新入生代表あいさつA Representative for New Students

Spring seems to have come earlier this year to celebrate our entrance into Ritsumeikan University. Although the current situation has temporarily prevented us from celebrating our new life together in a ceremony, our expectations for the new days awaiting us never fail to fill our hearts with excitement.

We are currently faced with the impact of the global outbreak of a new coronavirus, which has caused a number of changes in our lives. Especially, we have a growing shortage of face masks, as many people are panic-buying them, and some are even reselling them at a higher price. Under this situation, the Japanese government has enacted a law prohibiting resale of face masks at high prices. However, the problem is not just with masks; the new coronavirus epidemic has caused interpersonal problems, as well as international problems.

When getting into trouble, ignorance multiplies fears and impatience. It also leads to poor judgment, causing us to lose our coolness and decency. Making a wrong decision when in a panic could make the problem even worse. To help avoid such situations, I am eager to study law, and be a professional who is not only ready to use legal knowledge but also to be ready to stand by people and make fair judgments to solve problems. For the new coronavirus epidemic, my other major concern is how we can eradicate discrimination. I was studying in Ireland when the virus situation first emerged, and I heard discriminatory words directed at me from strangers. Not limited to this, we all know there are various types of discrimination in the world. For example in Japan, an understanding of sexual minorities is still lacking compared to other countries. Perhaps we will see a positive shift in tolerance toward sexual minorities in Japan, too, yet to further accept and protect them in society, I would further delve into my studies about what the law can do.

As an academic category in social science, jurisprudence should be one of the closest to our lives. However, I think jurisprudence is not viable alone. It is a broad subject that can be connected to humanities, economics, and even psychology. As Ritsumeikan University offers us opportunities beyond borders to pursue studies in many different fields according to our interests, it is my great honor to devote myself to a multidisciplinary study of law here, with students having the same will. I will make the fullest use of this opportunity to pursue my studies and treasure my coming encounters with others.

Here in Ritsumeikan University, we are sure to move with conviction toward our ambitious future. On behalf of the new students, I promise to give of my best to achieve my goals and realize my dreams, learning through a friendly rivalry with my fellow students under the guidance of wonderful teachers, at this historical and traditional school.

Kazuki Wada
A Representative for the New Students
College of Law

Before starting my speech let me express my gratitude to the teachers of Ritsumeikan University for giving me this great opportunity to deliver my resolution. I would also like to thank my family and teachers who have continuously supported me. On this happy day, it is my pleasure to represent the new students looking ahead, seeing the potential in our numerous fields of study.

My dream is simply to be the best game creator. To realize this dream, I will learn all the necessary skills at the College of Image Arts and Sciences. Talking about this ambition always takes me back to the time I got my first gaming machine, given as a Christmas present. It was such a thrilling experience. This was when I first came to know that such a fantastic thing even existed, and this I recognize was the very first step toward what would become my ambition.

Let me ask you one question here: How long do you think you need to make a dream come true?

Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, answers this question. According to him, we need approximately 10,000 hours. This simply equals five and a half years during which time we spend five hours every day practicing. Yes, it is a long time. He says we need this length of time in order to attain a top level of proficiency just as any world champion would, and once we deliberately invest time and effort for quality practice, we will greatly improve at any discipline we aim to master. Athletes, researchers, and any top performance professionals must surely follow this rule for their accomplishments. For this I truly admire them.

To me, though, 10,000 hours seem almost endless! I may give up before I make my dream come true. Quality practice every day would surely be essential, but a consistent focus with positive intent is a really tough task.

Josh Kaufman, an author, on the other hand, states that “20 hours is sufficient for rapid skill acquisition generally.” 20 hours means 5 hours for four days. In gaining a new skill, the first part of the practice, either physical or mental, takes considerable time. But after that, we will soon see rapid progress over a shortening practice time. To reach such an improved level, he says we need about 20 hours. I think 20 hours is not impossible to me.

Actually, this idea has helped me a lot. Since I discovered this, it is something like a magic word to me to bolster me up for “just one more try to see if it works” when I am floundering on something and losing my concentration or just feeling like giving up.

I found two great advantages with this method: first, it gives us effective, quick acquisition of knowledge, and second, it helps us draw an overall picture on the means to moving on to the next step. With this method we can rapidly improve, knowing specifically what we need compared to an advanced learner, which then gives us a target for further progress. Once we know the target, that will become further motivation for practice. This cycle would even allow me to approach that elusive 10,000 hours, and the ultimate goal at the end.

This 10,000 hours is likely to be the length of time spent in our college days. Hopefully we can focus our efforts in this period to make our dreams come true. Joy, depression, excitement, patience—various emotions await us. Even during hard times, I intend to move forward with purpose, keeping my goal firmly in view.

As a new student, I strongly emphasize again that we will work hard to bring to each of our days a little color and wonder.

Shoma Tsuji
A Representative for the New Students
College of Image Arts and Sciences

Spring flowers have begun to bloom in the warm and gentle breeze. On such a beautiful spring day, it is my great pleasure to be a student of Ritsumeikan University, a school of history and tradition.

