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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 the staff of Student Affairs Section and many Alumnus (graduates). Although the time and frequency of our activities are irregular, we plan to hold meetings and hold frequent activities during 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 "Waseda Festival" in November.

Left photo: In 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.
Right photo: At the "Waseda Festival 2023," a quiz competition was planned in collaboration with the Waseda Festival management staff. Student Tomonkai from Okayama, Kagoshima, Tohoku, Niigata, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Yamaguchi, and Yamanashi participated as questioners, asking questions about their prefectures, and those with the most correct answers received local specialties as prizes.

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

I realized how difficult it is to get people interested and motivated. There are many attractive student club at Waseda, and it is very difficult to get people interested in the activities of the All-Waseda Federation and the Student Tomonkai. The appeal of the Student Tomonkai is that you can talk about your hometown with people from the same area. For example, you may have attended the same cram school, gone to the same library, or eaten the same food in your hometown. In addition, you can interact with many Alumnus who have returned to their hometowns and are doing well. Also, if we become more active, I think one of the attractions will be being able to interact with Student Tomonkai members from other prefectures who were born and raised in completely different environments that we would never have been involved with.

I also learned that basic things like reporting and contacting each other are the most important. In the All Japan Federation of Waseda Students, we communicate with various people, such as each student Tomonkai, Alumnus, and Student Affairs Section. If we miss this part, the activity itself will not progress, so I learned the importance of working steadily. We mainly communicate through LINE and email, but we also use the official Twitter accounts and Instagram of each student Tomonkai, and when we cannot get in touch, we approach each other through various routes, such as through seniors or acquaintances in 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.