On September 24, Ritsumeikan University held the 2016 Fall Matriculation Ceremony at Suzaku Campus in Kyoto with 287 students (100 undergraduate students and 187 graduate students) from 35 countries and areas.

Following the school song, President Yoshida addressed the newly enrolled students: "Ritsumeikan University has been using the slogan ‘Beyond Borders,’ which suggests the desire to overcome the various borders that exist between nations, races, religions, gender, values and languages. Many of you decided to leave your home countries to study here in Japan at Ritsumeikan. I believe that this decision itself has great meaning, because underneath that resolve already lies a daring spirit. I hope that you cherish and nurture that enthusiasm."

Among 287 new students, Najma Mohamed Abdi Hassan from Somalia (College of International Relations) and Rina Nur Aprillia from Indonesia (Graduate School of Policy Science) addressed the services.

In the address, Rina said that “When I told my friends, boss and supervisor that I wanted to study in Japan, but the response I received the most was, ‘Why Japan?’ The reason I chose Japan was because it has many similarities with my home country, Indonesia. Both Japan and Indonesia have many disaster-prone areas. I’m reminded in particular of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake in Tohoku. These past five years, Japan has made a great recovery from that disaster. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Japan and study.”
She added, “With great faculty members, staff and classmates from around the world, I believe Ritsumeikan University is the right place for me to learn and find my path. Let's do our best to reach our goals!”

The students started their campus life from September 26.