The Graduate Commencement Ceremony for the 2020 academic year was held at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall on Friday, March 26. This year, degrees were conferred on a total of 1,560 students from across the 14 graduate schools (223 doctoral degrees, 1,188 master's degrees, and 149 professional degrees).
From the perspective of giving maximum consideration to the health and safety of the graduating students and degree recipients as well as to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease), participation at the ceremony was limited to the graduating students, degree recipients, and certain related parties, and a video of the event was streamed online for all others interested in following the proceedings.
The ceremony began with Provost Tojiro Aoyama's Graduating Class Report, followed by President Akira Haseyama conferring degrees on the representatives of each graduate school. In his address that followed, President Haseyama said that in order to confront all issues involving people and nature, there is a need for "practical learning" (jitsugaku), which, through the power of learning, reveals the truth and essence of things and applies this to the real world. He encouraged the graduating students by telling them that their mission from now is to make good use of the academic knowledge they have acquired and validated in their degrees while emphasizing the importance of learning and acting on one's own initiative.
A congratulatory speech was then delivered on behalf of the faculty and staff members by Professor Hajime Ishikawa of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, and the ceremony came to an end with the playing of a CD recording of the Alma Mater, "The Juku-ka."
Graduating students and degree recipients of all ages attended the ceremony, praising each other for their efforts up to now and celebrating their achievements with each other.