Fukuoka: Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Gets Honorary Doctorate from Kyushu University

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:33 JST, August 28, 2025

FUKUOKA — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has received an honorary doctorate from Kyushu University in Fukuoka for his contributions to education and research activities at the university through international exchange.

A ceremony to confer the doctorate to him was held at the university on Aug. 6. Before receiving the doctorate, Mahathir, 100, gave a speech in which he expressed concern over growing divisions in the world.

He said peaceful resolutions through such measures as negotiation, mediation and arbitration are necessary to end conflicts. He told students and others that those who advocate for peace should be elected as leaders.

Mahathir also touched on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and said that the conflict cannot be ended due to the veto power of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. He appealed to younger generations to be aware of the horrors of that war.

On Aug. 10, Mahathir met with Shigemitsu Tanaka, 84, chair of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council in Nagasaki, while visiting the atomic-bombed city to protest against war.

After hearing about the circumstances in the city at the time of the bombing, Mahathir said, “Japan, [which has] the experience of nuclear warfare, should promote peaceful means for solving conflicts between nations.”

Mahathir served as the prime minister of Malaysia twice, from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020.