August 9th

The third open campus for FY2024 was held on August 9th at the Main Campus, Hama-Koshien Campus (School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and School of Environment and Sustainability (opening in April 2025), and Kami-Koshien Campus (School of Architecture), attracting 1926 people (estimated number on a preliminary basis).

 Due to it being the school summer vacation, many high school students, parents, and other visitors came to the event. At the opening ceremony held in the Koe Memorial Auditorium, the baton and cheerleading clubs welcomed the visitors with a beautiful and well-coordinated performances. Following the ceremony, students gave a live talk show and explained the entrance examination system, etc.

After the general briefing, a variety of programs were held, including “Department Programs,” in which each department introduced the contents of their studies, “Campus Tours” led by student staff, and a “Consultation Section,” where students had the opportunity to have one-on-one with their advisors about entrance examinations, scholarships, studying abroad, teaching and employment, etc. They also visited classrooms and laboratories where lectures and research are actually being conducted. The students also toured classrooms and laboratories where lectures and research are actually being conducted.

The Department of Environment and Sustainability, which will open in April 2025, held department information sessions and consultation booths at the Main Campus and Hama-Koshien Campus. At the Hama-Koshien campus, visitors were given a tour of classrooms and laboratories, movies were shown in the seminar building, and a planetarium was also available for viewing.

 The Open Campus will be held again tomorrow, on the 10th, and the last Open Campus of the year will be held on September 22nd.

August 7th, 2024

Students from the Skin Physiology Laboratory of the School of Pharmacy and  Pharmaceutical Sciences held an event to learn about ultraviolet rays, "Let's Make Fun Color-Changing Slime!" was held at LaLaport Koshien on August 6th, with 64 children participating.

 This event is held as MUKOJO Mirai ☆ Labo for kindergarten and elementary school students. The event is a chance to learn about ultraviolet rays using slime in a fun way. Associate Professor Yoko Niki of the Dermatophysiology Laboratory, who researches the effects of ultraviolet rays on skin and hair, hosts the event during summer vacation every year to get children interested in science through hands on activities while explaining the advantages and disadvantages of ultraviolet rays.

The students use a storyboard to show that ultraviolet rays contained in sunlight have disadvantages such as damaging the skin and damaging the eyes if exposed to too much, but also have advantages such as strengthening bones. Then, together with the children, they made slime by mixing water glue and borax, and mixed paint, which comes out in color when exposed to UV light. The children were delighted to see the slime turn purple under the UV light.

Risa Matsuda, a fourth-year student in the Department of Health, Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Skin Physiology Laboratory, who participated in this event, said, "I am glad that so many came. I’m happy that this event could trigger their interest in the subject."

Associate Professor Niki said, "I want children to cherish a little curiosity that makes them wonder and further strengthen the 'why' within themselves."

August 3rd, 2024

The 13th Josai University English Speech Contest (sponsored by the Josai University Center for Liberal Arts and supported by Saitama Prefecture, The Mainichi Newspapers, The Saitama Newspapers, TV Saitama, and others) was held online on August 1st, and Kotomi Yasukawa (photo), a junior in the English Global Studies Department of the School of Letters, won the Grand Prize and Josai University She won the Grand Prize and the Josai University President's Award.

Ms. Yasukawa presented a six-minute speech in English entitled "My Words for Peace."

At the awards ceremony, the chairman of the judging committee for the competition commented on Ms. Yasukawa's winning speech, saying, "The theme of her speech made me reflect on the importance of peace all over again. The delivery (presentation technique) was also excellent".  This is the second time that a MWU student has won an award at this competition, following last year's success.

Ms. Yasukawa, who won the Grand Prize, commented, "I think the result was due to the fact that I was able to immerse myself in daily practice up until the day of the competition. I am grateful for the guidance of my advisor and the support of my fellow students in the seminar."

Professor Toshihiro Shimizu (English Speech and Presentation Laboratory) of the Department of English and Global Studies' Global Communication major, who was in charge said, "In order to deal with the difficult theme of war, we structured her speech with a chronological narrative and a metaphor as the two pillars of her speech. Above all, Ms. Yasukawa's sense of mission and passion to stop the war now must have touched the hearts of the audience."

With this victory, the Department of English and Global Studies has now won the top prize in the national English competition for nine consecutive years, bringing its total to six championship titles

July 31st, 2024

The Mukogawa Women's University Basketball Club (Head Coach Sakai, Assistant Coach Ishiguro, 2 student staff and 13 student players from the Department of Health and Sports Science) won the FO GUANG CUP, a 7-day international university basketball tournament held in Taiwan from July 22nd to July 28 2024.

