March 4th, 2024

The Athlete Seminar 2023, organized by the Mukogawa Women's University Sports Center, was held on 19th of February in the main lecture room of the Koe Memorial Hall and attended by approximately 180 student athletes, coaches and faculty members.

The seminar is held annually for members of the athletic teams, and aims to provide a variety of topics from different perspectives, giving teams and individuals’ tips and opportunities to achieve their goals before the new season, and to unite as an all-Mukogawa team.

The program consists of three subjects: educational lectures, reports on international convention activities and commemorative lectures. The educational lecture was given by Hidekazu Teshima, former trainer for the Hanshin Tigers, trainer for the 2023 WBC ('World Baseball Classic') and still involved with many athletes including professional baseball players. He gave a lecture on the theme of 'Performance Improvement and Sports Injury Prevention'. Mr. Teshima responded to an interview by Associate Professor Chikako Nakahori, a member of the university's Health and Sports Science Department and an athletic trainer. She introduced the importance of preparation and awareness towards practice in an easy-to-understand manner based on examples of situations where injuries occur and how to deal with them, as well as prevention methods practiced by top athletes.

In the second presentation, Mizuho Fujimoto, a first-year student at the Department of Education, who represented Japan in the Sitting Volleyball Women's National Team and won a bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, expressed her gratitude for the environment in which she can devote herself to the sport with dedication, talked about the excitement of being able to utilize the sport for learning and expressed her determination to win a ticket to the Paris Paralympics as the Japanese representative.
 
The final speaker was Professor Masaya Mitsui of the University's Department of Health and Sports Sciences, who will retire in March, gave a commemorative lecture. Looking back on his 43-year journey as a professor and gymnastics coach who has produced many world-class athletes, he spoke with his characteristic humor about how we can realize and learn how to take action to face difficulties when we encounter them.

Participants commented that they could really feel the speakers' passion for the sport and thought that they, too, would first of all have to love their own sport, and that they felt very eager to support Ms. Fujimoto after learning about her activities and hearing her positive attitude and desire to work hard, and that they wanted to do their best for each other.

March 2nd, 2024

The 4th International Women's Day MUKOJO Forum (organized by the Institute for Women's Advancement) was held on 2nd of March in the large lecture room of the Koe Memorial Hall on the Main Campus, both in person and online. This is an annual event for students, faculty, staff and the general public in honor of International Women's Day on 8 March, and was held for the first time this year in conjunction with Hyogo Prefecture.
 
First, Ms. Reiko Hase, head of the prefecture's Gender Equality Department, explained about the "Hyogo - Kobe Women's Activity Promotion Company (Mimosa Company) Certification System", which was established by Hyogo Prefecture to promote the success of women in the workplace. Kaoru Morishita, General Manager of the Personnel and Labor Affairs Department of Kobe Steel, Ltd, a certified Mimosa Company, gave a keynote speech entitled 'Initiatives for Women's Advancement at Mimosa Companies - The Kobe Steel Case Study'.

Ms. Morishita introduced the various initiatives Kobe Steel is undertaking to promote D&I (Diversity & Inclusion). She spoke of the need to activate communication across the organization as the foundation not only for women's success, but also for ensuring that a diverse range of people can demonstrate their individuality and competence to enhance corporate value.

March 1st, 2024

MUKOnnect, a volunteer group from the Department of Social Welfare, will be the subject of MUKOnnect TV #20, which will be broadcast on 4th of April.

The March 4th broadcast of Mukojo TV #20 from Mukogawa Women's University will focus on MUKOnnect, a volunteer group led by students from the Department of Social Welfare at the School of Psychology and Social Welfare. The series follows the activities of students who support a diverse range of people, including the elderly, people with disabilities, children and people with foreign roots.

Our guide is Yuka Shimizu, a third-year student at the Department of Psychology and Social Welfare (now the Department of Social Welfare). While working at a children's cafeteria to create a place for children, she says, "I gradually realized that it had become a place like home for me".

The Department of Social Welfare at Mukogawa Women's University is known for its high pass rate in the national examinations for social workers and mental health workers. As a department that caters to people, the faculty and students are close, and the heart-warming warmth with liveliness is apparent.

The program, which started in April 2022, has now been broadcast more than 20 times and the opening title call will be changed from "Mukojo TV" to "Mukojo TV of Mukogawa Women's University".

Mukojo TV #20 will be broadcast on Monday 4th of March from around 5:30pm on Asahi Broadcasting Corporation TV.

