Despite the ongoing political and territorial rift between Japan and China, a Beijing-based university continues with its global expansion plan and opens a campus in Tokyo, the Japanese capital.

The Beijing Language and Culture University is set to officially open in April its campus in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, with the aim of tapping into Japan's strong interest in learning China's language and culture.

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"The Tokyo campus will target Japanese and non-Japanese high school graduates and exchange students in the country," said university officials.

It will be Beijing Language and Culture University's second overseas branch, following the opening of a similar campus in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Officials said the university decided to open a campus in Japan because it aims to tap the Japanese market and offer the same level of education as the main campus at a time when Japanese enrollment in China is declining.

The Tokyo campus will at first offer a course on business communication in Chinese and English but will expand the course offering in 2016 to six courses, including a language course and a course on Chinese trade and economics.

"We hope to see graduates find work at trading houses and at firms that are helping Japanese companies set up overseas businesses," University officials said.

Other Chinese universities have set up campuses in Japan, including Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which opened a branch in Kobe, but this is the first time a university directly under the supervision of the Chinese Education Ministry has opened one, the officials said.

In Beijing, the university, which designed the Chinese language proficiency test, or HSK, has accepted more than 150,000 foreign students so far.

It will offer enrollment in April and September at its Tokyo campus, the same times when many schools abroad start their academic years, with the number of students limited to 150. 

TagsBeijing Language and Culture University, Beijing University, Beijing University in Tokyo