Join Us｜Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) opened in 2000 and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020. Since its inception, APU has welcomed students from a total of 156 countries and regions, and our more than 20,000 alumni work on the front lines throughout Japan and around the world. Meanwhile, the Alumni Association now boasts 37 chapters outside Japan. In order to produce “graduates who possess the power to change the world,” which is the aim of our APU2030 Vision, we will continue to pursue highly competitive education and research and undertake initiatives fitting of the “New APU.”

APU formulated the APU2030 Challenge Design to serve as its mid-to-long-term plan for the next 10 years starting in 2021. One way in which we aim to realize this plan is the scheduled establishment of the new College of Sustainability and Tourism in 2023 (for which preparations are underway). With this, APU will shift to a framework of three colleges, including the existing College of International Management and College of Asia Pacific Studies, as well as their respective graduate schools.

Under the APU2030 Challenge Design, we will develop and put into practice a vision uniquely suited to APU. We will promote internationally accepted research that contributes to society and the region, form an international research network, and create new regional development models in the private, public, and academic sectors that will contribute to the growth and development of various communities around the world and in Japan.

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great deal of turmoil and conflict in the world today. At APU, conflicts are common due to differences in customs and ways of thinking, but our students learn from these conflicts and gain the ability to create a better community. We believe that, over time, this kind of learning equips our students with the power to move the world in a more peaceful and hopeful direction.

In order for APU to continue tackling new challenges, it is essential that our faculty and staff work together with current students, alumni, parents, local community members, and “APU fans” both in Japan and overseas who donate to the university. This is the “One APU” approach. Going forward, I kindly request your continued support of APU.