The conference reports will be scheduled in the
meeting room in the university
Sophia University is considered one of the top
private research universities in Japan. According to
the Times Higher Education, Sophia has the 20th
place in its 2020 Japan University Rankings and is
the top 4th private university in the country.
Founded by the Roman Catholic religious order of the
Society of Jesus in 1913, the University has grown
from its 3 original academic departments of
Philosophy, German Literature, and Commerce to 9
undergraduate Faculties and 10 Graduate Schools,
with over 13,900 students in total.
Ever since Sophia was established, the University
has been a leader in the internationalisation of
Japanese universities. It had been conducting
classes both in English and Japanese, and welcoming
students from abroad from China, Korea, and even
from Europe. Soon afterward, Sophia gained national
repute as the leading institution in globalisation,
foreign languages, and literature in Japan. As a
prominent institution for research and higher
learning in the fields of the social sciences,
humanities, and natural sciences, the University has
been selected by the Japanese Ministry of Education
to be one of 37 universities to receive funding for
its internationalisation efforts through the "Top
Global University Project".
Today, Sophia has international students from 77
countries. It also has forged agreements with 298
overseas universities in 59 countries. It also
possesses student exchange programs with several
other top universities throughout the world,
including Georgetown University, Yale University,
The University of Georgia, Sogang University, Hong
Kong University, and the University of Cologne.
Before 1957, the university only admitted male
students to degree programs, but the numbers of male
and female students are now more or less equal.
Sophia’s alumni are referred to as "Sophians"; they
include the 79th Prime Minister of Japan, Morihiro
Hosokawa, several politicians represented in the
National Diet of Japan, and professors at various
institutions.