Notes from the President

I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of you in the New Year.

2016 is an important year for us. As we seek to wrap up discussions on academic reforms for AY2017, we will also build a framework for Global Learning, the goal toward which we are striving under the Top Global University Project (selected by MEXT in AY2014).

To date, APU has led the globalization of Japan’s educational systems based on the philosophy that diversity breeds creativity. The diversity of our world-class multicultural environment cultivates in students an understanding of other people and a spirit of tolerance, and it yields new values that transcend differences in ethnicity, race and religion. In the world today, it may seem that groups which rule by force, be it military might or violence, have the upper hand, but what should lead civilization is wisdom and value of a new peaceful coexistence. This is an undertaking that requires creativity.

APU’s education is composed of three main pillars: major education rooted primarily in the social sciences, global liberal arts, and multilingual education centered on Japanese and English. In terms of the research that underpins this education, we are working to develop new perspectives in the fields of International Management and Asia Pacific Studies and to create a global network. We now boast approximately 13,000 alumni living and working in 123 countries and regions, and their unique career paths are an invaluable learning resource for our students.

Aiming to maximize our unparalleled multicultural environment for the sake of Global Learning, we will continue to provide education focused on student growth that leads to the creation of new values.