Sophia University was established in 1913, when the Japanese Ministry of Education gave a small group of Jesuits permission to found a new educational institution under the Japanese name of Jōchi Gakuin. From its modest beginning Sophia University has grown to be one of the foremost of Japan's private universities, with a student body of over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a teaching staff of more than one thousand. In the tradition of the international character of Sophia’s founders, the faculty members represent twenty different nationalities; they are committed to conveying to the next generation through their scholarship and teaching both humankind's cultural and intellectual heritage and a concern for the problems facing the world today.

Mission: Conforming with the spirit of Catholicism and with a focus on academics, the University searches for the highest goal of truth; provides broad and deep expertise in academics; attempts character-building through the spread of intelligence, morality, and practical ability; and proposes to cultivate competent community leaders who will contribute to cultural development and human welfare.