Not to be confused with the (un-related) university of the same name in Taiwan, Asia University is a private institution based in the Mushashino district of Greater Tokyo.
Founded in 1941 as Koa Professional School, it was renamed Nihon Junior College of Economics in 1950. By the time it attained university status as Asia University in 1955, it had established a Foreign Studies department and become a pioneer among Japanese institutions in actively recruiting overseas students.
Always focussed on business education, it has faculties of business administration, economics, law, international relations and urban innovation with graduate provision in Asian and International Business Strategy, Economics and Law.
A strong emphasis on languages dates back to the creation in 1989 of the Centre for English Language Education, employing more than 25 native speakers as lecturers, while second year students are offered small-class options in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean and Spanish. The university’s "America Programme" offers AU students the chance to study in four American universities, three in Washington state, and one in Canada, while the majority of overseas students studying at AU come from China.
Operating under the motto of "self-help and cooperation", it proclaimed four visions: "becoming a centre of Asian exchange", "increasing individual value", "providing lifelong support to students" and "contributing to society" in setting out the "Asia Future Roadmap 2025" in 2015. A new entrance exam, planned to be fit for the next 30 to 40 years, will be introduced in 2020, with a reformed faculty structure planned for 2023.
