To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) a big crowd of enthusiastic students, staff, and faculty gathered in the Chapel of the Four Chaplains to reflect on the past, present, and future. The event opened with Koto and Taiko performances held by the Main Campus for recognizing Temple University’s crucial role in global engagement and the importance of Temple Japan.
TUJ Dean Matthew Wilson in an address to the crowd highlighted the branch campus’ resilient history with the Japanese proverb- “Nana korobi, ya oki” which translates to fall down seven times, get up eight.
TUJ was established in 1982 in Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku, becoming the first campus of an American university in Japan, and has risen above numerous challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic collapse, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, etc. Today TUJ is thriving due to the determination, dedication, and support of Temple’s students, faculty, and administration. With the pressure to recognize foreign universities, Japan modified its education law in 2015 with the Japanese Ministry of Education designated TUJ as the country’s first officially recognized foreign university that year.
In fall 2022, TUJ’s undergraduate enrollment grew to 1,800, overshadowing the size of several liberal arts institutions in the U.S. In the period of the recent two and a half years, the undergraduate student body has increased by almost 50%, marking record enrollment over the past six consecutive semesters. TUJ’s student population consists of individuals from the Japan, the U.S., and almost 70 different countries including Ukraine, with a new scholarship program developed for nine evacuees. The faculty is just as diverse and their expertise is regularly cited in major media outlets.
