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The Autumn 2026 graduation ceremony for undergraduate students and graduate students  was held on Saturday, September 19, at the Waseda Arena on Toyama Campus and was simultaneously broadcast online for all to see. As in previous years, in-person participation was limited to graduating students.

This September, a total of 802 undergraduate students, 550 master’s degree students, professional master’s degree students, and 96 doctoral degree students graduated from Waseda (as of September 19, 2026). This made for a grand total of 1,448 students who embarked from Waseda to begin a new chapter of their lives.

During the ceremony, Waseda University President Aiji Tanaka took to the stage to make his address to all graduating students: 

On behalf of Waseda University, it is my great pleasure to congratulate you upon your graduation. We also extend congratulations to your family, relatives, and friends. I am sure that this is a moment you have been anticipating while studying here at Waseda.

We considered inviting family members in addition to graduating students to this graduation ceremony, but we were concerned that it would be dangerously congested on the road in front of Waseda Arena. Consequently, we have been inviting only the actual graduating students to this arena for the last several years. We hope you will understand our decision.

Those graduating from undergraduate programs, those completing Art and Architecture School programs, and those completing master’s or doctoral programs today are all, I believe, filled with a sense of brightness and joy. We are also truly happy to see your bright smiles.

This ceremony also carries special meaning for me personally. I will step down as President tomorrow, the 20th of September, after serving two terms over eight years, and therefore this will be the last time I deliver a commencement address.

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Secondly, and lastly, what I most want to tell you is this: once you graduate and enter society, devote yourself to what you truly want to do and find meaningful. If you make your choice based on immediate promotion or profit and engage in work that does not interest you, you will only perform at 80 percent of your ability. However, if you pursue what you find interesting and meaningful, you will be able to perform at 120 percent. In any era and in any society, those who work at 120 percent are more likely to succeed than those who work at 80 percent. I have told this to my seminar students when they graduated, and now, as President, I would like to offer this message to all Waseda graduates.

After graduation, please return to your alma mater from time to time. When you do, let us meet you, who shine even more brightly than now, again at a Waseda that shines even more brightly than now.

To those graduating students who are still learning Japanese, I want to congratulate you briefly in English.
You should be proud of what you have learned at Waseda, as well as trust in your intelligence and ability. With your education, intelligence and ability, may you contribute to human kind as you make your way through the world.
Congratulations on your graduation!

President Aiji Tanaka’s full address (English translation)

Next, Akira Mandai, Executive Chairman of the Waseda University Alumni Association, delivered a congratulatory address: 

To all of you who are graduating today, as well as to your families who have supported you up to the present, congratulations on this accomplishment! Well done!
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Now that you have graduated, all of you will automatically become alumni of Waseda University and members of the Alumni Association. Please let me take this opportunity to briefly explain what the Waseda University Alumni Association is about. At Waseda University, we call our graduates koyu, and the Waseda University Alumni Association, also referred to as Koyukai, is an alumni organization composed of graduates of this university.

The Waseda University Alumni Association was founded in 1885. The predecessor of Waseda University, Tokyo Senmon Gakko, was established in 1882. It produced its first class of 11 graduates in 1884, with a further 67 students graduating in 1885. And it was in that same year that the Alumni Association was born. Afterwards, Tokyo Senmon Gakko was renamed Waseda University. Since then, we have stood side by side with Waseda University on its long journey, sharing in all its triumphs and difficulties to the present day. Though it began with just several dozen alumni, the Waseda University Alumni Association now boasts 700,000 members, making it one of Japan’s leading alumni organizations. Last December marked its 140th anniversary.

The Alumni Association’s essential purpose is to support Waseda University and the current students who are following in our footsteps, as well as to foster personal connections and friendships among alumni. Currently, the Association is headquartered within the university campus and officially headed by Waseda University President Aiji Tanaka. The affairs of the Association are run largely by a board of approximately 60 officers. Every year, we provide 200 to 300 million yen to support Waseda University. A large part of this goes toward scholarships for current students, but various other kinds of financial support are also provided.

There are also around 1,400 Alumni Association chapters, known as Tomonkai. These include local chapters around Japan, chapters based on year of graduation and profession, and even overseas chapters. All are actively engaged in activities. Waseda is proud of the power of its 700,000 alumni. In Japan and around the world, Waseda alumni actively contribute to society in a vast range of fields, not only as business people and executives, but also as prime ministers, community organizers, politicians, bureaucrats, legal professionals, athletes, writers, artists, doctors, media figures, and more. This diversity of Waseda alumni is the vitality and pride of Waseda.
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The motto of the Waseda University Alumni Association is “To the world together, toward the future together.” May all of you, who are graduating today, fly out confidently into the world and into the future! I very much look forward to meeting you all again in five years, when you will be invited to return to the university for the Homecoming Day.
On a personal note, like President Tanaka, I will be stepping down as Executive Chairman of the Alumni Association on September 20.
For the last eight years, since 2018, I have had the privilege of seeing graduates off to their next chapters. Today is the last time I will do so, and that gives this ceremony a special meaning for me.
Going forward, I will continue to treasure the bonds I have forged through Waseda, and to devote myself to supporting my alma mater and the students who are following in our footsteps.
Once again, welcome to the Waseda University Alumni Association! And congratulations on your graduation!

For Executive Chairman Akira Mandai’s full address

*The above quotes are translations based on the original Japanese.  

Graduation Album

Complete Recording of the Sept. 19, 2026 Graduation Ceremony(Coming soon )