International University of Japan

The International University of Japan is a private university located in Minami-Uonuma city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

IUJ is the first graduate school in Japan, and one of the few Japanese universities which offers all courses in English. It was founded in 1982, primarily to train global leaders effective in the globalized world, be it in business, government, world organizations, or the non-profit sector. IUJ offers Master's degrees in International Development, Economics, Public Management, International Peace Studies and International Relations, as well as an MBA in business administration and an E-business degree. IUJ is fully approved and accredited by the Ministry of Education, Japan.

The IUJ Business school is consistently ranked among the top schools in the world by leading business and education publications.The Public Management program, too, was recently noted among the best. Some of the rankings are noted below.

The IUJ campus has an extremely diverse student body, with students from all over the world. In any given academic year there are students from about 50 countries. This diversity is accentuated by the fact that there are only 330 total students on campus. The diversity was celebrated as part of IUJ's 25th Anniversary through a Guinness World Record record breaking attempt - "The most nationalities in a sauna 50".

IUJ provides a balanced education through the discovery of Japanese and other world cultures. There are many chances to improve skills in cross-border communications, leadership, judgment and decision-making in internationally diversified groups. The spirit for volunteering too is encouraged. To celebrate its international characteristics, IUJ hosts an "International Festival" during the spring term at which students showcase their respective cultures and cuisine for the local community.

IUJ is near ski and hot spring resorts in Niigata prefecture. Its location outside of major cities such as Tokyo enhances its academic excellence and strong student friendship bonding.

IUJ was founded in 1982 by bold leaders with a unique vision, and who represented business, government and world organizations. It was established with extensive support from Japan’s industrial, financial and educational communities as well as from the local community.The mission of IUJ is to teach and conduct research in academic theory and application necessary to develop proactive solutions for issues facing the international society and international businesses. The goal is to foster leaders who have a high level of specialized knowledge and skills, and a deep understanding of and respect for different cultures, so can thereby contribute to the development of the international society.

IUJ is Japan's first graduate-school-only university (no undergraduate campus), and the first to use English only in the classroom.

The Graduate School of International Relations was the first school at IUJ. Leading supporters IUJ’s foundation included the Japan Association of Corporate Executiv Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, Industrial Bank of Japan, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Japan Foreign Trade Council.

In 1988, the Graduate School of International Management was established in collaboration with the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, USA, as the first US-style business school in Japan, and the first MBA to teach only in English. In that same year, the Matsushita Library & Information Center was established with an endowment from the Matsushita International Foundation, now called the Kinoshita Matsushita Memorial Foundation.

IUJ celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012 and now boasts over 3,200 global leaders from over 110 countries/territories who are organized into a close-knit and strong network of worldwide alumni: IUJ touts over 50 Alumni Chapters in 38 countries.

IUJ comprises two graduate schools: the Graduate School of International Relations  and the Graduate School of International Management.Both schools offer Master’s degree programs.

In addition, the university runs two research institutes: The IUJ Research Institute based on campus and The Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM) located in Tokyo. GLOCOM was established in spring of 1991 as a social science institute specializing in the study of information society and Japan. GLOCOM's research focuses on the social, economic and cultural impacts of new communications technologies.