Written by the Story of the
Birth of APU Editorial
Committee Published on
April 10
by CHUOKORON-SHINSHA, INC.
RRP: 1208 yen (1150 yen + GST)

APU students coming
together from around the world

APU will mark its 10th anniversary on April 1, 2009.
The book looks at the urgent issue facing Japan - the globalization of universities and education.
It illustrates the students' expectations at the time the university opened,
and what kind of activities they poured their efforts into.

"The Story of the Birth of APU building the World's Cooperative Learning University" focuses on the first steps made towards the establishment of APU beginning in 1994 up until the opening of the university in April, 2000. It also centers on the opening stages when the 1st and 2nd groups of students were working towards the realization of their dreams while they overcame difficulties.
The book introduces in detail episodes through the years such in Chapter 1 "The Egg borne of a Dream" which looks at the patchwork of episodes which led to the opening of APU such as the questionnaire about the establishment of a new university which arrived at Ritsumeikan Trust as it was fumbling about with the creation of a "globally applicable university" from Oita Prefecture which regarded the luring of a university "important to increasing young residents". Chapter 2 "The Challenges" throws the spotlight on the challenges faced in the creation of a multicultural environment such as the securing of international students, the realization of a Japanese/English bilingual campus and the creation of an academic philosophy.
There are currently 2783 international students from 87 countries and regions and 3301 domestic students* building up the multicultural APU campus and working hard in their studies with the support of the people of the local community. APU will continue to be rich in creativity and humanism, have strong leadership and endeavor to nurture the excellent human resources who can get involved in the solving of the various issues facing humanity in the 21st century.

*As of May 1, 2009

Please place an order at your local bookstore.
Can also be purchased at the APU and Ritsumeikan University Co-op.

APU plays central role in World Student' Summit

President SAKAMOTO's
Graduation Ceremony

After a series of debates within APU,
the APU Logo Working Group came to a decision
on the 10th anniversary commemorative logo
after exchanging opinions with public relations firm ASATSU-DK INC. and
designer Mr. YAMADA from TSU-KU-RU Inc.
We are happy to introduce the logo to our readers in this issue.
We asked our dedicated designer,
Mr. YAMADA about the message he hopes to convey with the new logo:

Impressions of the APU Campus

The most surprising thing was the gleam in the students' eyes; it was markedly different from the students I am used to seeing in the big city. Students live and study amidst the natural beauty of Oita, and they are very aware of issues. I felt that APU students were full of life.

The Concept
"Find your future path at APU."

For students, APU serves as a kind of compass that guides them into the future.
APU proudly sends out a multitude of internationally-minded students every year, and their future potential is limitless. In the sense that students will continue to venture overseas without losing their way, I chose a symbolized compass for the logo design.

What message did you want to convey?
What were the challenges?

What I constantly kept in mind when designing this go was the image of students who will someday enter the real world. Because APU possesses uniquely attractive features that you cannot find anywhere else, I found it hard to think about what the logo should convey, but when everyone's passionate views came together into one distinct form, the difficulties were soon forgotten. In that sense, I can safely say there were no challenges.

The new logo will be used on posters, T shirts and commemorative goods. Keep an eye out for it!

YAMADA Hironobu
10th Anniversary Logo mark creator