The year 2020 will represent a major milestone for Japan’s sports world, in which the Olympics and Paralympics are to be held in Tokyo. (*This statement article was written in February.) I am sure that people all over Japan will be impressed by this gathering of the top athletes in the world. In this memorial year, I am embarking on my academic career for a cutting-edge study of sport and health science at Ritsumeikan University, a place that aims to foster human resources with a global perspective. I have felt something akin to destiny that I should be able to start this work at this time.

At Ritsumeikan University, I am going to study sports management and training theory. My goal is to gain knowledge and skill to contribute to Japan’s sporting endeavors.

Lately, a new future society referred to as “Society 5.0” has been advocated in Japan. The further development and widespread use of AI and ICT makes it difficult to picture how life will be only 10 years from now. No matter how advanced the science and technology, and no matter how society changes, however, we have to return to our basics; to live, we must depend on our health and our connection with others. And I believe sport is a vital means to maintain, promote physical and mental health, as well as to create connections between people.

I have been playing baseball for 11 years, since I was in elementary school. Needless to say, my biggest ambition was to play in the National High School Baseball Championship Tournament at Koshien Stadium. I belonged to Tochiku High School Baseball Team in Fukuoka Prefecture. Our team played in the summer Koshien tournament when I was in the first year in high school, and in the spring Koshien tournament when I was in the second year. When I was in the final year, we lost in the semifinals of the prefectural tournament in Fukuoka, in which 134 teams participated. Although I could not play in the Koshien championship, I will never forget the excitement I felt when I saw from the spectator stands my senior teammates playing at the Koshien Stadium. The intense training and practice I went through with my fellow teammates pushed us towards that one goal. There is no substitute for this experience.

Baseball in Japan is currently at a major turning point. Serious challenges include a decrease in numbers of players, fewer league teams and baseball clubs in junior high schools, which may be attributable to declining birth rates and other changes in society. These challenges are not limited only to baseball; other sports are also facing the same critical situation. How we can build improved sports environment is an urgent issue, regardless of whether we are enjoying sport as recreation or practicing hard to be a professional athletes.

With such awareness on my mind, I have entered the College of Sport and Health Science. Learning the management system of community-based gyms in Europe, as well as advanced athlete development theory based on sports health science there, I am going to investigate how we can introduce the system into Japan. This comes from my experience at an elementary school, in which I was a member of a European baseball team, and personally recognized the excellence of it. In the light of this experience I will focus my efforts to understand, promote and enhance Japan's sporting future.

Ritsumeikan University is open to the global community. Here, we can study in an environment where we have Japan’s state-of-the-art research facilities, and the support of professors, who themselves are engaged in advanced research. On behalf of the new students, I pledge to make every effort over the next four years to contribute to the sporting world in Japan as well as to the development of local communities.

Temma Taguchi
A Representative for the New Students
College of Sports and Health Science

As with all of the other new students, I too just feel sorry for the cancellation of the matriculation ceremony due to the spread of COVID-19. Still, this has not dulled any of the pleasure and joy of being welcomed as a member of Ritsumeikan University, and my heart is also filled with hope and expectation for the new academic life I will have.

By the way, do you think you have a unique personality?
I do not personally see myself as unique, but at the same time I would still like to enjoy being different in some way. To me, a unique personality, or originality, is brought from the pursuit of anything we like or any interest.

The elementary school I used to attend strongly supported classes for children with special needs, and many children with disabilities attended such special classes even from different school districts. In my class, I had a classmate with autism, and like other people with autism, he had difficulties communicating with other students. He took private special needs classes, and spent only lunchtime with the rest of the class. One day his teacher noticed his outstanding talent for art, so then the teacher brought him in to participate in art class with the rest of us. His perfect and precise photograph-like drawing soon earned our attention and many students in the class started spending lunchtimes drawing together with him. Interestingly, after acknowledging his artistic skill, our impressions of him completely changed, from the previous isolated, difficult person, and what is more, he was also gradually getting closer to other students. Although quite young, I clearly remember this event because I myself was moved by the change we all experienced. This experience then led me to my interest in the education system for children with developmental disabilities. Before long I moved to another school, whereupon I found that the previous school was particularly special with its private education system for children with development disabilities. This brought to the idea that the education tailored to each student is a key to unlock the originality or talent possessed by each person just like it did for my classmate.

I aim to be a driver for enhancing a private education system for children with development disabilities in the Japanese compulsory education system. To promote a change in the education system, however, would require more meaningful education methodologies supported by published case studies. I would like to grapple with the many challenges in the field of psychology, as a clinical psychologist.

You may know that many of “geniuses” in the world over the centuries have been found to have some of the specific characteristics of development disabilities. They purely pursued what interested them, trying to focus their own unique originality, and that was the key to their success. Just like them, we too, would like to nurture our unique characteristics or strengths here at Ritsumeikan University. Inspiring each other and helping improve ourselves together for the growth of our individuality—such a relationship is what I hope for.

To close, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the support of many people; family, teachers, and friends that have helped to bring me to this honorable day. With such appreciation in my mind, I will pledge to give my utmost toward my dream and goal, and enjoy a great student life here.

Nao Fujimoto
A Representative for the New Students
College of Comprehensive Psychology