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August 8, 2022


Handling of research activities from August 8 onward following the upgrading of the BCP Level from 1 to 2

In accordance with the Ritsumeikan University Action Guidelines in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak (Business Continuity Plan, hereinafter BCP)(Revised on December 15, 2021)※1,the BCP for research activities has been upgraded to Level 2.※2 Please refer to the following for specific handlings. We kindly request your understanding and cooperation to ensure compatibility between research activities and prevention of the spread of COVID-19 infections.

This policy will be enforced August 8 (Mon.) and effective until the end of BCP Level 2. Having said that, it may be subject to change depending on the infection situation.

Ⅰ.Research Activities on Campus

1. Research activities on campus
(1) Faculty and staff are permitted to conduct experiments and research activities at faculty offices and laboratories with basic infection prevention measures.
(2) Graduate and undergraduate students (hereinafter graduate students) are permitted to conduct experiments and research activities with infection prevention. It is also possible for graduate students to be involved in research as Research Assistant (RA) or a part-timer for research assistance.
(3) Faculty and staff must respect the will of graduate students who do not wish to enter the campuses, and be careful not to force them to do so.
(4) Non-University personnel involved in research shall be handled as equivalent to the above.
(5) For other cases where it is necessary to use facilities for individual reasons, please contact Research Offices of the Division of Research (Research Office at Kinugasa Campus, Research Office at Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, Research Office at Osaka Ibaraki Campus, and RARA Office; hereinafter Research Office). Taking situations into account, we will coordinate with relevant offices.

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※1 https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/news/covid19/bcp/
※2 BCP “Research Activities (faculty members, researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students)” Level 2 (Minimal restrictions): Normal research activities can be conducted, having enacted measures to prevent the spread of infection. “Ritsumeikan University Action Guidelines in Response to COVID-19 (BCP)”
URL: https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/file.jsp?id=459354&if=.pdf.
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2. Facility use for research activities
(1) Use of faculty offices
- It is possible to use faculty offices as usual.When faculty members give advice on research and respond to questions from graduate students, we kindly request to take infection prevention measures.
(2) Facility use under the jurisdiction of Division of Research (including those under Research Organizations)
- For facilities of research institution/center or project rooms under the jurisdiction of the Division of Research (including those under Research Organizations), a person in charge of facility use shall approve their use with basic infection prevention measures.
- To use facilities such as workshop rooms etc. that need application for use, please follow the necessary procedures. Please enact infection prevention measures to use the facilities.
(3) Facility use under the jurisdiction of College, Graduate School, or Division of Academic Affairs
- The use of facilities under the jurisdiction of College, Graduate School, or the Division of Academic Affairs shall be based on the handling regulated by the Division of Academic Affairs.

3. Points to note to ensure compatibility between infection prevention and research activities to conduct research at laboratories※3
(1) Thoroughly enact general infection prevention measures (e.g., maintain sufficient distance from each other, wear a mask, wash hands thoroughly, ventilate facilities, disinfect doorknobs, etc.).
(2) Considering the situations of each facility, make plans for facility use to avoid “Three Cs” of closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings, such as a plan for taking turns.
(3) Disinfect research facilities and equipment, especially areas that are touched by multiple hands, such as terminal operation screens and switches, as needed. Reduce areas to be touched by hands, for example, keeping doors open at all times if the nature of an experiment allows.
(4) When multiple persons need to operate simultaneously, take extra measures such as wearing a face shield, or shielding between each other with a transparent plastic curtain.
(5) From the perspective of preventing the spread of infection, Ritsumeikan University requests all to self-manage their health condition by taking their temperature before leaving home (before school and before work), to record their activities, and recommends to use the Contact-Confirming Application (COCOA). The University has also prescribed the handlings of the cases where you have or may have been infected with COVID-19, or you have had or may have had close contact with someone infected. For details, please refer to Manuals to Prevent the Spread of Novel Coronavirus Infections (Version 4)※4 or Ritsumeikan University Guidelines to Prevent the Novel Coronavirus Infections (Version 4)※5.

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※3 For details, please refer to MEXT’s Revised Guidelines for Ensuring Compatibility between Preventing Infection Expansion and Conducting Research Activities” https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20201007_mxt_kouhou01_mext_00028_01.pdf[in Japanese only]
※4 Manuals to Prevent the Spread of Novel Coronavirus Infections (Version 4)
URL: https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/file.jsp?id=462241&if=.pdf [in Japanese]
※5 Ritsumeikan University Guidelines to Prevent the Novel Coronavirus Infections (Version4)
URL:https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/file.jsp?id=461129&if=.pdf [in Japanese]
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Ⅱ.Operation at Administrative Offices

Every office under the Division of Research carries out administrative duties with the counter open in staggered working hours (we would kindly ask for your cooperation to wear a mask when coming over). At the same time, as an effort to reduce face-to-face handlings during the period, we kindly request you to contact us by email to the person in charge at each office as much as possible.

