We host students of all ages and backgrounds from many countries. Our students' ages range from 22 to 65 with the average student being around 35 years of age. Our Japan-campus-based students include attorneys, patent agents, legal department staff, paralegals, professionals, professors, corporate directors, translators, graduate students, and other qualified individuals looking to advance their careers. A large contingent of JD students from the U.S. joins us every spring, and some remain for summer classes.

Please see our Course Schedules & Descriptions page. You can see our current, future and past course offerings and schedule.

To be admitted to either LLM program, you must have a law degree from a university that the relevant government or organizational body has recognized or accredited. If you do not have a law degree but have a degree or work experience in a law-related field, you can apply for the certificate programs. We limit admission of non-law graduates.

If you have a first law degree from any country other than the United States, you may apply for any of our programs. Please see further details from "What is the difference between the two LLM programs? " for the two LLM program qualifications.

• LLM for Foreign-Trained Lawyers (U.S. Law) (Formal Admission)
• LLM in Transnational Law
• Certificates and Audit

In addition, Japanese citizens and foreign nationals holding a visa that entitles them to reside in Japan for longer than three months may apply for conditional admission to the LLM for Foreign-Trained Lawyers (U.S. Law).

The LLM for Foreign-Trained Lawyers (U.S. Law) program is typically for students without common law training. Students in the program take U.S. law course, though they may also take comparative and international course.

The LLM in Transnational Law program is typically for students who have earned a JD in the United States or who come from a jurisdiction where the legal system is based on the common law, or who may not have a common law background but have a very particular interest in international and comparative law. Students may take only international or comparative law course. Students who have never earned a law degree outside Japan must spend a semester in Philadelphia, Rome (summer only) or Beijing.

The LLM in Transnational Law also has a prerequisite course: International Law. Students who have not satisfied the prerequisite must take a further 3-credit course in international law in addition to the 24 credits required for the degree.