On Continuation of Face-to-face Classes under Quasi-emergency Coronavirus Measures

April 11, 2021

Dear Students of Waseda University,

It has been very pleasant to see many students back on our campuses attending classes in person from April 5 on. We, faculty members and administrative staff, are delighted to see the revival of the lively campus life of our students.

Although quasi-emergency coronavirus measures will be applied in Tokyo from April 12 on, we are going to continue face-to-face classes on campus as scheduled for the time being, unless cases of COVID-19 infection sharply increase in an abnormal manner. Through our experiences in 2020, we learned that we are least likely to be infected with coronavirus so long as we maintain appropriate social distances and keep class sizes less than half the capacity of each classroom. All classrooms have renewed air conditioning systems that can circulate 30 cubic meters of air per hour per person to provide a safe environment for students to study on campus.

However, please understand that we will have to make a new decision if any drastic change takes place in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Now we would like you to observe the following requests carefully. When you have a meal, please eat by yourself on campus or on your way back home. We strongly advise you not to have a party or a dinner with alcoholic beverages after classes. It is vitally important for you to protect not only your health but also the health of your friends and other students.

If big clusters of infection take place at Waseda University, we will have to move all classes back to online. We really would like to avoid such a situation. Therefore, I sincerely request your cooperation.

All faculty members and staff sincerely hope all of you continue to enjoy learning and student activities on campus.

Best wishes,

Aiji Tanaka, President

Waseda University