A Note on COVID-19

We plan to operate the Semester Abroad in Tokyo, Japan program as scheduled. We may need to make adjustments, depending on global health concerns and as well as guidance and instructions from local and international health authorities. Please see our Cancellation and Refund Policy for more information. In light of these uncertainties, we suggest booking refundable flights and housing to ensure flexibility should the program be postponed or canceled.

Overview

Dates to Remember
Mar
01
Application Start Date
Oct
15
Application deadline has been extended from October 1
Oct
15
Visa Application Deadline

PROGRAM DATES: January 9 – April 25, 2025

Since 1994, Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), has offered students from Temple Law School, other U.S. law schools, and international law schools the unique opportunity to study in Tokyo, Japan, for an entire semester. This is the only ABA-approved semester-long program in Japan. The program also provides participants with an invaluable chance to experience Asia and an opportunity to become distinguished in a competitive legal market.

Temple University, Tokyo Campus

Showa Women’s University (SWU) and TUJ share a campus at SWU’s location in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. TUJ officially moved to a new six-story building on SWU’s campus in 2019.

Curriculum

Students take both standard and specialty law courses that focus on international, comparative, and Asian legal studies and provide students with practical knowledge of international law and business. The comparative law courses provide in-depth knowledge of current issues in transnational law through analysis of the cultural foundation for the Japanese legal system. All courses are taught in English. Students may also take a non-credit Japanese language course.

Prospective students should review course descriptions and schedules for any given semester.

Students must attend a minimum of 80% of the regularly scheduled class hours in a course to be considered in regular attendance. Faculty members may impose more stringent attendance requirements for a particular course by giving enrolled students reasonable advance notice of their specific attendance policies.

Faculty are encouraged to use a target mean grade point average of 3.05 in all exam courses, with a range of grades such that at least 20% are A- or above and at least 20% are C+ or below. A mean of 3.00 to 3.10 complies with this policy. The target mean does not apply to writing seminars and guided research projects, but faculty are urged to use a range of grades that reflect a range of performance in such courses.

A student’s home school determines whether to accept any credit or grade from any course taken in the program.

Faculty

The courses are taught by a combination of full-time faculty resident in Japan, one faculty member from main campus who is visiting Japan, and local adjunct faculty.

Program Director

Anticipated Enrollment

The program ordinarily welcomes 25 students, with approximately 15 students from Temple Law and 10 from Other law schools.

Participants from Other Law Schools

Students from other law schools are encouraged to apply. Prospective students should consult with their home institution to confirm the coursework earned can be applied to their J.D. degree. Students who find that their home institution will not accept credits in transfer are still welcome to participate.

Most ABA-accredited law schools will readily accept Temple credits toward their J.D.

Albany Law School

University of Akron

American University

University of Arizona

Arizona State University

University of Arkansas

University of Baltimore

Barry University

Benjamin Cardozo School of Law

Boston University

Boston College

Brigham Young University

Brooklyn Law School

University of Buffalo

University of California-Berkeley

University of California-Davis

University of California-Hastings

University of California-Los Angeles

California Western University

Capitol University

Case Western Reserve

Catholic University

Chicago-Kent College of Law

University of Cincinnati

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

University of Colorado

University of Connecticut

Cornell Law School

University of Dayton

University of Denver

DePaul University

Detroit College of Law

Drake Law School

Drexel University

University of Detroit Mercy

Duke University

Emory University

University of Florida

Florida Coastal Law School

Florida State University

Fordham University

Franklin Pierce Law School

George Mason

University of Hawaii

Hofstra University

University of Houston

Howard University

University of Illinois

University of Indiana-Bloomington

Indiana University-Indianapolis

University of Iowa

John Marshall Law School

Kansas University

University of Kentucky

Lewis and Clark University

Louisiana State University

University of Louisville

Loyola University-Chicago

Loyola Law School-Los Angeles

University of Maine

Marquette University

University of Maryland

McGeorge School of Law-UOP

Mercer Law School

University of Miami

University of Michigan

Michigan State University

University of Minnesota

University of Mississippi

University of Missouri-Columbia

University of Nebraska

University of Nevada-Law Vegas

University of New Mexico

New York Law School

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

University of North Dakota

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Nova Southeastern Law School

Ohio Northern-Claude Petit

Ohio State University

University of Oklahoma

University of Oregon

Pace University

University of the Pacific

University of Pennsylvania

Penn State-Dickinson

Pepperdine University

University of Pittsburgh

University of Puerto Rico

Quinnipiac University

University of Richmond

Roger Williams Law School

Rutgers University-Camden

Rutgers University-Newark

Samford University

University of San Francisco

Santa Clara University

University of Saskatchewan (Canada)

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

Seattle University

Seton Hall University

University of South Carolina

University of South Dakota

Southern University

University of Southern California

Southern Illinois University

University of Southern Maine

Southern Methodist University

South Texas Law School

Southwestern University

St. John’s University

St. Thomas University

State University of New York-Buffalo

Stetson

Suffolk Law School

Syracuse University

Temple University

University of Tennessee

University of Texas

Texas Tech University

Touro Law Center

University of Tulsa

University of Utah

Valparaiso University

Vanderbilt University

University of Victoria (Canada)

Vermont University

Villanova Law School

Wake Forest University

Washburn University

University of Washington

Washington University School of Law

Wayne State University

Western New England

West Virginia University

Whittier College

Widener University

Willamette University College of Law

College of William and Mary

William Mitchell College of Law

University of Windsor (Canada)

University of Wisconsin-Madison