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National Federation of Waseda University Student Associations Treasurer
Masaya Kazama, 4th year student School of Creative Science and Engineering

At Toyama Campus Building No. 30 (Waseda University Student Center)

While studying on campus, students take part in activities and work that will increase the value of the university. In this article, we will introduce some profiles of students who are involved in the important role that student participation/student jobs play at universities, and how they are involved. This time, we will introduce the daily life of Kazama Masaya, a fourth-year student at the School School of Creative Science and Engineering, who belongs to the Yamanashi Student Tomonkai and is active in the National Waseda Student Association Federation.

Q. How did you get started?

It all started when I met a good friend from elementary, middle, and high school at a local gathering of 20-year-olds. That friend was also a Waseda University student and the former secretary-general of the Yamanashi Student Tomonkai, and that's how I learned about the existence of the Student Tomonkai.

Later, while working with student Tomonkai I learned about the existence of the All Japan Federation of Early Bird Associations, and I began to want to revitalize and revive the activities of student Tomonkai across the country, which had been declining due to the pandemic. In fact, there was a time when the Yamanashi Student Tomonkai itself was in danger of going out of business, and I thought that we needed to fundamentally reconsider our activities, so I thought that if I worked as a committee member of the All Japan Federation of Early Bird Associations, the activities of not only the Yamanashi Student Tomonkai but also other student Tomonkai would be more fulfilling.

Q. What kind of activities do you do?

Its main purpose is to deepen friendships and connections between student Tomonkai across the country while providing a place for activities.

In our activities, we work in cooperation with staff from Student Affairs Section and many alumni (graduates). The time and frequency of activities are irregular, but we plan to hold meetings and hold frequent activities around events such as the "new students Welcome Party" in April, the "Onobori-san Tour" in May, the "Inamon Hometown Party" in September, the "Inamon Festival" in late October, and the "WASEDASAI" in November.

Left: On the 2023 "Onobori-san Tour," participants toured Tokyo while solving puzzles using a Tokyo Metro one-day pass. This photo was taken at Tokyo Station, the final meeting point.
Photo on the right: At the "WASEDASAI 2023," a quiz competition was planned in collaboration with WASEDASAI staff. Student Tomonkai from Okayama, Kagoshima, Tohoku, Niigata, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Yamaguchi, and Yamanashi participated as questioners, asking questions about their respective prefectures, and those with the most correct answers received local specialties as prizes.

Q. Please tell us what you felt through the activities.

I felt the difficulty of getting people interested and motivating them. There are many attractive student club in Waseda, and it is very difficult to get people interested in the activities of Zenporen and students Tomonkai. Students Tomonkai are attracted to the fact that they can talk about their hometowns with people from the same hometowns. For example, they attended the same cram school, went to the same library, had the same meals together that they used to eat in their hometown.... In addition, you may be able to interact with many alumni people who have returned to their hometowns and are active in their hometowns. If we become more active, another attraction will be the opportunity to interact with students Tomonkai from other prefectures who were born and raised in completely different environments that we were not supposed to be involved with.

And I found that the basics, such as reporting and communication, are most important. In Zenpayoren, each student keeps in touch with various people such as Tomonkai, alumni, Student Affairs Section, etc. If this part is missing, the activity itself will not progress. If this part of the process is left out, the activity itself will not progress, so I learned the importance of working steadily. The main means of contact are LINE and e-mail, but we also use the official X of each student Tomonkai and Instagram, etc. When we are unable to contact them, we approach them through various routes, including through our seniors and through acquaintances of each student Tomonkai.

Q. What efforts do you make to balance your studies with multiple other things, such as student involvement and student club activities?

It's important to work backwards, and when it looks like you're going to be busy, you can adjust your schedule to use your time better, such as cutting back on part-time work. When I'm sleepy, I sleep, and when I can concentrate, I try to do my classes, lab assignments, early bird competitions, student club, and other chores all at once, and if I still can't finish, I stay up all night and finish (laughs).

Q. Please tell us about your future aspirations and challenges regarding your activities.

We would like to increase the number of opportunities for students Tomonkai to be active. Specifically, we plan to increase the number of events, but having events is not an objective, just a means to an end. Through events, we hope to create horizontal connections among students Tomonkai and for each student Tomonkai to feel a sense of fulfillment and interest in our activities. We also believe that increasing the exposure of Zenpayoren and raising the visibility of Zenpayoren to current students will lead to the revival of the now-disbanded student Tomonkai in its heyday and the activation of the existing student Tomonkai activities. We would like to further deepen the cooperation between Zenpayoren and each student Tomonkai in the future.

How I spend my week when classes are in session

One day in the fall semester of 2023. Until this time, I was also the secretary-general of the futsal student club FC PATENT.