Nanzan University

About Nanzan University

Nanzan University (南山大学 Nanzan Daigaku), founded in 1932 by the Catholic missionary Society of the Divine Word (SVD / 神言会, Fr. Josef Reiners) and chartered as a co-educational university in 1949, is Central Japan’s premier private Catholic higher education institution. Guided by its founding motto "Hominis Dignitati" (人間の尊厳のために - For Human Dignity), Nanzan has built a prestigious international reputation for foreign language education, humanistic inquiry, cross-cultural immersion, and global academic exchange. The university is universally celebrated for its world-class Center for Japanese Studies (CJS, established in 1974), which has educated generations of international Japanologists, diplomats, and business executives. Nanzan comprises 8 undergraduate faculties—Humanities, Foreign Studies, Economics, Business Administration, Law, Policy Studies, Science and Engineering, and the modern Faculty of Global Liberal Studies—alongside 6 specialized Graduate Schools. Situated on an architectural landmark campus in Showa-ku, Nagoya, designed by master architect Antonin Raymond, Nanzan enrolls approximately 9,500 students with a dynamic community of international scholars from over 35 nations, supported by extensive institutional tuition reduction schemes (20% to 50%), MEXT scholarships, and regional corporate foundation awards.