Researcher's notes Hiroaki Niki Neurobiology of Emotion Team Team Leader Japanese Logic and Western Logic If I had to choose between inductive and deductive logic, I would rather prefer inductive because it involves citing various kinds of circumstantial evidence. I have not grown accustomed to deductive logic, in which the hypothesis and conclusion are stated first, and then the reasons supporting it are stated. However, in presenting research results, I must not dwell on my own preferences- especially for articles for publication and for presentations at professional conferences where there are limitations on length in page and time and as a result I often employ deductive logic. Perhaps this tendency of mine is attributable to the fact that I first encountered inductive logic in junior high school with geometrical formal proofs. This kind of logical thinking was easily accepted as a junior high school boy. In fact, at the school I attended, students were assigned geometry problems every time after the lesson as homework in the first year. My first encounter with deductive logic was much later, in high school, when, in chemistry laboratory sessions, we had to determine the names of organic compounds inside test tubes. Or, perhaps my weakness in deductive logic stems from a cultural background or life style that leads me to hesitate presenting conclusions beforehand and then describing circumstantial evidence. Inductive logic is typical of Japanese people (Japanese logic), whereas logic seems to be more common in Western educated people (Western logic). The fourth seat of government: Education and Research The days and months pass quickly. It is now some 30 years since my teacher/mentor, Dr. Toshihiko Tokizane (Professor Emeritus Tokyo University; Former Director of the Brain Research Institute, Tokyo University; Former Professor, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University) -who devoted himself to the development of brain research in Japan and who made great contributions in this field- passed away. Perhaps current events in Japan remind me what Dr. Tokizane suggested : education/research be established as a fourth power, a body that is independent of the other three governing bodies -|the executive, legislative, and judicial seats of government. I think his notion rests in the fact that the government's approach to education changes frequently according to the political and economic conditions and the attitudes of those in power. For example, when I was working at the University, members of the Educational Committee of the House of Councilors were meddling with the entrance examination system and problems with entrance examinations. More recently, we have seen problems arise with the transformation of universities and institutes into independent administrative entities. Today I recall the remarks that Dr. Tokizane made in passing more than 30 years ago about the establishment of a fourth power.