Campus Alert Archive
TUJ

Three Weeks of Silence: Temple's Tokyo Campus Suspends All Programs After the Great East Japan Earthquake

PAearthquakeemergency notificationmedium confidence

When the magnitude-9.1 Great East Japan Earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. JST on March 11, 2011, Temple University Japan Campus in Tokyo's Minato ward was immediately forced to suspend all academic programs mid-semester. The campus was inspected and declared structurally safe, but all programs were suspended for approximately three weeks as staff confirmed the safety of every student and arranged voluntary departures from the Tokyo area. Classes resumed April 4 with revised syllabi, and all undergraduate courses in progress were completed with only a one-week semester extension.

Alerts
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Response
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Killed
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Institution
Temple University, Japan Campus
Private R1 · PA
~2,500 studentsTUJ Emergency Notification
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction475 chars
Temple University Japan Campus Emergency Notification: A major earthquake has struck the Tohoku region of Japan. Our campus buildings have been checked and are structurally safe. All classes for today are cancelled. Students, faculty, and staff are advised to remain where they are or return to their residence safely, avoiding elevated coastal areas. Please check your email and the TUJ website for further updates. If you need assistance, contact the TUJ emergency hotline.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Japan Standard Time (JST) is UTC+9 and does not observe daylight saving time; the M9.1 earthquake struck at 14:46:24 JST on March 11, 2011.
TUJ's Tokyo campus is approximately 370 km south of the epicenter near the Tohoku coast; Tokyo experienced intense shaking (up to JMA seismic intensity 5-upper) but was well outside the tsunami inundation zone.
Reporting by Temple Now noted that Dean Bruce Stronach described spending the weekend tracking down every student to confirm their safety -- a 2,500-student undertaking across a major metropolitan area.
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction538 chars
Temple University Japan Campus Update: All academic programs remain suspended until further notice. The TUJ campus buildings have been declared safe by structural inspection. However, due to uncertainty following the Fukushima nuclear plant situation and ongoing aftershocks, students who wish to leave the Tokyo area or depart Japan may do so. Temple University will assist students who wish to continue their coursework from Philadelphia or through distance learning. We will update you as soon as a return-to-campus date is determined.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident began on March 11, 2011, and the radiation and evacuation situation remained uncertain for weeks, significantly affecting the decision-making of international institutions in Tokyo.
Temple offered students the option to continue courses at the main Philadelphia campus or via distance learning -- an early example of emergency remote instruction that presaged COVID-era pivots.
Enrollment effects were significant: Japan-admit enrollment at TUJ dropped from 821 in fall 2010 to 722 in fall 2011, a 12 percent decline attributed to the combined effects of 3/11 and an unfavorable exchange rate.
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction457 chars
Temple University Japan Campus: Classes will resume on Monday, April 4, 2011. Course syllabi have been revised to accommodate the suspension period, and all in-progress undergraduate courses will be completed with a one-week extension to the semester. Students who elected to continue at Temple University in Philadelphia or via distance learning should contact their instructors. We are grateful for your patience and resilience during this difficult time.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The April 4 return date is confirmed by TUJ's own news archive, which described the three-week suspension as the result of 'diligent efforts by all staff to minimize the impact.'
The one-week extension was necessary because in-person classes were suspended for nearly three weeks mid-semester, requiring additional time to complete syllabi content.
TUJ's 2013 retrospective described the institution as 'coming back strong' after the disaster, with new disaster preparedness protocols implemented following the 3/11 experience.
Context

Background

Temple University Japan Campus (TUJ), founded in 1982 in Tokyo's Minato ward, is one of the oldest and largest American university branch campuses in Japan, with approximately 2,500 students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and law programs. When the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, 2011 at 2:46 p.m. JST with a magnitude of 9.1, TUJ was in the middle of its spring semester. The earthquake, centered 130 km off the Miyagi coast, triggered a devastating tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. TUJ's campus buildings were inspected and declared structurally safe, but all academic programs were suspended as the university confirmed the safety of every student and managed voluntary departures. Dean Bruce Stronach told the Chronicle of Higher Education he was nearly at a breaking point handling communications from worried parents overseas. Students were offered the option to continue coursework at Temple's Philadelphia campus or via distance learning. Programs resumed April 4 -- a three-week suspension -- with revised syllabi and a one-week semester extension to recover lost instruction. The disaster reshaped TUJ's emergency protocols and contributed to a lasting enrollment decline as prospective international students reconsidered Japan study.
Analysis

Key Findings

TUJ was forced to suspend all academic programs for approximately three weeks mid-spring semester -- one of the longest emergency suspensions ever documented at a US university branch campus
The campus buildings were declared structurally safe by inspection, but the Fukushima nuclear uncertainty and ongoing aftershocks drove the extended suspension
Temple offered in-flight options including transfer to the Philadelphia main campus and distance learning, presaging the COVID-era pivot to emergency remote instruction by nearly a decade
Enrollment dropped 12 percent in fall 2011 due to the combined effects of the disaster and an unfavorable exchange rate for international students
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    TUJ 2011 Commencement -- Moving Beyond the Great East Japan Earthquake | TUJ News
    en-news.tuj.ac.jp
  2. Official
    Temple Responds to Events in Japan | Temple Now
    news.temple.edu
  3. News
    Japan's Universities Struggle to Recover from Earthquake and Tsunami | Chronicle of Higher Education
    chronicle.com
  4. Official
    Temple University Japan Coming Back Strong | Temple Now
    news.temple.edu
  5. Source
    2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami | Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
earthquaketsunamijapantokyointernational-branch-campussuspensionnuclearfukushimatemple-universitystudy-abroad2011tohoku
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion