From the time of its founding Kokushikan University, while honoring the Japanese tradition, the School has devoted considerable energy to the cause of coexistence with Asia. School of Asia 21 was created in 2002 with its view toward embodying this founding spirit in a contemporary context, on a new concept of education away from the traditional faculty. The goal of the School is to expand students' capacity for understanding foreign cultures and foster talented individuals able to transcend the frameworks of their societies playing important roles in a global society. The School of Asia 21 has more than 120 international students enrolled each year, with international instructors (including adjuncts) making up 20 percent of the faculty. For international students, there provided small-class Japanese language instructions with various proficiency levels, as well as a course designed to foster future Japanese language instructors. Comprehensive programs introducing contemporary Japan, and opportunities for homestays in the local community are also available to international students.

We aim at practical, experiential education with Asia at our campus.
We train talented individuals to interpret 21st-century Asia and contribute to its development.

In the School of Asia 21, the first two years are spent building overall understanding of Asia in the 21st century, while in the third year students select one of three more specialized courses of study: the Asian Cultural Exchange course, the Asian Business course, or the Asian Exploration course. The School places an emphasis on pragmatic disciplines, and its educational methods are completely untraditional. Aiming at practical, experiential education, a variety of fieldwork, internships, training programs in Japan and overseas, and volunteer work are actively integrated into the curriculum. Learning does not take place only in the classroom. Our students visit other countries, and gain direct, personal, hands-on feeling of Asia's dynamism, learning the living realities of politics, economics, and culture on the streets. The School of Asia 21 trains individuals who can be active in any type of public institution, from international organizations to local government; people equipped with strong business sense; people who are at home in any type of cultural exchange.