As the fall semester kicked off, universities in Tokyo and the surrounding area, where daily new COVID-19 cases are still relatively high, have been slow in shifting to physical classes.
But in the Chubu region, many are increasing the number of such classes after conducting them mostly online in the beginning of the academic year, which started in April.
On Oct. 2, Nagoya University partially resumed face-to-face classes after holding all classes online except for lab work in the first semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the university entered the fall semester, first-year students attended classes on campus for the first time since they entered the university in April.
While some were worried about going to physical classes, many students said they finally felt their college life had started, and they were hoping to make friends at last.
“Please take advantage of this face-to-face class and feel free to ask questions,†said mathematics professor Shigeyuki Kondo, who was wearing a face shield, as first-year students of the university’s School of Engineering listened attentively to his lecture on linear algebra.
