Notes from the President

Congratulations. This spring, APU welcomes 925* incoming students, bringing the total number of students enrolled at the university to 5,584—2,356 of which are international students and 3,228 of which are domestic students. We the faculty and staff of APU are pleased to welcome you to Japan's leading international university, which is now entering its 14th year. The university is still young, but it remains unique among the universities of the world, and we have built a reputation for producing highly capable graduates on our multicultural campus. APU continues to evolve as we strive to win recognition and trust for cultivating truly global human resources who can succeed throughout the world. Whether you pursue a career or advance to graduate school upon graduation, APU is the perfect platform from which you can follow your dreams, and I promise we will provide you with the utmost support.

In simpler terms, learning at university means learning how to live your life. Here you will explore what you want to do with your life and how you want to live it. APU may have been the first preference for some of you, but since there are nearly 800 universities in Japan, some of you may have planned to attend another university. In either case, all of you here today are about to embark on a journey that will decide your fate.

APU is a social sciences university that focuses on learning in the fields of management, economics, sociology and international relations, and you will explore these fields from an international point of view. Our expert faculty will teach you how to make sense of a chaotic world. Globalization is the movement of people and things through various cultures on a global scale and it spreads through cultures. Cultures are not something that are assimilated globalization; rather, the process is ambivalent: the more globalization progresses, the more these cultures, which are the origins of ethnicities, shine through.  This is why APU strives to develop global human resources who are both multicultural and multilingual.

The path to intercultural understanding is language learning because languages are both communication tools and the fundamental building blocks of culture. In addition to our excellent English and Japanese language programs, APU also offers classes in six Asia Pacific languages. International students enrolled on an English basis must take Japanese, while domestic students must take both English and classes offered in English, but there are options to for students to try a third language—a trend which will likely become the global standard going forward.

Last August, Japan's top five international universities created a network called the Global 5 (G5). This network consists of Akita International University, International Christian University, the Waseda University School of International Liberal Studies, Sophia University and APU. Even among these universities, APU's pursuit of a multilingual and multicultural campus is unique. On this campus, students are exposed to foreign cultures on a daily basis, and they interact with classmates who have a variety of different values. Eventually, this leads to students transcending borders to discover new and different sides of themselves.

I ask that you make friends, hone your skills and open the door to new worlds at APU, and I pray for your success in this unique "Castle in the Sky".

*Regular students only.

News article about The 2013 Spring Entrance Ceremony
The Entrance ceremony was also broadcast live on the internet via Ustream. Footage can be viewed APU Gallery: The 2013 Spring Entrance Ceremony.