Yamanashi Prefecture Governor Kotaro Nagasaki and TUJ Dean Matthew Wilson

Yamanashi Governor Nagasaki (left) and TUJ Dean Wilson sign the cooperation agreement in Tokyo. Photo by William Galopin

The Japan campus of Temple University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of advancing internationalization, multicultural education, industry, and tourism. TUJ Dean Matthew Wilson and Yamanashi Prefecture Governor Kotaro Nagasaki inked the agreement at a signing ceremony at Prefectural Assembly Hall in Tokyo on December 13, 2022.

Yamanashi Prefecture is seeking to enhance educational opportunities for its residents while advancing international engagement within the prefecture. Yamanashi recognizes Temple University’s global impact and its storied history of providing world-class international education in Japan. As the largest and longest-running branch campus of a foreign university in Japan, TUJ provides a superior American-style liberal arts education in English through its world-class faculty and staff. TUJ is excited about the prospect of working with the prefecture to enhance international education opportunities for Yamanashi Prefecture residents.

The cooperation agreement also recognizes TUJ’s expertise in training teachers together with its experience providing top-quality English language-based programs for elementary, middle school, high school, and university students. Beyond serving over 2,000 degree-seeking students, TUJ offers continuing education to adults and other educational programs that serve a wide range of needs in Japan. TUJ students and faculty members have been actively involved in many academic programs and cultural events with the local community in Tokyo.

TUJ Dean Matthew Wilson said: “As a global leader in higher education, Temple University is uniquely positioned in Japan to transform lives and livelihoods through learning, discovery, and partnerships. We are excited to partner with Yamanashi Prefecture and plan on working together on projects that will amplify academic, economic, social, and culture impact.”

Yamanashi Prefecture Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said: “We are taking on the challenge of not only school education, but also reskilling in society. We would like to utilize the expertise of Temple University’s global network for the development of our region. We would be pleased if Yamanashi Prefecture could provide various resources to TUJ students. We hope that this agreement will be an opportunity for TUJ and Yamanashi Prefecture to deepen collaboration and develop together.”

TUJ is a full-service Japan branch campus of Temple University, an American public university based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Internationally recognized for its academic quality and top-tier research programs, Temple University ranked in the top 350 of all universities globally. Established in 1982, TUJ celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and its undergraduate enrollment has reached a record high of almost 1,850 students in the current fall semester. Undergraduate and graduate students studying at the Japan campus receive their degrees from Temple University. TUJ was recognized by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2005 and was officially designated as a Foreign University, Branch Campus in Japan.

TUJ and Setagaya City in Tokyo signed an agreement to enhance collaboration projects to promote cross-cultural communication and international understanding on December 6, 2022. Prior to Setagaya, TUJ also signed an MOU with Tokyo’s Minato City, where TUJ was located at that time, in 2006. This is the first time for TUJ to clinch an agreement with a prefectural government.

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