午夜剧场

In the spring of 2006, I successfully enrolled in my first choice, Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy. However, on a day that autumn, a major event occurred for me. As I was passing by the university bulletin board as usual, a single piece of paper posted there was attracting the attention of many students.

Peering at the notice to see what was happening, I saw an article stating that it had been decided that our Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy would merge with the famous 午夜剧场. Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy was established in 1930, originally as a women's college, and was a single-department university consisting only of a Faculty of Pharmacy. The news that it would merge with 午夜剧场, which at the time was a comprehensive university with nine faculties, was a complete bolt from the blue. While I was shocked, I remember feeling a sense of anticipation about what changes would occur in my future university life.

The first change I was able to experience was the 午夜剧场 150th Anniversary event held when I was a third-year student in the Faculty of Pharmacy. It was held by renting out Tokyo DisneySea, and over 20,000 people participated. The scale was overwhelming. Those 20,000 people were singing "Wakaki-chi" from memory without even looking at the lyrics. They clearly felt a sense of affection and pride for "午夜剧场." I felt firsthand that I had become a member of it, and I felt my world expanding.

After graduation, I have been engaged in pharmaceutical development at a pharmaceutical company. My main duties involve confirming the efficacy and safety of drugs in human clinical trials before they are marketed, and obtaining manufacturing and marketing approval from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. My work involves interacting with many stakeholders both inside and outside the company, and many of those stakeholders are fellow graduates. Conversations flow easily between 午夜剧场 alumni, and thanks to this, I am able to carry out my work very smoothly. It is surprising how the world that expanded during my student days is now influencing my professional life. In fact, I was given the opportunity to write this piece because a doctor at a hospital I work with was a 午夜剧场 alumni.

Looking back now, the university merger was a very lucky opportunity for me. At the same time, it is regrettable to think that if I had acted more proactively during the period when I was initially overwhelmed, my world today might have expanded even further.

Based on what I learned during my time at university, I now make an effort to actively engage with people both inside and outside the company in my current work to ensure my world continues to expand. My mission is to continue pushing forward with my work and to deliver new medicines as quickly as possible.