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On Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, 2023, the entrance ceremonies for undergraduates, graduate students, and students from the Art and Architecture School were held at the Waseda Arena on Toyama Campus. 8,958 new undergraduate students and 2,905 new graduate students were welcomed at this year’s ceremony.

*To watch the archived videos of the actual day live broadcast, please scroll to the end of the page. 

Aiji Tanaka, President of Waseda University
President’s Address (extract)

I know that all of you incoming students must have many special thoughts, because you suffered from the coronavirus pandemic over the last three years before entering Waseda University’s undergraduate or graduate Schools. We imagine that you must have experienced anxiety and stress in not being able to commute to your high schools or universities at a normal pace over the last three years. You have our sympathy and respect because you overcame those very difficult circumstances and gained this opportunity to enroll in Waseda University today.

About four and a half years have passed since my inauguration as President of Waseda University in November 2018. During this time, I have been espousing two ideal goals of education at Waseda. One is to foster “intellectual resilience,” and the other is to foster “flexible sensitivity.” While these two goals reflect the ideals of the founders of Waseda University, we can now better understand their meaning through the coronavirus pandemic.

What, then, does “intellectual resilience” mean? Most of the problems human beings are facing today do not have correct answers. Think, for example, about the corona pandemic, global warming, or the invasion of Russian military forces into Ukraine, you name it. No one knows a single “right” answer to solve any of these problems. Among them, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on all of us, therefore providing a clear example of how to tackle an unknown new problem. The tough-mindedness that impels us to think through a problem to arrive at a solution is what I call “intellectual resilience.”

I hope that you will develop “intellectual resilience” at Waseda University. In order to do this, it is indispensable to learn from the scholarship of thinkers who have come before us. Ever since the invention of a writing system over 5,000 years ago, human beings have recorded and compiled the essence of their experiences in the form of scholarship. Respect scholarship. Scholarship may not provide answers to unknown new problems, but it records how human beings confronted unknown problems in their own day. By learning about these human efforts, you will gain relevant knowledge at Waseda.

Another important ideal is to foster “flexible sensitivity.” Under the concept of “flexible sensitivity,” we encourage our students to accept, understand, and respect people of different nationalities, ethnicities, languages, religions, creeds, genders and sexual orientations.

To foster “flexible sensitivity,” it is important for our students to be exposed to international students with different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. For that purpose, Waseda University has been endeavoring to globalize our campuses. In 2019, we accepted more than 8,000 international students to study at Waseda and we sent more than 4,600 students who were studying at Waseda to study abroad. Sadly, in 2020 we had to stop most of these exchanges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through our tough experiences in coping with the coronavirus pandemic, we have learned that this pandemic has more negatively impacted some people depending on their nationality, ethnicity, and income level. We are all acquiring the power of empathy to understand how different backgrounds matter. Let’s foster “flexible sensitivity” by being empathetic to other people. I believe that you can foster “flexible sensitivity” well at Waseda.

Finally, I would like to offer you some concluding words of advice and encouragement. Waseda University can offer almost any kind of environment in which you might be interested. At Waseda, you can choose to devote yourself to academic research, volunteer activities, athletic activities via a varsity club, or other kinds of student activities via a student circle. It is your choice. But, do not forget to study seriously.

Please study hard and devote yourself to whatever you find interesting to do at Waseda. I hope you will enjoy your student life at Waseda. In 4 years, when you graduate from Waseda, you will be even more exceptional and admirable than you are already.

Congratulations on your entrance to Waseda University!

Link to the President’s full speech

First session: School of Political Science and Economics; School of Law; School of Education; Graduate School of Political Science; Graduate School of Economics; Graduate School of Law; Graduate School of Education; Waseda Law School

Congratulatory Address by Taichi Nakamura
Professional Shogi Player, Japan Shogi Association
Graduated from the School of Political Science and Economics in 2011

Link to Taichi Nakamura’s full speech

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Second Session: School of Culture, Media and Society; School of Humanities and Social Sciences; School of Sport Sciences; School of International Liberal Studies; Art and Architecture School; Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Graduate School of Sport Sciences; Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies; Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics; Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies

Congratulatory Address by Seiji Kameda
Music Producer and Bassist
Graduated from the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences I in 1988

Link to Seiji Kameda’s full speech

 

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Third session: School of Commerce; School of Social Sciences; School of Human Sciences (including the Online Degree Program); Graduate School of Commerce; Graduate School of Social Sciences; Graduate School of Human Sciences; Graduate School of Accountancy; Graduate School of Business and Finance

Congratulatory Address by Masahiro Shinada
President, Panasonic Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Graduated from the School of Commerce in 1988

Link to Masahiro Shinada’s full speech

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Fourth Session: School of Fundamental Science and Engineering; School of Creative Science and Engineering; School of Advanced Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering

Congratulatory Address by Kotaro Sawada
Representative Director, President & CEO of ZOZO, Inc.
Representative Director, CEO of ZOZO NEXT, Inc.
Graduated from the School of Science and Engineering, former Dept. of Industrial & Management Systems Engineering in 1994.

Link to Kotaro Sawada’s full speech

*All of the above speeches are translations based on the original Japanese transcripts.

Photo Gallery

Waseda Live

*The actual day live-broadcast (full video) of the ceremonies can be watched from the URLs below. 

April 1, 2022 (Sat) First and Second Session

First Session:
School of Political Science and Economics; School of Law; School of Education
Graduate School of Political Science; Graduate School of Economics; Graduate School of Law; Waseda Law School; Graduate School of Education

Second Session:
School of Culture, Media and Society; School of Humanities and Social Sciences; School of Sport Sciences; School of International Liberal Studies; Art and Architecture School; Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Graduate School of Sport Sciences; Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies; Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics; Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies

April 2, 2021 (Sun) Third and Fourth Session

Third Session: School of Commerce; School of Social Sciences; School of Human Sciences (including the Online Degree Program) Graduate School of Commerce; Graduate School of Social Sciences; Graduate School of Human Sciences; Graduate School of Accountancy; Graduate School of Business and Finance

Fourth Session:
School of Fundamental Science and Engineering; School of Creative Science and Engineering; School of Advanced Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering; Graduate School of Environment and Energy Engineering