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Our university opened in April 2020 (Reiwa 2) as Japan's first professional university and professional junior college specializing in education and research related to agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming. It traces its origins to the Shizuoka Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry College, founded in 1900 (Meiji 33), and carries on a history of nearly 120 years.
The keywords underlying our approach to learning are "advanced practical skills" and "rich imagination and creativity." With the aim of cultivating human resources who will support the sustainable development of agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming, students learn not only advanced production techniques but also practical subjects such as the processing, distribution, sales, and management of agricultural, forestry, and livestock products. The curriculum is also distinguished by its practical approach to learning about the environment, traditions, and culture of rural and mountain communities.
Shizuoka Prefecture is home to many leading industries it can be proud of on a global stage, and it is also an agricultural prefecture that produces abundant, high-quality agricultural, forestry, and livestock products, while actively pursuing next-generation approaches to these industries. Moreover, being close to major consumer markets such as the greater Tokyo and Chukyo (Nagoya) areas, and well served by infrastructure — roads, railways, and other arteries of the Japanese economy — our university is, in every respect, an ideal place to learn how to establish agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming as viable businesses.

Agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming are vital core industries that produce food, resources, and energy, contributing to the survival of humankind. Today, global warming is recognized as the greatest challenge facing the planet. Global warming does not simply raise air and sea temperatures — it also disrupts ecosystems, causing climate-related phenomena such as extreme heat, drought, torrential rain, and out-of-season typhoons, as well as an increase in pests. In particular, the rapid climate change of recent years has had a major negative impact on agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming — significantly reducing yields of rice and fruit trees due to crop sterility and other factors — and concern over the stable supply of food is growing. Cultivating human resources who will engage in agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming and carry out sustainable management is therefore essential to the sustainable development of Japan as a whole. All of our faculty and staff are committed to nurturing the next generation of talent who can rise to the challenge of sustainably developing agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming.

Profile
1983: Graduated from the Department of Forest Products Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT)
1985: Completed the Master's Program in Forest Products Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
1988: Completed the Doctoral Program in Resource and Environmental Science, The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
Ph.D. in Agriculture

Served on the faculty of the Faculty of Agriculture at Hokkaido University and the Faculty of Agriculture at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. Worked as a doctoral research fellow dispatched by the French government at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Served as Dean of The United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology from 2011 to 2023, and as Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture / Graduate School of Agriculture / Institute of Agriculture at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology from 2020 to 2025. Since 2025, he has held the positions of Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, as well as Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration Researcher at its Faculty and Graduate School of Agriculture. He assumed the position of President of this university in April 2026.

He has received numerous awards, including Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS) in 2001, the Japan Wood Research Society Award in 2003, the Ecological Engineering Society of Japan Award in 2007, the Japanese Society of Agricultural Engineering Award in 2020, the Japan Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Award in 2024, and both the Japanese Society of Agricultural Science Award and the Yomiuri Agricultural Science Award in 2025.

He has served as President of the Japan Wood Research Society, Director of the Japanese Forestry Society, Chairman of the Ecological Engineering Society of Japan, Councilor of the Cellulose Society of Japan, Director of the Japan Wood Processing and Technology Association, and Director of the Review Board for Wood Preservatives, among other roles. He has also served on numerous government and national university corporation committees, including: Expert Committee Member (Chair of the Agricultural Science Subcommittee) of the University Establishment and School Corporation Council (University Establishment Subcommittee), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Selection Committee Member for a project to cultivate advanced specialists who drive industrial DX (digital transformation) by combining digital technology with specialized fields; Expert Committee Member of the National University Education and Research Evaluation Committee, National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation; and, at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Expert Committee Member of the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Committee, Expert Committee Member of the Screening Board for Research Fellowships, and Written Review Committee Member of the International Programs Committee; as well as Examination Committee Member at the National Personnel Authority.

Spirit of study

  • 『耕土耕心』Kodo Koshin

  • “to cultivate the land is to
    cultivate your heart”

    Our predecessor, the Shizuoka Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry College, inspired by its philosophy Kodo Koshin (“to cultivate the land is to cultivate your heart”), produced a steady stream of graduates determined to help the development of agriculture and forestry in Shizuoka.
    As we transition to our new structure as a professional university, we continue to incorporate that spirit into our efforts to provide not only practical knowledge and skills in agriculture and forestry, but also the expertise needed to harness state-of-the-art technologies and promote innovative business practices, to students of all ages, nationalities, and genders. In doing so, we seek to create a workforce capable of supporting and nurturing rural communities.

Vision

4-year curriculum

Shizuoka Professional University of Agriculture (SPUA)

Faculty of Agricultural Production and Management

We teach students to become agricultural or forestry professionals and help them acquire the skills to lead rural communities into the future.

Vision1

Fostering tomorrow’s agricultural or forestry professionals

Our mission is to produce graduates with the practical skills and creativity to bring fresh momentum to businesses in Shizuoka Prefecture’s mainstay horticultural, forestry, and livestock farming sectors, which are responsible for the prefecture’s varied high-quality produce.

Vision2

Developing tomorrow’s rural community leaders

By instilling the expertise involved in conserving the scenic natural environments and inheriting the traditions and cultures of local communities, including those involved in the agricultural and forestry industries, we endeavor to nurture new leaders to ensure those regions continue to thrive.

2-year curriculum

Shizuoka Professional University Junior College of Agriculture (SPJCA)

Junior College

Students become agricultural production leaders and acquire the skills to underpin rural communities’ livelihoods.

Vision1

Training leaders for agricultural and forestry workplaces

Our mission is to produce graduates with the practical skills and creativity to bring fresh momentum to production workplaces in Shizuoka Prefecture’s mainstay horticultural, forestry, and livestock farming sectors which are responsible for the prefecture’s varied high-quality produce.

Vision2

Producers to carry rural communities to a prosperous future

By instilling the expertise involved in conserving the scenic natural environments and inheriting the traditions and cultures of local communities, including those involved in the agricultural and forestry industries, we endeavor to nurture new producers to ensure those regions continue to thrive.