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Our university was founded on the principle of the relentless pursuit of beauty： both the distinctive beauty created by Okinawan culture and humankind's universal beauty. By that principle, we are a comprehensive arts school consisting of a Faculty of Arts and Crafts, a Faculty of Music, graduate schools, a Research Institute, and a University Library and Arts Museum. The year 2016 marked our 30th anniversary. Thus far, approximately 3,400 graduates have completed their studies and flown the nest. They are now actively engaged in creative endeavors, some working as musicians and performers, artists, and much more. The elemental spirit underlying the Prefectural University of Arts's founding principles is the relentless pursuit of beauty, the distinctive beauty created in the Okinawan culture, and humankind's universal beauty. To achieve this, the uniqueness of regional culture must be made clear. The problems facing areas of traditional arts such as arts, crafts, music, and performing arts must be addressed directly and in a practical fashion, revealing each artistic endeavor's unique nature. At our Tonokura Campus and with Shuri Castle as our backdrop, we foster our particular academic traditions with various musical instruments ranging from the Ryukyuan Sanshin （shamisen） to the rugged western instruments. The sounds of those instruments and voices raised in song flow endlessly through our halls like a gentle breeze. Our new and spacious Sakiyama campus provides an educational and research environment for those in the fields of sculpture, design, and crafts in its free and open grounds. On each of our campuses, we value and respect the individuality of our students. Using small classes and individual tutoring, we provide an education that is both rich and deep. Besides, exhibitions and concerts performed both by the students and teaching staff are held throughout the year. Our university is truly overflowing with creative energy. Through educational initiatives such as summer schools, public courses, and our roving university program in the outer islands, we make ample use of the unique features and appeal of each major artistic discipline. We are also actively involved in providing opportunities to local children and younger students for engagement in art appreciation and promoting the revitalization of the arts and artistic exchange throughout the region. Taking advantage of our geographical position at the crossroads of East Asia and the Pacific region, we have entered into agreements for artistic and scholarly exchange with eleven universities in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Italy, Germany and the United States of America, and we actively encourage students to study abroad. Amidst the breathtaking scenery of Okinawa, where the weather is warm and the time passes at its own pace, students from all over Japan, bursting with artistic ambition and with an abundance of talent, are attracted to our university. Art allows us to look inside ourselves, refines our communication skills, and fosters lifelong wisdom. That is the very essence of the art education to which our university aspires. Okinawa's regional culture and traditions hold a unique place within the context of Japanese culture and hold important content in the search for the sources of cultures and traditions and understand the universal ways in which culture is generated. It must also be said that the questions of the continuation and creativity of this singular set of arts and culture, cultivated in the unique environment of Okinawa, are an essential challenge, both in terms of the overall state of Japanese culture and of the state of Okinawa Prefecture itself. The fostering of human resources to address these challenges serves an essential purpose as a bridge into the far future. We at the Prefectural University of Arts, located at the southernmost point of our country, will focus on the Pacific cultural area, with East Asia and Southeast Asia region as our axis, and aim to uncover the realities of the various arts and cultures and pursue our research into our connections to and uniqueness from these regional cultures and traditions, as well as investigate their expansion. Our objective is to create a unique research and educational institution, focusing on the Pan-Asian cultural arts' distinctive characteristics. View full university

Students, graduates, and faculty are susceptible to local health needs and community expectations. They participate actively in redefining governmental and community health services. OPCN graduate students redefine communication with governments for localities, which results in highly responsive, well-coordinated health services the populations served. Faculty are building an excellent record of obtaining competitive funding from national sources for research and student support. Contributing to local, national, and international society is uppermost, as is interdisciplinary cooperation. International inquiry with the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, and South America is actively encouraged. Nurses, midwives, and physicians from such developing countries as Cambodia, Laos, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea are continuously supported in OPCN training programs and technology transfer exercises. OPCN students and instructors believe in taking the initiative. They are proactive. OPCN uses state of the art electronic communication technology. Graduates do new things! Our College is a center of excellence. Quality assurance is continuous. We believe we should ensure high-quality health programs, and we follow through with this belief in our actions. The Mission of OPCN is to train qualified people who practice nursing scientifically with an understanding of the geography, history, culture, demands of the society, and the present condition of nursing in Okinawa. They are also expected to know people's health needs throughout the world in this day and age. They should also understand the needs and demands of undergraduates and graduate school students. At the same time, we contribute to the nursing field through education, research, and instilling in our students the principles and training needed to succeed. Our Educational Principle is to train people who deeply respect the sanctity of life and develop good qualities based on those established by OPCN. Educational Goals: Develop good qualities and ethics which respect the sanctity of life. Develop creativity and improve intellect and empathy. Develop problem-solving judgment, and acquire the knowledge, techniques, and attitude needed for professional nursing. Develop the ability to assume a professional nursing role and share ideas about health, nursing, and welfare in cooperation with other occupations. Develop habits of lifelong study and the ability to reflect on one's actions. Develop the ability to practice health nursing rooted in the local community while understanding people's situations, both geographically and culturally. Contribute to nursing development through health nursing activities and maintaining an inquisitive mind obtained through the study. View full university

