Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies

The Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies (IUC) offers intensive training in intermediate and advanced Japanese each year to a group of budding scholars in Japanese studies and students planning Japan-related professional careers. The training focuses on the four core skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.The IUC descends from the Stanford Center for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, which was founded in 1961. The IUC itself was established in 1963 by a consortium of American and Canadian universities with strong graduate programs in Japanese studies. Currently the consortium has fourteen full members and one associate member; the lead school is still Stanford. The IUC is located in Pacifico Yokohama on the waterfront of the Minato Mirai 21 district in Yokohama. Approximately 3,000 students have completed the IUC program in its 60 years of operation. Many alumni occupy positions of leadership in their respective disciplines and professions.