(https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/member/inquiry/in00.html/)[in Japanese only].

1. Ordering, acceptance inspection, expense settlement
(1) Ordering
- If the amount is less than 100,000 yen, it is possible for faculty or researcher for themselves to order it and receive it not at the university but at home during the period. Payment method will be reimbursement. Please pay in advance and obtain a receipt and a document of the transaction details.
(2) Acceptance inspection
- Research Offices and the subcontract company are conducting acceptance inspection.
- To reduce face-to-face contact, we accept inspection by images as well during the period. Please take photos of the name, number, and the model number of the goods and send them to the person in charge at each Research Office by email attachments.
(3) Expense settlement
- To claim reimbursement, please submit the receipt attached with a document of the transaction details (in case you need “Requisition for Reimbursement Payment (Taketaebarai Seikyu-sho)”, please submit it as well). We can handle it at the counter at each Research Office, but it is also possible to submit them by campus mail service, mail, or email attachments to the person in charge, specifying the budget to execute.
※When submitting by email attachments, PDF receipts, receipts displayed on the web, or “credit card statement (acceptable with photocopy)” do not need to be signed or stamped. “Requisition for Reimbursement Payment” does not need to be stamped, either.
※Receipts issued by paper must be signed or stamped and the original must be sent by mail or campus mail service, not by email.
- Please submit bills to pay for an agent, attaching vouchers such as photos for acceptance inspection.
(4) Work of part-time staff such as student part-timers
- Monthly attendance sheets can be submitted as email attachment (without being signed or sealed by employee or manager) from the supervising faculty member to a person in charge at the Research Office when they finish their work for the month. The manager, after having verified the contents of the submitted employee attendance sheets, shall submit them to the Research Office.
- Working from home of part-time staff, including student part-timers, is permitted when it satisfies the requirements and scope prescribed in the Ritsumeikan University Regulations on Faculty and Staff Members’ Working from Home. Please give consideration for appropriate attendance and labor management, by, for example, communicating via phone, email, etc. at the start/end of work.


2.Research-ethics screening
Please ascertain schedules of each screening committee in advance before submitting applications for research-ethics screenings. If you would like to have individual consultations, please contact the person in charge at the relevant office by email.
ascertain

3.Research consultation regarding application to open recruitments and research exchanges, etc.  
If you would like to have research consultation regarding application to open recruitments such as public research funds and grants from foundations, or regarding research exchanges with external institutions, please email the person in charge at the Research Office.

Ⅲ.Official trips and events

 Official trips, events on campus, entrance to campuses by non-University personnel shall be handled in accordance with the Ritsumeikan University Action Guidelines in Response to COVID-19 (BCP)※6.

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※6 “Ritsumeikan University Action Guidelines in Response to COVID-19 (BCP)
URL: https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/file.jsp?id=459354&if=.pdf
- Domestic official trips: As a rule, no restrictions will be placed on domestic official trips and on-campus meetings, but they shall be held online as necessary. Regardless of the descriptions in the BCP chart, official trips to regions subject to a state of emergency and regions where it is requested to voluntarily refrain from traveling due to the spread of infections shall be refrained in principle.
- Overseas official trips: For overseas official trips, the head of the relevant department shall decide whether or not to travel to regions where Level 2 has been issued. As a rule, overseas official trips are prohibited to regions where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set the infectious disease risk at Level 3 or higher. As an operation outside of the principle, however, the officer in charge may decide whether or not to travel, after comprehensively taking into consideration the necessity of the trip, the infection situation in the destination region, and the outlook for safety measures and safety assurance at the time of travel and during local activities.
- Events (on-campus): Events can be held, in accordance with guidelines, etc. for holding events issued by the government/local municipalities, having enacted basic measures to prevent infection.
- Entrance to campuses by non-University personnel and their activities within the University: Non-University personnel will be handled as equivalent to faculty and staff members, or students and others depending on the purposes, etc. of entering the campus and the nature of their activities.
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【Inquiries regarding research activities】
 During the period, the staff in charge may not be available due to staggered work hours or shift work, so please make inquiries by email in principle.

*A person in charge will reply the received emails.
Contacts Emails
Kinugasa Research Office liaisonk@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
BKC Research Office liaisonb@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
OIC Research Office oicro@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
Office of Effective Research
Environment Management
Safety Management anzenka@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
Research Ethics b-rinri@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
Office of Research Planning and Development res-plan@st.ritsumei.ac.jp
RARA Office rara@st.ritsumei.ac.jp