Greeting

Soka University was founded in 1971 and is celebrating its 54th anniversary this year. I would like to express my sincere respect and gratitude to all of our predecessors who have gathered under the leadership of our founder, Prof. Daisaku Ikeda, and laid the foundation of the university.

As we approach our 100th anniversary, the time has come for us to embark on a new voyage together with faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders. In a world that is becoming increasingly divided and confused, and in a Japan that is facing the major challenge of a declining birthrate, I believe that now is the time to truly demonstrate the spirit of "Soka" - "value creation" - that our founder spoke of creating value that is necessary for society, providing healthy value, and giving back to society.

As stated in the statement, "Discover Your Potential," we will do our utmost to create a campus where students can discover their own potential and realize their dreams, and feel that they have grown and grown, saying, "I'm glad I studied at Soka University."

In addition, we will steadily realize Soka University's mission of building a "global hub for education, culture, and peace" envisioned by our founder, Professor Daisaku Ikeda.

Soka University was founded in 1971 by founder Daisaku Ikeda with the Founding Spirit of "Be the highest seat of learning for humanistic education," "Be the cradle of a new culture," and "To be a fortress that protects peace for mankind." Since then, we have been nurturing "global citizens" who face social issues both at home and abroad head-on and create value with the aim of resolving them.

Since its inception, the university has promoted the internationalization of educational programs and academic exchange with overseas universities, and has now concluded academic exchange agreements with 272 universities in 70 countries and regions around the world, and has realized a campus where people with diverse values and backgrounds can learn from each other, such as through exchange programs and research exchanges. The success of students has also been remarkable, and as a result of last year, six students from the Law School students (including graduates) of our university passed the bar examination, bringing the total number of successful applicants since the opening of the university to 454. In addition, they won an off-campus business contest, won the first national championship for the baseball team, won a gold medal at the World University Cheerleading Tournament, and passed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Professional Staff Recruitment Examination as a three-person student.

The medium- to long-term plan "Soka University Grand Design 2021-2030," which aims to achieve 2030, has set the theme of "A university that fosters 'global citizens' that can create value." In order to develop such human resources, last year we announced a plan for the establishment of a university-wide faculty and department. In April 2026, we plan to open a Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Department of Business Studies to cultivate the ability to solve social issues, and in Faculty of Science and Engineering, we plan to establish a Department of Green Technology to solve environmental problems through energy-saving and energy-creation technologies, and a Department of Life Science and Technology to create a well-being society centered on life sciences. In addition, in order to more clearly convey the educational content and characteristics of the department, we plan to change the name of the Department of Law in Faculty of Law to "Department of Law and Politics" and the Department of Education in Faculty of Education to "Department of Psychology and Education".

Based on the Founding Spirit set forth by our founder, Mr. Ikeda, all faculty and staff are determined to work even harder to help each and every student realize their potential on our diverse campus.