Kokushikan University was founded in 1917 as the private school Kokushikan Shijuku, located in Tokyo’s Kogai-cho, Azabu-ku (now Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku). Over the years, it has developed into a four-year university which today has six faculties and nine graduate schools.

Japanese universities currently face a very challenging environment as the falling birthrate ushers in what is sometimes called “the age when all are accepted to college,” while, among other factors, deregulation has led to growing competition among universities.

In taking up the office of President, I will do my utmost to create a new, distinctive, and attractive Kokushikan University that can answer to the demands of society.

First, I believe that now is the time for change at Kokushikan. Thus, I want to reappraise the history and traditions arising from our dual founding missions of education in “the pen and the sword,” or scholarship and the martial arts, to realize the creation of a distinctive, attractive, twenty-first-century Kokushikan University that is truly one of a kind, and also to bring together the students, parents and guardians, alumni, faculty, and staff to form the “Kokushikan family.”

Next, given the emphasis placed on university governance today, I believe we must promote reforms in higher education at Kokushikan. Toward that end, we will establish a “Higher Education Reform Center” (provisional title) as part of our efforts to reorganize and improve the distinctive university education that our institution offers.

Lastly, I call on all our students to hold high aspirations and actively seek challenges. We will support your endeavors by further improving and enriching the environment that we provide for education and research.