News

On Monday, April 1 and Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the entrance ceremonies for undergraduates, graduate students, and students from the Art and Architecture School were held at the Waseda Arena on Toyama Campus. 8,947 new undergraduate students and 2,985 new graduate students were welcomed at this year’s ceremony.

*To watch the archived videos of the live broadcast, please scroll to the end of this article. 

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

On behalf of Waseda University, I am delighted to welcome all incoming students today.  Congratulations on your entrance to Waseda University.  I extend my heartfelt congratulations also, of course, to your parents, other family members, and friends.
Today, I would like to speak to you about two things.  First, I will talk about what I wish for you to learn at Waseda University.  Second, I will talk about what kind of student life you should enjoy at Waseda.

Presently, I am promoting a goal for Waseda University: that Waseda should be recognized as the most attractive university in Japan at which to study by 2040, and in Asia by 2050.
This does not mean that Waseda should be No. 1 in terms of the difficulty of its entrance examinations, nor that Waseda should gain the largest number of Nobel Prizes among universities in Japan.  However, if anyone wished to contribute to humankind in the world or to the development of Japanese society, then Waseda University would be recognized as the university offering the most effective educational environment to achieve these vital aims, by intellectuals throughout the world.  This should not be an impossible dream to achieve.
For that purpose, I would like you incoming students to proceed in your studies at Waseda while cleaving to an aspiration.  I, as the president, am now advocating three ideals.  They are “intellectual resilience,” “flexible sensitivity,” and “responsive reasoning.”

In a famous speech, Okuma Shigenobu, who is the founder of Waseda University, told the students of Waseda, “Do not think of yourself alone, your family alone nor your nation alone, but have an ambition to contribute to the world.”  This statement was offered to explain what “building a model citizen” meant.  Okuma advocated three ideals: “independence of scholarship,” “application of scholarship to the real world” and “building a model citizen” at the ceremony celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Waseda in 1913.

I very much like the statement, “Do not think of yourself alone, your family alone nor your nation alone, but have an ambition to contribute to the world,” as this statement, in my opinion, seems to represent a common value among Waseda students and alumni.  This statement, I believe, has had a magnificent impact on our educational environment.

At Waseda, anyone can find their own place to be comfortable.  In other words, Waseda has a tradition of accepting the diversity of students.  Members of the Waseda community accept anyone from anywhere and respect each other.  In today’s parlance, this tradition embodies “diversity” and “inclusion”.

If you wish to accomplish something or are facing difficulty, you can consult with your teacher (professor), administrative staff, or fellow students.  It is likely that you will find a way to break through any problem and achieve your objective.  We believe that Waseda can provide an environment that can respond to all kinds of aspirations of our students.  A student at Waseda can be devoted to academic research, athletic activities, circle activities, or volunteer activities, according to their desire.  Please try anything you wish. But, DO NOT forget also to study hard to master scholarship.

Before I close my speech, I would like to encourage you to make many good memories while you are here.  One thing that can easily leave you with a good memory is Waseda sports.  In particular, please try to go and cheer for the Waseda baseball team fighting against Keio University at Jingu Stadium in May and late October every year.  You will enjoy yourselves and experience the enthusiasm and love for Waseda on the part of upperclassmen and our alumni.
Please study as hard as possible and enjoy yourself.  It is my earnest hope that you will spend a fruitful student life.  In four years, we will see you off when you are ever-more brilliantly shining at Waseda, even more brilliantly than now.

Congratulations once again on your entrance to Waseda!

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 Akiko Nakajo

Managing Director, YouTube Japan, Google Japan G.K. 

Link to Akiko Nakajo’s full speech

Akiko Nakajo graduated from the Department of Political Science, School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University in 1997. She has been overseeing YouTube’s business and operation in Japan since July 2017, working closely with creators, artists, media companies, central and local governments, public-sector institutions, and numerous other entities to support their success. With the aim of making YouTube a space that is open to everyone and transcends differences, whether age, gender, or nationality, she focuses on initiatives to render it an even more reliable and safer site for users, attaching importance to the social responsibility YouTube bears. Concurrently, she serves as a member of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) Broadcast Programs Council (since 2020) and a councilor of Waseda University (since 2022). She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

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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 Eriko Kitagawa

Screenwriter, Film director

Link to Eriko Kitagawa’s full speech 

Eriko Kitagawa graduated from the First School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Waseda University in 1984. Since her debut as a drama series scriptwriter with Just the Way You Are in 1992, she has written a number of popular television dramas, such as Tell Me You Love Me, Long Vacation, Beautiful Life, Hundred Million Stars from the Sky, Orange Days, Half Blue, and Hand in Hand at Dusk, as well as movies including Halfway and I Have to Buy New Shoes, living up to her moniker “the Goddess of Love Stories.” She is also active in many other areas that include writing plays, essays, and lyrics.

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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 Kei Uruma

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Member of the Board President & CEO

Link to Kei Uruma’s full speech

Kei Uruma graduated from the School of Commerce, Waseda University in 1982. Having joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and started his career at the Nagoya Works in the same year, he held a number of positions at the company including president of Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V., group president of the Factory Automation Systems Group, group president of the Public Utility Systems Group, and senior general manager of the Corporate Strategic Planning Division, before taking office as president & CEO in July 2021. He concurrently serves as chairman of Japan Space Systems, co-chair of Keidanren’s Japan-Türkiye Economic Committee, vice chairman of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation, and other positions.

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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

Greetings from Honorary Fellow, Shinichi Oishi

Former Professor, Waseda University 

Link to Shinichi Oishi’s full speech

Shinichi Oishi completed a doctoral program at Waseda University Graduate School of Science and Engineering, and earned his doctoral degree from the university in 1981. Having served as a research associate, assistant professor, and associate professor, he took professorship at the School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University in 1989. He also served as dean of the School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, and senior dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, at the university; visiting professor at UPMC, France; a member of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s committee that promotes plans for such as the Fugaku supercomputer; and president of the Japan Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He was awarded a Medal with Purple Ribbon in April 2012 and recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit in November 2020, by the Japanese government.

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

Photo Gallery

Waseda Live

*The full video of the live broadcast of the ceremonies can be watched from the URLs below. 

April 1, 2024 (Mon) ：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

April 1, 2024 (Mon) ：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, 2024 (Tue) 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

April 2, 2024 (Tue) 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