The Kyoto University Student ID Card verifies the holder's status as a Kyoto University student. KU students should carry their ID Cards with them whenever they are on campus and be ready to present them when requested by faculty or staff. Student ID Cards are not to be lent or given to others.
KU Student ID Cards provide access to University facilities, including libraries and the Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies (ACCMS). They can also be used to obtain certificates from on-campus certificate-issuing machines. Additionally, they function as KU CO-OP membership cards, which can be loaded with cash to make purchases from CO-OP stores.
Off campus, students may be required to present their ID Cards when purchasing or using student tickets and commuter passes. Further details on transportation privileges available to KU students are available at: "Student Discount for Public Transportation (Gakuwari)".
Non-regular (non degree-seeking) students
Non-regular students, including research students and exchange students, are required to apply for a separate library card, which serves as the pass for the library, the Institute for Information Management and Communication (IIMC), and ACCMS.
In most cases, non-regular students are not eligible for student discounts for transportation. However, Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau offers a student discount pass to exchange students who request the discount in advance through their universities. This student discount applies only to Kyoto Municipal Bus and Subway. For details, please refer to to the section entitled "Student Discount for Public Transportation (Gakuwari)".
Defective cards
Newly issued Student ID Cards that do not work properly, such as due to a defective IC chip, may be replaced free of charge if reported to the academic affairs section of the faculty or graduate school concerned, and if found not to be bent, scratched, or otherwise physically damaged.
Incorrect information
Student ID Cards that have been found to contain incorrect information must be reported to the administration office of the owners' Faculty or Graduate School. They will be replaced free of charge if the error has been determined to have been due to a failure on the part of the University.
Loss, theft, or damage
- A lost, stolen, or damaged Student ID Card must be reported promptly to the administration office of the owner's Faculty or Graduate School so that a replacement may be issued. In the event of a loss or theft, students must immediately report the matter to police so as to prevent unauthorized use by a third party, and obtain from police a report acceptance number ( todokede juri bango ), which is required when applying for a replacement.
- In order to obtain a replacement ID Card, students are required to pay a 1,000-yen fee at a CO-OP store, obtain a certificate of payment, affix the certificate to a replacement application form, and submit the form to the administration office of their Faculty or Graduate School.
- CO-OP members who have lost their ID Cards must immediately contact a CO-OP office to have the payment function of their cards disabled.
- Replacement ID Cards are activated on the day after they were issued for using certificate-issuing machines, and within a few days for using library services. Students who receive an error trying to enter a KU library with their newly issued replacement ID Cards are advised to explain their circumstances to the facility's staff.
Read errors
- If a Student ID Card gives a read error when scanned at a certificate-issuing machine or a library, it may have a broken IC chip. Students experiencing this problem are advised to contact their Faculty or Graduate School administration office and apply for a replacement card.
- If a Student ID Card gives a read error when swiped, there may be a problem with its magnetic stripe. Students experiencing this problem are advised to bring their cards to the Educational Planning Division of the Education Promotion and Student Support Department (Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences Bldg, 2nd floor) to have the magnetic stripe data rewritten free of charge. If the stripe is found to be physically damaged, the entire card will be replaced for a minimal fee.
Leaving Kyoto University
- CO-OP member students who are leaving Kyoto University (graduating, withdrawing, or otherwise) must visit a CO-OP service counter to cancel their membership and have their ID Cards' payment function disabled. Contact Kyoto University CO-OP for details. ID Cards must then be surrendered to the administrative office of the students' Faculty or Graduate School.
- Students who are graduating from or completing a KU degree program in March and beginning another in the following April may retain their ID Cards. Such students may renew their CO-OP membership and retain their electronic money by bringing their old and new ID Cards to a CO-OP service counter and having the balance transferred from the former to the latter. Contact KU CO-OP for details.
Name changes
- Students whose name has changed are required to visit the administration office of their Faculty or Graduate School, and follow the instructions given.
Expiring ID Cards
- Students who will remain enrolled at Kyoto University beyond the date indicated on their ID Cards are required to visit the administration office of their Faculty or Graduate School, and follow the instructions given.
English ID Cards
English Student ID Cards, which may be used as proof of identity outside Japan, are available upon request.
Applicants are required to bring a photograph to be printed on their Card (full-face view, no hat or head covering, directly facing the camera, a plain white or off-white background, 3.0 cm by 2.4 cm, taken within the past three months, and the applicant's full name printed on the back) to the administration office of their Faculty or Graduate School.