Minerva University Adds Tokyo as Its Eighth Global Rotation City with 125 Students from 40 Countries
Published on October 9, 2025
Minerva University, ranked the world’s most innovative university for four years in a row, has started operating in Tokyo, which becomes its eighth global rotation city with the support of The Nippon Foundation.
A total of 125 second-year Minerva students from 40 countries, including 10 Japanese, attended a ceremony to mark the launch held on September 5 in central Tokyo in the presence of Minerva University President Mike Magee and President Jumpei Sasakawa of the foundation.
The U.S. university, which does not have a physical campus, is known for its unique program fully utilizing its state-of-the-art online learning platform. After spending their first year in San Francisco, students from 100 countries move in cohorts to major cities around the world where they reside during their undergraduate program.
Tokyo became the eighth rotation city in this groundbreaking program, and the second after San Francisco where students can have an extended stay of up to one year.
With the addition of Tokyo, Minerva students will now study in San Francisco, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Hyderabad, Seoul, Taipei, London and Tokyo, participating in hands-on, location-based projects while earning their undergraduate degree.
Under the agreement signed in April 2024 with Minerva, the foundation agreed to provide $50 million over the next decade to support the Tokyo rotation city project. We helped the university prepare a syllabus and implementation program and make arrangements for student housing.
The foundation will play a pivotal role in facilitating partnerships with Japanese universities, businesses, research institutes and NGOs. Additionally, we will foster internship opportunities with start-up companies, enabling students to gain hands-on experience in Japanese innovative industries.
Mr. Magee told the ceremony: “Minerva is committed to cultivating the next generation of leaders who will carry forward these lessons and build bridges of understanding and collaboration across the globe.”
Mr. Sasakawa, who happens to be my son, commented: “We intend to work proactively to create opportunities for Minerva’s students to interact with Japanese companies, local governments and universities. I hope that students will use these first-hand opportunities to identify social issues, propose solutions and share them with a broad audience.”
Minerva students also spoke, starting with Mr. Ahmed Usman Khan from Pakistan: “Minerva not only gives us the skillset required but also esteemed platforms in many courses to execute those skills and create something more meaningful than just course credits. Even though it has barely been a week since I’ve been here, I already see the culture of discipline and respect in Japanese people. I really hope that while we work on cultural integration, we also adopt the virtues from locals around us and then spread them around the globe.”
Ms. Martina Dianda Rodriguez-Villar from Spain said: “Coming from Spain with an Argentinian family, I’ve always navigated two cultural identities at once, and that has taught me how much we can grow when different values come into dialogue. Tokyo is an opportunity to bring Minerva’s global mindset into conversation with Japanese society, while also learning from Japan’s deep sense of community and respect.”
Ms. Ena Yamaguchi from Japan said: “I’m honored to be here as part of Minerva’s inaugural cohort in Japan. Being here with Minerva represents an opportunity to see Japan through fresh, objective eyes. I hope to explore critical social challenges that Japan faces, not just as someone who has lived here, but as a global citizen seeking solutions. I’m particularly excited about building bridges between Japanese innovation and Minerva’s global community.”