 The FO GUANG CUP is an invitational tournament that started in 2010, with eight men's and eight women's teams each from the USA, Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan.

Mukogawa Women's University won all three games in the Preliminary League B against Oklahoma Baptist University (NCAA Division II affiliate) from the USA, Brian Kerle Basketball Academy from Australia and National Taiwan Normal The team won all three games against Oklahoma Baptist University (NCAA Division II affiliate) from the USA, Brian Kerle Basketball Academy from Australia and National Taiwan Normal University to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, they defeated National University of the Philippines (2nd in Preliminary League A) and in the finals, they won the championship with a victory over Fo Guang University (1st in Preliminary League A).

In the individual awards, Nwaedozi Favour Onyinye, a second-year student of Health and Sports Science, won the Best Player Award (MVP), while Nagisa Maku, a fourth-year student of Health and Sports Science and captain of the team, won the Outstanding Player Award.

Although this year's tournament was hit by Typhoon No. 3 and the games were cancelled on the fourth day of the tournament, the week-long exchange with basketball players from all over the world was a very valuable experience for the students. The students would like to make use of this experience to further develop towards their goals for this season: winning the Kansai Women's Basketball League, which starts in September, and reaching the top four in the All-Japan University Basketball Championships in December.

July 22nd, 2024

A symposium commemorating the opening of the School of Environment and Sustainability, entitled ‘Creating a tomorrow where the earth is happy - the promise of “Environment and Sustainability”’, was held at Mukogawa Women's University's Koe Memorial Auditorium on 21st of July with guest lecturer Taichi Kokubun from ‘TOKIO’. The event was attended by about 2,000 people.

The School of Environment and Sustainability is the 13th School of Mukogawa Women's University, which will open in April 2025. The symposium was held prior to the opening of the new school in order to mark the significance of its establishment and the features of its learning widely known.

In the first part of the symposium, Mr Kokubun gave a ‘What I learnt through on-site fieldwork’ lecture.

The second half was entitled ‘Environment and Sustainability- What can people do for the Earth?' in a panel discussion. Facilitated by freelance broadcaster Saki Yagi, the panel discussed issues and expectations for environmental symbiosis under themes such as ‘Nature and the global environment today’ and ‘promising research fields’.

In response to Kokubun's lecture, Professor Kimachi commented: “I was very impressed by Kokubun's beaming gaze as he talked about his fieldwork and research. He introduced the features of the School of Environment and Sustainability, which aims to solve problems through projects based on fieldwork, as well as its diverse research fields. We hope to welcome students that are just as motivated and eager in creating a sustainable future together.” Ms. Aono gave a presentation on the ‘environmental stress tolerance mechanisms in plants’, which she is currently researching. She explained how she is exploring ways to increase the number of ozone-tolerant plants, based on the fact that certain proteins are increased in plants that are tolerant to ozone and other stresses, and conveyed the interest and appeal of her research.

July 20th, 2024

To encourage vaccination against cervical cancer (HPV vaccine), 21 students from the Welfare Committee, consisting of the deputy secretary-general of each department, conducted an awareness-raising campaign on the central campus from the 16th to 19th of July.

Cervical cancer is said to affect 10,000 people every year, mainly women in their 20s to 40s, and causes about 3,000 deaths a year. Three doses of the vaccine are required, but the first dose must be started by September 2024 in order to receive the free cervical cancer vaccination*, which is subsidized by the government. In response to calls from the Health Support Centre and the Institute for Women's Advancement, students embarked on this activity. *For women born between 2nd of April 1997 and 1st of April 2008.

From 16th to the 19th of April, the students made posters to raise awareness, displayed them in 18 locations on the main campus, and displayed the images in push notifications on an app; during the above period, they made announcements on campus and distributed 400 of the specially made rice crackers in front of the main gate and Azalea after lunch and fourth period to encourage people to get vaccinated.

The words ‘free vaccination until September 2024’ and ‘cervical cancer vaccine’ and a heart were burnt into the custom-made crackers, and by scanning the QR code attached to the outer bag, detailed information can be viewed on YouTube.

Rino Muromiya (3rd year, Psychology and Social Welfare), Chairperson of the Welfare Committee, says: ‘We carried out this event to raise awareness of the significance of vaccination and to change students’ mindsets. Some of the students who received the snacks went to the Health Support Centre for more information, so we feel that our activities were effective, even if only in a small way’.

The students plan to continue their activities by putting up posters until September.