Tokushima University

Tokushima University is located in Tokushima, the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan. The institution can trace its origins to the foundation in 1876 of the Tokushima Kisei Normal School. In 1949, six existing schools and educational facilities merged to form what is now known as Tokushima University. The university says its vision is to "search for truth, create knowledge, and inherit and develop eminent sciences and cultures with a spirit of independence and autonomy". It aims to be a "global university", and to "establish a robust and abundantly prosperous society". Students can study in seven graduate schools spread across three main campuses covering about 70 acres of land: Shinkura, located near a picturesque yacht harbour; Josanjima, based in the 1.3km mouth of the Tokushima river; and Kuramoto, which offers a view to Mount Bizan, famous for its cherry blossom trees. The Josanjima campus hosts the faculties of integrated arts and sciences, science and technology and bioscience and bioindustry, and the graduate schools of integrated arts and sciences and advanced technology and science. The Kuramoto campus, meanwhile, houses the faculties of medicine, dentistry and pharmaceutical Sciences, and the graduate schools of medical sciences, oral sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, nutrition and biosciences and health sciences. The university has developed strong connections with more than 70 higher education institutions across Europe and Asia. These include University of Bordeaux in France, Seoul National University in Korea and Monash University in Australia. Tokushima University has been home to some of the most notable scientists of recent times such as the engineer Shuji Nakamura, who invented the blue light-emitting diode (LED), and the physicist Shigenori Maruyama who was a recipient of the 2014 Noble Prize in physics.