What Josai University does

Josai University is a private Japanese university founded in 1965 by Mikio Mizuta and operated by the Josai University Educational Foundation (学校法人城西大学), headquartered in Sakado, Saitama Prefecture. It operates two campuses — the main Sakado Campus in Saitama (〒350-0295 埼玉県坂戸市けやき台1-1) and the Tokyo Kioicho Campus in Chiyoda-ku — and delivers undergraduate and graduate programs across five faculties (Economics, Comprehensive Policy, Business Administration, Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences) plus a Medical Nutrition department, with particular research concentration in pharmaceutical sciences anchored by a 6,000 m² Medicinal Plant Garden containing approximately 800 plant species.

The university runs an integrated digital learning stack anchored by WebClass as its core LMS (handling course content, assignments, grades, attendance), supplemented by JU Portfolio for student self-assessment with long-term rubrics, JUnavi/JU Syllabus for course catalog search, Mediasite for video lecture delivery, Mediasite Mosaic for dual-screen video production, and Box cloud storage alongside Microsoft 365/Teams/Zoom. This stack is undergoing a planned migration from JUnavi/JU Portfolio to UNIPA from September 14, 2026. The technology is third-party SaaS rather than proprietary, with JU Portfolio and JU Syllabus representing the only internally branded systems.

The business model is tuition-based, typical of Japanese private educational corporations, with fees set annually and access to the government's Higher Education Study Support System for tuition reduction/exemption for eligible students. The university is not publicly traded, has no disclosed revenue, and its customer base is concentrated on domestic Japanese students across its five faculties with a secondary segment of international exchange students. Recent strategic activity includes the March 2026 closure of affiliated Josai Junior College, ongoing digital infrastructure modernization, expansion of AI/data science curriculum, and a July 2026 (dated 2027/07) comprehensive partnership with Hatoyama Town for regional problem-solving and human resource development. The institution is part of a broader Josai Educational Foundation group that includes Josai International University and affiliated K-12 schools.

Name

Josai University

Legal name

学校法人城西大学

Website

https://josai.ac.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Josai University is a private Japanese university founded in 1965, operating two campuses (Sakado, Saitama and Tokyo Kioicho) with five faculties spanning economics, policy, business, science, and pharmaceutical sciences, plus a Medical Nutrition department. It serves primarily domestic Japanese undergraduate and graduate students through tuition-based programs anchored by an integrated WebClass LMS and Mediasite video learning stack.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Pharmaceutical sciences programs
• Data science education
• Regional university collaboration
• Undergraduate graduate programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Sakado

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Josai University is a private Japanese university delivering undergraduate and graduate education across five faculties (Economics, Comprehensive Policy, Business Administration, Science, and Pharmaceutical Sciences), plus medical nutrition programs and graduate schools. The institution emphasizes research (notably pharmaceutical sciences), data science and AI education, collaborative cross-disciplinary learning (Kyoso-ryoku), and regional community engagement with local governments and businesses.

Product overview

Josai University's educational services are supported by an integrated digital learning infrastructure. The core learning management system is WebClass, which handles course content delivery, assignments, grades, and attendance. Supporting systems include JU Portfolio for student portfolio tracking, JUnavi/JU Syllabus for course catalog search, and Mediasite for video lecture delivery. A notable upcoming change is the migration from JUnavi to UNIPA in September 2026. The university also provides various digital services including Box cloud storage, Microsoft 365, Teams, and Zoom for academic and administrative purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Faculty of Economics Undergraduate program in economics covering economic theory, policy, and related disciplines for Japanese and international students pursuing higher education degrees.
• Faculty of Comprehensive Policy

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered regional, core and minor.

• Hatoyama Town (鳩山町)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerComprehensive partnership agreement for regional problem-solving and human resource development. The university collaborates with Hatoyama Town on community initiatives and educational outreach.
• Saitama Hattoku Regional University Education Platform (埼玉東上地域大学教育プラットフォーム/TJUP)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with other regional universities for open lectures and educational programs. Josai University faculty participate in TJUP-sponsored public lectures.
• Josai International University (城西国際大学)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated institution within the Josai educational group, collaborating on various academic and research initiatives.
• Japan Association of Botanical Gardens (日本植物園協会)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe university's Medicinal Plant Garden participates in the association's collaborative cultivation research programs as a member of the 4th division.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Doshisha University: Major private Japanese research university with comprehensive faculties spanning humanities, social sciences, science, engineering, and health/life sciences. Comparable in multi-disciplinary private research university positioning though at much larger scale and higher brand prestige.
• Kwansei Gakuin University: Major private Japanese research university spanning humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, policy studies, and business. Comparable multi-disciplinary private research university with comparable enrollment scale to Josai but stronger national brand.
• Ritsumeikan University: Large private Japanese university with very broad faculty coverage including economics, business, science, pharmaceutical sciences, and policy studies. Comparable to Josai in disciplinary breadth but operates at substantially larger scale with stronger brand recognition across Japan.
• Hosei University: Large private Japanese university with multiple campuses and very broad faculty coverage. Comparable to Josai in offering multi-disciplinary private education across business, economics, science, and policy, though substantially larger and more metropolitan-focused.

Direct peers

• Hoshi University: Private Japanese pharmaceutical university in Tokyo. Comparable in offering a 6-year pharmacy program and pharmaceutical research emphasis, competing for similar students interested in pharmacy as their primary focus.
• Meiji Pharmaceutical University: Private Japanese university dedicated to pharmaceutical sciences, established in 2002 (origins 1902). Comparable to Josai's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in mission, program structure (6-year pharmacy), and research orientation, though smaller and more specialized.
• Soka University: Private Japanese university with multiple faculties spanning humanities, social sciences, science and engineering, and nursing/pharmacy. Comparable in private multi-disciplinary structure and emphasis on values-based education, though larger and more globally oriented.
• Senshu University: Mid-sized private Japanese university in Tokyo with economics, business, law, and humanities faculties. Comparable in scale and private multi-faculty structure to Josai, with stronger Tokyo brand presence.
• Josai International University: Sister institution under the same Josai University Educational Corporation (学校法人城西大学), also a private Japanese university. Directly comparable in governance, philosophy, and educational group, with an explicit international/global focus complementing Josai's domestic orientation.

Regional players

• Saitama University: National (public) university located in Saitama Prefecture alongside Josai. Comparable in regional footprint and competes for the same Saitama-based student pool, but offers lower tuition as a public institution and has stronger science/engineering research depth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/josai_koho
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmqTmAUubcI6wlaswmRDPUg
• Instagraminstagram.com/josai_koho

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Josai University