It has often happened to me, at book fairs or in bookstores, that a gentleman approaches me and asks me for a signature. ..... I am against the idea of literature as a luxury pastime, and in favor of viewing it as one of the most primary and necessary activities of the mind: literature is essential for the formation of citizens in a modern and democratic society, a society of gree individuals.
――新潟大学 前期日程(2月25日実施)――2004年