17 Business Administration Degree Programs in Japan

NUCB Business School is the only triple-accredited business school in Japan and is consistently ranked #1 nationwide in the alumni outcomes and return on investment categories of the QS ranking of business administration and management programs. This is because our graduates are empowered to become leaders in their fields who communicate effectively, think critically, and aim higher. Our faculty not only provides students with knowledge and skills needed for future employment and leadership opportunities--they also inspire confidence and growth, instilling the attitude and mindset required for managing modern and future organizations and teams.

The Graduate School of Management offers a case method education focused on Japanese business and management with a strong foundation in established management techniques and opportunities for independent research. Classes are conducted entirely in English and in a multicultural environment, giving students the chance to benefit from the experiences of experts in the field and learn the skills and sensibilities required for a successful career in international business.

The original entity of the School of Business Administration was established in 1902 and is the second-oldest business school in Japan, establishing over the years a sound reputation in both academic and business circles. The curriculum is divided into three areas: management, accounting, and commerce.

Kobe University has one of the most respected graduate schools of business administration in Japan. In their first 2 years at the graduate school, with the goal of developing the core research skills necessary for the final 3 years of the program, each student, under the supervision of their advisor, selects coursework from nine core courses and three research methodology courses. Over the following 3 years, students concentrate on writing a Ph.D. thesis, in close consultation with the members of their Ph.D. dissertation committee.

The Master of Business Administration is a globally recognised postgraduate qualification for ambitious, motivated graduates.

In 2010, the Graduate School of Business Administration starts a new curriculum, moving from the previous two-course system to a new five-course system in order to clarify study goals. The five courses are: 1) The “Academic Course”, to foster researchers, 2) The “Business Course”, to deepen both theoretical and practical knowledge of business administration, 3) The “Japan-China Joint Business Course”, specializing in Chinese business practices, 4) The “Business Course for Working People”, where businesspeople can develop their working experience through further study, and 5) The “Research Course for Working People”, to seek solutions to diverse problems that business people face at work. In the Graduate School of Business Administration, there are many professors with diverse business experience so students are able to find practical solutions to their day-to-day business problems as well as theoretical foundations for their business practices.

Keio Business School was established in 1962 to develop both professional managerial skills and a sense of responsibility to society and to corporate citizenship. An emphasis is placed both on particular skill sets required in a specific business function, and on developing well-balanced skills to be an effective general manager who is capable of integrating multi-faceted business operations.

Aoyama Business School offers Daytime and Evening Courses. While most of the classes of the Daytime Course are carried out during the daytime on weekdays, the Evening Course is designed for people already in the workforce, with classes held on weekday evenings and on Saturdays. Admission to the evening-time program requires at least three years of work experience.

The Graduate School of Business Administration was established to cultivate scholars and professionals with outstanding theoretical and practical management skills as well as a deep understanding of management activities, mainly in the three domains of "people, money, and information." The School has developed the Education Model that fuses the U.S. and European-style rational business administration studies and education with Japan's cultural traditions. We strive for participation-based, high-quality practical learning with realistic content that reflects the skills of students who have diverse career backgrounds. The faculty includes corporate managers and other vastly experienced professionals, who employ teaching methods that emphasize the importance of case studies. To respond to wide-ranging needs in business administration, the School has established four courses: the Business Administration Course, the Contents and Marketing Course, the Medical Management Course, and the Tax Management Course. A chief feature of the School is its MBA program that combines Japan's cultural traditions with the development of individuality and creativity in students. The program provides an education that blends theory and practice by using as its base an abundance of case studies gathered from the perspectives of actual corporate managers. Reshaping the practical knowledge each student has acquired from their personal lives and jobs into academic theoretical systems while emphasizing the fundamental thinking and strategies of corporate management, students are able to raise their problem-solving expertise and practical skills as business leaders. While some students may continue their education in the doctoral course, this course provides comprehensive education and numerous research activities that nurture management professionals possessing comprehensive decision-making capabilities and foresight.

The Graduate School of Business Administration established a Master's Program in Business Administration in 2000 and added a Doctoral Program in 2002. As society and economy are rapidly becoming more sophisticated and complex, more than just organizational restructuring is required. There is a need to restructure people's very ways of thinking, in both private businesses and local public bodies. In this graduate school, students' knowledge and ability regarding organizational administration and organizational psychology are fostered. The course aims at developing management skills that allow businesspeople to formulate and implement effective administrative strategies by using appropriate information collected from the market. The course fosters professionals and researchers who excel in theory and practice.

The Master of Business Administration / Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering is offered as a dual-degree, administered jointly by the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and the School of Management.

ABS offers two doctoral courses of study. The Ph.D. program is a unified 5-year full-time doctoral program targeting individuals who hold undergraduate degrees. It aims to cultivate superior academic researchers rich in creativity. In contrast, the DBA program is offered to individuals who have already acquired a master’s degree (e.g., MBA) and follows a curriculum that allows students to acquire a doctoral degree while working. It aims to cultivate researchers who handle practical research issues for corporations, etc.

There are currently many businesses all around us including convenience stores, banks, automobile manufacturers, and transportation companies. It is no exaggeration to say that our daily lives would not be possible without them. In other words, it is the enterprises created by such businesses which enrich the lives of everyone in society. Business administration refers to the mechanisms by which businesses carry out their enterprises and to the measures they take for continued development and growth. The well-being of the people working for these businesses must also be ensured. It is this faculty’s goal to study the operation of business administration with a multi-faceted approach.

The Waseda-Nanyang Double MBA Program is an accelerated 14-month program that combines the strengths of two of the top business schools in Asia. It has a dual focus on global business and management of technology and is the only dual-degree MBA program in the world that starts in Singapore and ends in Tokyo.

In 1989, with the goal of serving the needs of the industrial community, Kobe University founded the graduate school for practicing managers and professionals, the first establishment of its kind in Japan among government-owned universities. Prior to the school’s establishment, we organized a series of meetings attended by Human Resource Managers from diverse companies, together with selected members of our faculty, to devise a prototype for a new and innovative graduate school.