Request for cooperation to start the new semester of AY 2021

April 16, 2021 update:

At the beginning of the new school year, we asked you to take the following measures on 1 April. However, on 12 April the “Priority Measures to Prevent the Spread” began to be applied to the Special Wards and some parts of the Tama Region of Tokyo. Also, there have been reports of cases of infection that may be the results of students of the University of Tokyo participating in activities together. Furthermore, the number of people being infected with the mutated variants of the virus, which is said to be highly infectious, continues to be on the increase, particularly among the young.

Under these circumstances, we would like to request that you continue to take thorough measures to prevent becoming infected, as well as to be extremely cautious when drinking, dining and talking in groups.

To all current and new students of the University of Tokyo,

The new semester begins today. I believe you will be both excited and anxious at the same time, but I, along with all the faculty and staff, am looking forward to seeing all of you, who have high potential, play an even more active role in the upcoming semester.

More than a year has passed since the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan began in earnest. Even though the state of emergency for Tokyo and the three surrounding prefectures declared by the government on January 8 was lifted on March 21, the spread of the infection is still unpredictable.

Please see the message that former President Gonokami and I jointly delivered on March 10 with regards to the guidelines for measures taken by the University of Tokyo against the coronavirus pandemic. Since it will only be after the second week of April that we will know whether or not the number of infected people will increase following the lifting of the state of the emergency, we would like to call on everyone to be even more cautious now. On April 12, the face-to-face undergraduate and postgraduate Matriculation Ceremonies are planned to be held at the Nippon Budokan. It is crucial to start the activities at the University of Tokyo in the new academic year while minimizing the spread of infection.

Please have the awareness of being a student of the University of Tokyo even during this coronavirus pandemic, and take thorough measures to protect yourself and others from the spread of infection by following the “Request thorough implementation of measures to prevent infection” given below.

• For all UTokyo Students, Faculty and Staff: Request thorough implementation of measures to prevent infection
  https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/content/400154334.pdf
  Especially, please refrain from social gatherings such as farewell parties, welcome parties, and cherry blossom viewings, or “hanami”, with drink and food all of which are known to have a high risk of spreading infection.
• Please take the COVID-19 e-learning course to obtain accurate knowledge for responsible behavior. Efforts should be made to gather accurate information for detailed knowledge by visiting the health center website (http://www.hc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/covid-19-information/) as needed, for example.
• Do not hesitate to consult with others if you feel anxious or depressed while creatively and resourcefully carrying out activities that are available (Center for Research on Counseling and Support Services: https://dcs.adm.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/).

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

April 1, 2021
Teruo Fujii, President of the University of Tokyo
Yuko Fujigaki, Executive Vice President for Student Support

Related Link

• University Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019