The Basic Policy to Ensure the Safety of Yoshida-Ryo Resident Students

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UPDATE (20 April 2018): "Related links" added at the bottom

The old Yoshida-Ryo building was built over 100 years ago. It has extremely poor earthquake resistance and may be seriously damaged or collapse if a large earthquake occurs. Despite this danger, however, students continue to live in the old Yoshida-Ryo building.

The University recognized the dangerous condition of the old Yoshida-Ryo building in the late 1970s, and actually made a decision in 1982 to have the resident students leave the building by the end of March 1986. However, the building was not vacated as planned. The University continued discussions with the Yoshida-Ryo resident students until 1989 with the aim of taking appropriate measures to ensure their safety; however, the safety issues of the old Yoshida-Ryo building have never been addressed and the building continues to age.

In 2009, the University issued its Basic Policy for the Improvement of the South Area of the Yoshida South Campus (Plan), which includes plans to demolish an old dining hall in order to construct a new building, and then rebuild the old Yoshida-Ryo building. Although the new building was built in 2015, the problem of the aging Yoshida-Ryo building remains.

In July 2015, the University requested the Yoshida-Ryo Resident Student Association to stop accepting new applications for the dormitory in order to prevent an increase in the number of students living in the dangerous building. Since then, the University has made the same request five times. However, the association has not complied with the requests, and has continued to accept new applications. As the result, the number of resident students, which was approximately 180 residents in July 2015, continued to increase and rose to 272 residents as of November 2017. This number is beyond the capacity of the Yoshida-Ryo, which can accommodate 241 people in total (including the new building).

In view of these circumstances and the threat that a large earthquake would pose to the old Yoshida-Ryo building, the University cannot allow students to continue residing there. The University has a social responsibility to provide its students with a safe and effective learning environment, and so it is vital that the necessary measures are taken to ensure the safety of the resident students as soon as possible.

To address this issue, the University will implement the following basic policy:

  1. New applications for accommodation in the Yoshida-Ryo will not be accepted from January 2018.
  2. All Yoshida-Ryo resident students must leave the dormitory by the end of September 2018.
  3. Alternative accommodation will be provided upon request to Yoshida-Ryo resident students who leave the dormitory and who are full-time students at the University as of April 2018. Such students are eligible for alternative accommodation with the same rent as their current accommodation. However, residents living in the alternative accommodation must pay the charges for utilities that they use. In principle, the students (both undergraduate and graduate) are eligible to reside in the alternative accommodation for the duration of their regular term of study.
  4. The University will continue addressing the issue of the old Yoshida-Ryo building, and is considering increasing in the number of dormitory rooms that it provides for use by its students.

19 December 2017
Kyoto University

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