February 28th, 2024

The University's Health and Sport Science Society hosted a lecture on “The current status and challenges of LGBTQ+ in sport” to deepen understanding of LGBTQ+.

The University's Society of Health and Sports Sciences hosted the lecture “The Current Status and Challenges of LGBTQ+ in Sport” on February 20th at the Main Campus, which was attended by students, faculty and staff.

The Society of Health and Sports Sciences is a voluntary organization made up of about 30 first- to third-year students from the School of Health and Sports Sciences. Every year, the society produces a booklet for new students, entitled “Dynamism”, which introduces club activities and graduation research, and once a year it organizes and conducts a lecture on health and sports.

This year, students belonging to the Health and Sports Science Society chose the theme Sport and LGBTQ+. In response to the transgender athletes at the Tokyo Olympics becoming a subject of debate, the lecture was organized to make students from the Department of Health and Sports Sciences, many of whom aim to become teachers, and students from other faculties see LGBTQ+ as a familiar presence in their lives.

The speakers were Professor Akiko Nishio from the University's School of General Education and Associate Professor Satoko Itani from Kansai University's School of Letters (online participation). Professor Nishio used data to explain the concept of LGBTQ+, sexual orientation and the state of the field. She questioned the participants, sometimes in the form of quizzes, and told them that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is a violation of human rights, and that it is important not to deny coming out and not to talk about it to others.

Associate Professor Itani, who researches sexuality and gender in sport, explained what the present situation and challenges are for LGBTQ+ in the field of sport, which was originally created for men. Citing examples such as changing rooms, uniforms and eligibility for participation, she pointed out that there are concerns that the current sports world is infringing on the human rights of LGBTQ+ people, and that it is necessary to build a new sports culture through the creation of gender-neutral sports.

In response to a question from a student participant on how one should interact with others when in a leadership position, Professor Nishio replied that it is important to listen to what others want to talk about, and when asked for advice, to be flat and express one's own ideas, while Associate Professor Itani added that it is necessary to gain knowledge on LGBTQ+ issues, but the most important thing is to be open to the opinions of the parties involved. Associate Professor Itani commented that it is necessary to gain knowledge about LGBTQ+, but the most important thing is to respect the opinions of the people concerned.

February 26th, 2024

Completion certificates were awarded to the third generation participants of the "Rising 3 Newly Recruited Employee Training Program."

  The "Rising 3 Newly Recruited Employee Training Program" began in FY 2019 as a three-year training program for new staff members to enhance their expertise in university administration and to systematically develop staff members who can work to improve the quality of university education through collaboration between administrative members of staff and faculty members.

　Ten employees who joined the university in FY2021 and are in the third round of the program received certificates of completion and commemorative gifts from Director General Yutaka Takii after completion.

In the discussion that followed, the participants discussed what they learned and their personal growth through the training. One of the particpants commented, "No other university offers such a thorough training program over a three-year period. I am grateful for the time given by the lecturers from each department," "I am in a department that is not usually involved with students, so being able to participate in the class in the second half of my second year was a good experience for me," and "The proposal we made at the results presentation in the third year was a feasible proposal in our minds. I hope to realize it not only with my fellow peers but also with people from other departments," and "I would like to think about what can be done now and make the best use of it in the future."

 　Mitsunori Hashimoto, Director of the Educational Affairs Bureau, said, "I hope that you will use the three years of training as a springboard to proactively connect with people in other departments," and Yutaka Takii, Director of the Administrative Bureau, commented, "I hope that you will take your suggestions as an achievement and continue to work hard with that in mind."

Sayomi Kisaichi, General Manager of the Human Resources Department, commented, "We will make the most of this achievement from now on. I hope that you will continue to improve your strengths and contribute to the institute by developing your ability to engage those around you."

February 21st, 2024

Hanae Nakamura, a second-year postgraduate student in the Research Institute for Nutrition Sciences (Prof Katsuhiko Yoshizawa), received the Outstanding Presentation Award for Young Researchers at the 20th Functional Food Society Meeting held at the Yonago Convention Centre (Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture) in January 2024.

Ms. Nakamura gave a presentation entitled 'Pathological suppression effect of black soybean polyphenol Chronocare® in MNU-induced rat breast cancer model'.

Ms. Nakamura commented: 'I am incredibly pleased to receive the Best Presentation Award for Young Scientists. We were able to conduct the experiments in this study with the cooperation of so many people. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the teachers who gave me guidance and to everyone in my laboratory who helped me with my research."