HU welcomes new students at 2023 Entrance Ceremony

Hiroshima University held its 2023 Entrance Ceremony on Monday, April 3, welcoming a total of 3,919 new students.

For the first time in four years, the ceremony was held at the Higashi-Hiroshima Sports Park and exclusively attended by new undergraduate, advanced course, and graduate students. The event was live-streamed on YouTube.

In his speech, HU President Ochi set his expectations for the new students.

“We need to continually question and act on what mission we should fulfill as a university in the A-bombed city of Hiroshima. I think that we must never stop thinking about it, even if it does not come to fruition in a tangible form,” he said.

“Newly enrolled HU students are required to take ‘peace-related subjects’ where you are expected to learn peace in relation to war, conflicts, nuclear disarmament issues, hunger, and the global natural environment. I would like to encourage you to think about peace in these contexts.”

President Ochi also expressed his excitement about different projects at Hiroshima University including the relocation of the School of Law and the Law and Politics Program of the Graduate Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences from Higashi-Hiroshima to the Higashi-Senda Campus.

“As you can see, Hiroshima University is moving forward with dynamism. Coupled with a wonderful history spun out by our predecessors and a blessed environment, [...] I hope that you will study with pride, confidence, and a sense of responsibility as a student of HU.”

After the undergraduate entrance ceremony, three video messages to the new students were presented by Japan national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu, comedian Takushi Tanaka (a graduate of the School of Engineering), and non-fiction writer Keiko Horikawa (a graduate of the School of Integrated Arts and Sciences).

Each ceremony was followed by a mini-concert by Michie Nakamaru, a world-renowned opera singer and visiting professor at Hiroshima University.

This year, a total of 3,919 students (2,540 undergraduate and advanced course students and 1,379 graduate students) are embarking on their university life at Hiroshima University.