Tokyo Metropolitan University



Tokyo Metropolitan University (首都大学東京; Shuto Daigaku Tōkyō. former 東京都立大学; Tōkyō Toritsu Daigaku) is one of Tokyo's Metropolitan prefecture managing universities. Often it is referred to as TMU.

Tokyo Metropolitan University doesn't have a very long history, but does have a reputation for high level academic studies. Till 1991 it had two campuses near the city center, Yakumo campus, Meguro and Fukazawa campus, Setagaya. On April 1 1991 it has moved to Hachiōji city, Tokyo. The current campus is named Minamiosawa campus.

Shintaro Ishihara, a politician and novelist was voted the governor of Tokyo and has promised to renovate metropolitan academic institutes including Tokyo Metropolitan University. According to Ishihara's plan, all institutes will be integrated into one university. Since this is his own plan and does not reflect any voices of students or staff, there are harsh arguments against his improvements. Early 2004 some professors of the faculty of Law in Tokyo Metropolitan University retired in protest of the Ishihara plan. Disagreement is strong among the faculty of Humanities, since Ishihara plans to abandon all seminars of literature from the faculty and create a new faculty in Tsukisima where it takes one hour or more from Minamiosawa campus. That separation will involve an inconvenience especially in humanity studies and therefore has gained no sympathy on campus.