Okinawa University and International University, private universities located in Okinawa, have decided to merge and establish a new university, based on an agreement between them. As private universities, both naturally possess unique philosophies of establishment following their founders. They also have concepts for executing those philosophies and their irreplaceable histories and traditions of value. However, while the unique rationales of both Okinawa University and International University to exist as private universities and their traditions will be respected, from today, the decision has been made to reexamine the issue of being "a private university in Okinawa" from an even broader perspective. We aim to cultivate spiritually wealthy, unique individuals and contribute to local autonomy and international social development. Okinawa has been endowed with a warm, natural environment that belongs to the subtropical zone. It has developed by building a unique culture that has been historically affected by various foreign countries. In recent years, the number of international tourists, including those from China, Taiwan, and Korea, has increased due to the expansion of international air routes and port calls from cruise ships. The initiatives are in motion to make Okinawa a logistics base for Southeast Asia and developing China. Our university comprises ten departments and four faculties that specialize in social sciences and humanities, and a graduate school with three research departments. We have students not only from Okinawa and other prefectures but also exchange students. They learn not only specialized courses but also about Okinawan history, culture, language, and US military base issues. The university will enhance a learning environment where students feel at ease and can acquire advanced and refined knowledge. We are also making efforts in job-hunting support, with approximately 50,000 of our graduates in Okinawa and other prefectures working in finance, logistics, welfare, and a variety of other fields, including civil servants and teachers and talent working overseas. Along with imparting our students with a wide range of knowledge, our university is a higher educational institution that maintains the mission to train promising and specialized human resources needed by the country, society, and region. A1ong with independent learning at our faculties and departments and obtaining a high level of specialized knowledge, we think that the university's mission is to support students in ways that they can acquire the power of understanding, analytical skills, judgment, executive ability, and resourcefulness. Until now, humankind has been able to resolve many difficulties through wisdom or scholarly knowledge; however, many issues must be solved, such as those relating to poverty, disparity, and the environment. We will work even harder to cultivate talent that can travel the world and serve as bridges between nations. We are sure that our students will make many friends, debate and discuss issues with their classmates and teachers, acquire communication skills, and strive to contribute to today's information and information-oriented society. We, the university faculty, promise that we will support and encourage students in their efforts. View full university

OIST is one of the most exciting initiatives in world scientific research and education. It has very high ambitions to become established as one of the great research universities. The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology is an interdisciplinary graduate school offering a 5-year Ph.D. program in Science. Over half of the faculty and students are recruited from outside Japan, and all education and research are conducted entirely in English. We must hire the best people in the world. Ultimately, a university's reputation is created by the excellence of its faculty, its students, its staff, and management. These professors must form research units that are reasonably small but work in a larger context of support from the whole university. The research units must be helped to start independent research as soon as possible. Professors, researchers, and students must have the opportunity and encouragement to establish multidisciplinary contacts and, subsequently, collaborations. Sufficient core and flexible external funding are a foundation for success, as is periodic peer review by world-class experts. Measured by these criteria, OIST has all the ingredients needed to make it into the top league of universities worldwide. This website shows that OIST has succeeded in attracting the very best professors worldwide to carry out top-level research in Okinawa. There is strong evidence that interdisciplinary ambition is now a reality with many units working on joint projects. We have recently hired several new faculty, and we intend to have their units up and running quickly. Central Concepts: Best in the World: Recruit the best students in the world to work in an environment that encourages creativity, uniqueness, and diversity. International: Recruit over half of the faculty and student body from outside of Japan and use English as the official language. Flexible: Encourage innovation, creativity, and adaptability to accommodate new initiatives, ensure a thoroughly interdisciplinary academic environment, and treat every student as a unique individual. Global Networking: Host, attend, and participate in international meetings, conferences, workshops, and other events to enhance the university's visibility and increase research and education opportunities. Collaboration with Industry: Create an environment where research outcomes are developed and applied by the industry for the benefit of society, the sustained development of Okinawa, and the competitiveness of Japan. What makes OIST different: English: The international language of Science used in peer-review journals and international conferences is also the daily operational language International: Half of the students and faculty are recruited from outside Japan. Interdisciplinary: Collaboration and exchange between specialties are encouraged by such things as the absence of administrative departments, campus architecture, and the graduate program's curriculum. Education: With a 2:1 student to faculty ratio, students do research side-by-side with top-class researchers as they work toward their degrees. Funding: OIST is a Special Private School Corporation, funded mostly by the Japanese government but granted the administrative freedom to take innovative initiatives. Location: Okinawa is a beautiful tropical island in the center of Asia's rapid economic development. As a part of Japan, it enjoys all the convenience and stability of a developed nation. Commitment: OIST strives to provide an environment for work and study where each individual is valued and encouraged to realize their potential. View full university

