As part of the education system reforms, Toyo University introduced quarter courses in AY 2017 and thereafter in addition to the conventional semester courses. In the semester courses, a class is given once a week for 15 weeks during each period of the spring and fall semesters. Meanwhile, in the quarter courses, a class is given twice a week, or once a week for two consecutive class periods, allowing completion in one quarter course (eight weeks). Considering the improvement of educational effects realized by such concentration in a short period, and that more flexible study plans can be made, it is expected that students will be able to act more independently in studying abroad and participating in internship programs.

Furthermore, with respect to the GPA (Grade Point Average) system, we adopt the GP system and the assessment standards of academic achievements that are highly recognized worldwide. Based on this system, students of Toyo University will be assessed more properly when they go abroad to study at foreign universities, or when they are admitted to graduate schools, while credits of foreign students who study at Toyo University will also be approved more appropriately after they return to their home countries.

In AY 2018, the “Education Project Using Newspapers,” a tie-up educational program with The Asahi Shimbun and The Yomiuri Shimbun, was launched in the Department of Media and Communications of the Faculty of Sociology. In this project, either The Asahi Shimbun or The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper is delivered for one year to the residences of all the first-year students of the said Department (157 students) as an educational material to be used in the class for the purpose of deepening specialized education. Furthermore, this project includes various other experiences such as the invitation of worker from both newspaper companies as guest lecturers, and workplace experiences program. On April 24, 2018, the first class using newspapers was jointly held by both newspaper companies on the theme of “How to use newspapers.” The class combining a lecture and a workshop served as the first step of training to enhance the capability of value judgment of newspaper articles when reading newspapers as educational materials.

This university educational program with the full cooperation and support of the two newspaper companies of The Asahi Shimbun and The Yomiuri Shimbun was the first such educational attempt in Japan.

On December 21, 2017, Toyo University entered into a basic agreement concerning collaboration and cooperation with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

The signing ceremony of the agreement with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, which has been adopted, similar to ourselves, as a business operator of the Top Global University Project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, took place on the Hakusan Campus of Toyo University. The relationship of academic exchange between Toyo University and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies dates back to peace study training sessions held by the Faculty of Law of Toyo University at the University of Tromso (Norway). The conclusion of the basic agreement concerning collaboration and cooperation prompts both universities to realize collaboration and cooperation in the following domains:

1. 1. Exchanges among students and teaching staff
2. 2. Credit transfer system and education and research guidance for students
3. 3. Joint implementation of project studies and symposiums
4. 4. Effective use of academic research materials, publications, information, etc.
5. 5. Mutual use of the facilities and equipment of both universities

And, based on the agreement, the credit transfer system was launched in April 2018 mainly in language courses and other major courses. Furthermore, student exchange programs through joint overseas trainings and the qualitative improvement of education and research as a result of the collaboration between universities are expected in the future.

Positioning tourism as one of Japan’s key industries with the aim of raising the level of tourism in Japan, the Japan Tourism Agency invited the public participation of business operators that implement educational programs for adults for the purpose of cultivating and further developing human resources capable of assuming key roles in the tourism industry. Toyo University was selected as one of the six universities, and held 13 lectures realized by industry-academia collaborations, which were given by teaching staff of the Faculty of International Tourism Management and other expert lecturers in the relevant fields, during the period from October 2017 to January 2018. In these lectures titled “Hospitality Industry: Women’s Participation and Establishment of Organizations,” the participants deepened their understanding of the present status of women’s participation in the Japanese tourism industry as well as the hospitality industry, and discussed in the lectures, workshops and symposiums the establishment of organizations in which women would be able to participate actively.

With more than 70 student sport clubs, Toyo University has produced a large number of top athletes demonstrating their outstanding abilities in Japan and abroad.

In AY 2017 as well, Toyo University athletes achieved brilliant results in various sports. Among the members of the athletics club, sprinter Yoshihide Kiryu (then a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Law) ran the third leg of the men’s 4 × 100 m relay final representing Japan (Shuhei Tada in the first leg, Shota Iizuka in the second leg, Yoshihide Kiryu in the third leg, and Kenji Fujimitsu in the fourth leg) in the IAAF World Championships. The team won the bronze medal, a first for a Japanese team in the event at the World Championships, with a time of 38.04 seconds. Kiryu also set a new Japanese national record in the men’s 100 m—9.98 seconds—in the final of the Japan Inter-university Athletics Championships, becoming the first Japanese athlete to break the 10-second barrier.

In the same year, swimmer Yui Ohashi (then a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Regional Development Studies), who belonged to the swimming club, won the silver medal in the women’s 200 m individual medley in the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, with a time of 2:07:91, a new Japanese national record in the event.

The sumo club achieved victory in the team competition—in two consecutive years and for the fifth time—in the 95th Commemorative National Inter-university Sumo Championships, by defeating Nihon University. Moreover, sumo wrestler Itsuki Terasawa (then a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Law) joined the professional Takasago Stable, and made his debut as a professional sumo wrestler in the March Grand Sumo Tournament in 2018.

The hardball baseball club achieved victory in the fall Division 1 tournament in the Tohto University Baseball League, marking consecutive victories for the club in the spring and fall tournaments and its 18th victory in the league.

In addition, alpine skier Asa Ando (then a third-year student in the Faulty of Law) belonging to the ski club represented Japan in the women’s slalom in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Furthermore, six Toyo University athletes belonging to the swimming, athletics and hardball baseball clubs competed in the 29th Summer Universiade, sometimes called the “Olympics for university students,” and won five gold and four bronze medals.

Toyo University athletes’ sustained efforts in various sports have left deep impressions on many people, and have had positive impacts on other students who are also making sustained efforts to boost their strengths and pursue their studies.

In AY 2014, Toyo University introduced a recommendation-based entrance exam for assisting “self-supporting” students. This entrance exam system is aimed at applicants whose first choice is the evening course, on the condition that they will work in the administrative offices of Hakusan Campus during the daytime and attend the course in the evening. Embodying the spirit of Toyo University founder, Dr. Enryo Inoue, who opened the door of learning to his contemporaries, this system aims to provide aspiring prospective students with the opportunity to study without anxiety, and offers them not only workplaces but also various forms of support, including scholarships covering half of the tuition fees and dormitories with meals. Since the first academic year under this system, in which 17 applicants took the exam (seven of whom were admitted to the university), about 30 applicants have sat the exam every year, and the system has received growing public recognition year by year. The students admitted under this system have worked in a wide range of workplaces in the university, such as the Admission Office, the Education Affairs Office, and the Career Development and Placement Office. In March 2018, the first students admitted under this system graduated from the university, with three of them graduating as the top students in their departments. We will continue to support students who aspire to study.

On March 29, 2018, a ceremony celebrating the completion of a new gymnasium took place on the Toyo University Kawagoe Campus. The new gymnasium features undressed concrete walls that look harmonious with existing buildings on the campus, and comprises an arena building, a complex building and an in-door running track. The 80 m in-door straight track is paved with the same type of composite rubber as was used in the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, and has functions suitable for official games. This gymnasium is a rare example of a university facility with an in-door track for training and classes. The gymnasium is also designed in an eco-friendly manner to prevent room temperature in summer from rising by drawing cool air from the thick forest in the north into the arena. On the day of the completion ceremony, sprinter Yoshihide Kiryu (who graduated in March 2018 and currently belongs to Nippon Life Insurance Company) and students belonging to the athletics club ran on the in-door track to celebrate its opening.