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.

July 20th, 2024

Two graduates of the University will compete in the Paris Olympics, which start on 26th of July. Ms. Sumire Hata (Health and Sports Sciences 2019 graduate) in the women's long jump and Ms. Matsuri Arai (Health and Sports Sciences 2023 graduate) in the women's high dive. Ms. Hata won the Japan Athletics Championships in June for the fourth year in a row and will compete in her first Olympics.

Ms. Arai has won the Japan Championships swimming event for six consecutive years since 2017. This will be followed by an appearance at the Tokyo Olympics. In addition, Aiko Sugihara, who competed in two consecutive Olympics in Rio and Tokyo, is an alternate in the women's gymnastics.

Competition in high jump and gymnastics starts on 27th of July, and in athletics on 1st of August. There is an eight-hour difference in local time from Japan, so the finals in each event will take place between midnight and dawn.