rebirth, especially since the topic is so remote from economics and management, the journal’s usual genre. | CREATING THE VALUE OF LIFE By Fumihiko Iida Associate Professor of Fukushima National University JAPAN This book became best-seller in Japan and achieved more than 400 000 copies in 1996. Translated by Muneo Yoshikawa . Professor Emeritus University of Hawaii COPYRIGHT If you want you can distribute this PDF file to all around the world but please do not gain any profit Copyright C Fumihiko lida Nuneo J. Yoshikawa Fumihiko lida Faculty of Economics Fukushima Univ. Matsukawa-cho Fukushima City 960-1296 Japan This PDF file was converted from the HTML file of Iida s HP by Yoshio Umeno. 11 UPON THE OCCASION OF PUBLICATION UPON THE OCCASION OF PUBLICATION Why This Book is Being Sent Out From Japan to the World Muneo Yoshikawa . Professor Emeritus University of Hawaii In the latter part of March 1996 a trusted friend sent me a copy of Professor Fumihiko Iida s article The Dawn of Meaning. 1 I read it immediately and was amazed that a traditional academic journal at a major public university in Japan had published a research article on life after death and rebirth especially since the topic is so remote from economics and management the journal s usual genre. I was full of emotion as I realized that the new world-shaking paradigms views of the world of the universe of nature of humanity and of the corporation have at last started to make inroads in Japan. On the one hand I was speechless with admiration for the bravery of Professor Iida in submitting such theories to a journal of economics and management. I have spent over thirty years in the academic environment of a public University in the . and I know very well that a scholar of management must be prepared for the worst when he publishes theories such as Professor s Iida s within the discipline of management science where they appear out of place at least at first glance. I contacted Professor Iida immediately because I was convinced that he had some compelling reason a reason beyond human knowledge to act
