In 1962, the Kitasato University was founded to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kitasato Institute, Japan’s first private medical research facility.
It was named after Kitasato Shibasaburo, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in physiology/medicine in 1901. Some 114 years later, the 2015 Nobel Prize in the same subject was awarded to a distinguished emeritus professor at the university, Satoshi Ōmura.
It is now known as Japan’s leading university in the study of life sciences, with the aims of advancing the discovery and use of biological resources and promoting environmental conservation.
The university is spread over four main campuses. The Shirokane Campus (Tokyo) is home to the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, and School of Pharmacy. The Sagamihara Campus (Kanagawa prefecture) includes five graduate schools (marine biosciences, nursing, science, medical sciences and frontier engineering), six schools (medicine, marine biosciences, nursing, science, allied health sciences and frontier engineering), and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Towada Campus (Aomori prefecture) has Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences and School of Veterinary Medicine.
The School of Health Sciences was inaugurated at Niigata Campus in April 2024.
The university has three hospitals. The medical institutions also function as a clinical education and training venue for the university’s undergraduate and graduate students.
Its practical research specialisms are in interprofessional health care programmes, research and education for infection control, research and education in agriculture and clinical education and research through inter-hospital collaboration.
Kitasato University has worked to establish itself within an international network and has launched and maintains exchange agreements with more than 40 universities and institutes worldwide including in China, Mongolia, Korea, Thailand, the US, Germany and Italy.