Through God's extraordinary providence, Okinawa, once an orphan in the Pacific ocean, is being transformed today into an international island in terms of politics, economy, culture, and in many other ways. But ours is a complex society full of strife. We believe that history taught us this truthful lesson that Christian culture will have to provide a social foundation if Okinawa is to become a peaceful island open to the world. This institute was founded on the firm conviction that it is vital to develop human resources endowed with Christian spirits to build a new Okinawa. Following Japan's Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law, Okinawa Christian University provides outstanding educational opportunities grounded in Christian ethics that promote excellence in scholarship and develop mature individuals well prepared to contribute their knowledge and talents to today's diverse global society. The curriculum focuses on developing students' communication skills in both English and Japanese. Students select desired programs to pursue more specialized communication skills, which allow them upon graduation to employ these advanced skills and specialized knowledge in their career choice. In the first semester of their first year, students are enrolled in the Freshman Seminar, a course that enhances Japanese language skills and facilitates their smooth transition into university life demands. Coursework over the first two years is rigorous and focused on developing five critical skills: speaking, reading, writing, thinking, and researching. From the second half of the second year and into the third and fourth years, students begin selecting one or more specialized programs of study and choose courses organized around a particular area of study that they develop an interest in. Before graduation in the fourth year, all students undertake a research program and complete a graduation thesis on a topic of their choice and under their selected professor's supervision. Educational Goals: To develop expert communicators. To develop well-rounded global citizens with a broad knowledge of liberal arts scholarship rooted in Christian ethics. To develop abilities that are practical, relevant, and useful to a global society. To develop fully competent, capable, and sensitive cross-cultural communicators filled with wisdom and moral sensibilities. View full university

Established in 1998 by mothers in need of a school for the education of children who are both American and Japanese. Our mission is to provide a safe non-discriminatory place for AmerAsian children to receive an equitable education and opportunities while improving their self-esteem by creating an AmerAsian community … Make sure parents who need us can come to our school even if they need financial help. Provide not only bilingual education but bi-cultural education. Prepare for higher education. Above-average education at every opportunity. The purpose of the program is to provide talented individuals with valuable work experience opportunities on a volunteer basis. This exchange will provide volunteers with beneficial on-the-job training while improving the talent and atmosphere at the school. The internship will last for three months, beginning in the second month of a new school semester. The Study Group for AmerAsian Children’s Educational Rights aims at improving international children’s (including AmerAsian’s) rights to better education and welfare. To realize the aim mentioned above, the study group plans to develop activities as follows: Lobbying municipal, prefectural, or state governments, administrative or judicial systems of Japan, or foreign countries. Researching and investigating problems regarding international children’s education and living. Publicity activities, publishing the results of research and investigation. The Study Group for AmerAsian Children’s Educational Rights is now seeking supporting members. If you choose to join, we will send you a quarterly newsletter （DOUBLE’S COMMUNICATION. The newsletters contain information regarding AASO students, teachers, and volunteer activities of our study group, Most of the volunteers support us with Japanese Classes, however, we have more areas we need support in. Here is the list of different areas volunteers support us in. Japanese Class English Class After School Program Clean up Making Study Material Sorting books JSL, ESL After School Test Prep After School Club Activity Support School Events We ask for all volunteers to use good judgment in their dress. This means no tank tops for men or women. If possible please wear shirts with sleeves. Also, please do not wear clothing with offensive graphics or messages on them. As volunteers, you have committed to enhancing the educational opportunities of the children at AASO. If your conduct is deemed unsatisfactory by school staff, then the school has the right at any time to terminate the agreement. Please understand that this must be done to maintain a professional yet enjoyable atmosphere at the school. Should issues arise, the school also reserves the right to review any situation on an as-needed basis. Every month we will give a monthly schedule, however, there is a possibility the schedule will change. If that happens we will contact you by e-mail or phone! View full school