A commemorative ceremony for the Animation Course, which was set up in April 2008, was held in the Bankokubashi Building of the Yokohama Campus on May 30, attended by 90 people.

Prof. Fujihata Masaki, Director of the Graduate School of Film and New Media, addressed the participants: "The Japanese have always had a unique way of grasping time, referred to as "Iji Dozu," or "different times in one picture," which depicts multiple time axes in the same setting. It is frequently seen in traditional picture scrolls, which could be considered as the origin of animation. "Anime" and "Manga" are included in Japanese phrases commonly used all over the world. Our understanding of animation and comics is the object of constant scrutiny by foreign researchers in this field. Under these circumstances, the study of expression by animation as an art in our university is in demand not only domestically but worldwide."

The third school house of Yokohama Campus is located on the third floor of the Bankokubashi Kaigi Center Building facing the Port of Yokohama. It includes the 2D-Animation Room, model animation shooting systems, a post-production room, lecture hall and so on.

At the reception, Professors Ito Yuichi, Okamoto Mitsuko, Yamamura Koji and Deguchi Takehito of the new Course addressed the guests and expressed their hopes for the future.

The Graduate School of Film and New Media started in 2005 has accomplished its goal of setting up Film, New Media and Animation courses. The Film Course has produced a number of internationally renowned artists including Kato Naoki ("A Bao A Qu"), a nominee at the 12th Pusan International Film Festival competition, and Tanaka Sachiko, in charge of the screenplay for "Tokyo Sonata" which was directed by Prof. Kurosawa Kiyoshi and won the Jury Prize in the Un certain Regard Section of the Festival international du film de Cannes 2008. The Graduate School of Film and New Media will continue its efforts to develop human resources in the field of image content as well as its activities aimed at connecting academic activities with the industrial world.