On Tuesday, March 7th, a Certificate of Appreciation was presented by the Hachioji Fire Department to six students, including members of the university's Ekiden relay team, for their efforts in evacuating and rescuing nearby residents from a house fire that occurred in the afternoon of Thursday, January 12th in Yano-machi, Hachioji, Tokyo.

The certificate of appreciation was presented to Rikiya Ichihara (4th year), Jun Kasai (4th year), Kojiro Honda (4th year), Kenta Shimura (3rd year), Yohei Mochizuki (3rd year), and Yume Yoshimoto (4th year) of the Faculty of Science and Technology.

Chief Yoshiyuki Harasaki of the Hachioji Fire Department handed the Certificate of Appreciation to the students and said, "I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the students for their excellent collaborative play in connecting the lifesaving relay like the Tasuki. Mr. Shimura, the captain of the Ekiden team, also commented, "I believe that we were able to act to save lives as we strive to improve not only our athletic ability but also our humanistic skills on a daily basis. I will apply this experience to my attitude toward competition as well."