The Ideals and Aims of Hosei University

Hosei University was founded in 1880, at the height of the Freedom and People’s Rights Movement, as a private law school (Tokyo Hogakusha, meaning “Tokyo School of Law”) to serve the many people who were awakening to the concept of rights and seeking knowledge about law. Ever since, the school has fostered a liberal academic culture built on respect for human rights and acceptance of diversity, and a pioneering spirit that strives for the realization of a just society unbound by preconceived notions.

In the heyday of Hosei University’s development in the 1950s, then president OUCHI Hyoe set three goals for the university, described as “Our Aspirations”: “To foster free and independent individuals capable of upholding Japan’s independence,” “To arouse a spirit that serves to uplift the humanity of the world through learning,” and “To foster individuals who contribute to improving and developing the social life of the Japanese people.”

Today, the spirit of freedom and progress that Hosei University has cultivated since its founding is described as “practical wisdom for freedom,” as stipulated in the university’s charter. “Practical wisdom” here should be distinguished from practical science. This term refers to an intelligence that aims at enhancing social value, or the common good. Practical wisdom is the ability to absorb essential knowledge and information to use in making effective decisions and putting them into practice under any circumstances, for the purpose of shaping a society in which people can live at ease in every sense.

The aims of the university are as follows.

(1)    To foster citizens capable of working proactively, independently, and creatively to shape a new age, with a spirit of freedom and progress and the ability to make fair judgments.
(2)    To contribute to the development of the arts and sciences through the pursuit of truth and a pioneering spirit based on academic freedom.
(3)    To contribute to the development of a sustainable global community by solving increasingly diverse global-scale problems.