Message from Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Educating pharmacists who combine a high level of expertise and deep sensitivity

Today's Showa Pharmaceutical University (SPU) was preceded by the Showa Women's Pharmaceutical Junior College, which was founded in 1930 by a group of students from a women's pharmacy school who overcame a number of hardships and won the backing of faculty and a benefactor in a bid to have their old school recognized as a pharmaceutical junior college. With students at the core of its establishment and no real "owners," the school's development has always been supported through the joint efforts of faculty, students, parents, and alumni. As a result of this school history, faculty and students enjoy a close relationship at SPU, where the family-like atmosphere is a tradition.

The authority and responsibilities of pharmacists have increased as the separation between dispensing and prescribing drugs has widened in Japan in recent years, resulting in the need for well-qualified pharmacists who can contribute to team medicine in medical care settings. Starting in fiscal year 2006, SPU adopted a six-year educational system. The entire university is committed to nurturing pharmacists who can combine a high level of expertise in pharmaceutical products with a strong sense of ethics and who can develop the deep sensitivity necessary for empathizing with patients. In particular, one of the major distinguishing characteristics of SPU is the opportunity for all of its students to receive an education in advanced clinical pharmacy while participating in-service training as a member of a medical team at several leading university hospitals thanks to a partnership with St. Marianna University School of Medicine, which has three university hospitals in Tokyo and an affiliated hospital in neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture.

Ever since it was established in 1930, SPU has taken pride in its tradition as a distinguished pharmaceutical university, its nationally recognized facilities, its highly enthusiastic faculty, and its verdant campus grounds. Backed by these assets, SPU has developed a structure for living up to the expectations of young people who aspire to fully meet the demands of society through a career in pharmacology.