Results of the "#WhatIWantToTellYouNow" Essay Contest

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (President and CEO Hiroshi Kubota, hereinafter "Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking") held the "#WhatIWantToTellYouNow" essay contest (hereinafter "this contest") from December 25, 2025, to February 27, 2026, and as a result of rigorous selection, the "WEB Selection Grand Prize," "WEB Selection Semi-Grand Prize," and "Special Jury Prize" winners were determined.

Under its corporate message "Connecting people. Connecting the future.", the company has played a role in connecting the precious thoughts and assets of society and each customer to the future, utilizing trust functions.

This contest was held with this philosophy in mind, wishing that everyone's "current feelings" that they want to convey to their loved ones would connect to the future. As a result, a total of 3,036 entries were received, gathering many warm "#WhatIWantToTellYouNow" messages from a wide range of people.

The winning entries are published on our website.
https://www.tr.mufg.jp/corp_brand/contest/01

■ Judges' Comments
・Ryo Asai (Novelist)
When I heard about the clear theme and word limit, I was worried that similar works would gather, which now feels nostalgic. After reading through the many submitted works, I re-recognized the meaning of the phrase that people's hearts are diverse. When I think that thousands and tens of thousands of invisible "things I want to convey" are actually flying around like this, the reality in front of me feels more precious than yesterday.

・Kurara Chibana (Model, Company's Sustainability Ambassador)
Many works depicted familiar and concrete subjects, such as episodes with beloved family members, making me tear up, be startled, or even superimpose my own family. They were all exquisite works that fully conveyed the true pleasure of an essay. Irreplaceable things are found in everyday life. I also thought I would like to reconsider the importance of conveying feelings.

※1 Regarding the implementation of the "#WhatIWantToTellYouNow" Essay Contest
https://www.tr.mufg.jp/ippan/release/pdf_mutb/251225_1.pdf

～WEB Selection Grand Prize (3 works)～

"The Last Day on Earth" (Noriki Tanaka, Mie Prefecture, 40s)
When I was a child, I skipped school on a snowy day. Piling up snacks and comics in the kotatsu, I rolled around with my father and asked, "Dad, what would you do if the world ended tomorrow?" He replied, "Nothing. The same as now. I'd read comics and laze around. This is the best." and hugged me tightly. A year later, my father died young from an illness. He had an incurable disease. He knew his life was short, but until his last moments, he didn't lament, he was just his usual self. I have long since surpassed my father's age, and I run through each day at full speed, breathless, with work and childcare. On a rare snowy morning, my battery suddenly ran out. "Let's skip school. Mom will take the day off too." I decided to laze around in the kotatsu with my children. Squeezed into the kotatsu with my two children, I looked out at the white window. Suddenly, I remembered the last day on Earth. "You're right, Dad. You were right. This is the best."

"Mother's Diary" (Eiji Takahashi, Tokyo, 50s)
Last year, my mother passed away. While organizing her belongings with my father, we found her diaries. About 50 volumes. Looking back, my mother always wrote in her diary before going to bed. When I was in elementary school, I once asked my mother, seeing her open her diary every day, "Is writing a diary fun?" I remember my mother smiling and saying, "It's fun to read them back years later." The oldest diary began in "1975." Suddenly, I realized that these diaries contained 50 years of my mother's life. Opening the diaries, I found my mother's appearance during pregnancy, her feelings when I was born, my childhood, and episodes I had told her—things about me that I didn't know. Knowing my mother's life was knowing my own life. After my mother's death, I also started writing a diary. I will turn 50 this year. I also want to sow some fun seeds for my future and my daughter's future. And someday, I want to tell her, when she finds this diary, that my life is connected to hers.

"A Fun Package Full of Loneliness" (Noraneko no Imouto, Hokkaido, 30s)
My older sister is a free spirit. I thought she wouldn't contact me after moving to Tokyo from Hokkaido, but then she suddenly contacted me, asking me to be a guarantor for her apartment when she moved, or an emergency contact when she changed jobs. She's always freely rolling around. That older sister fell ill in the spring and was recuperating for a while.