History

Nihonbashi Elementary Commercial Night School was established at Nihonbashi (current Nihonbashi Chuo-ku, Tokyo) by Mr. Junjiro Takakusu and others.  In 1889 (Meiji 22), "The Constitution of the Empire of Japan" was issued wherein the national policy of "increasing wealth and military power" was stressed.

The "Chuo Commercial School" opened in Kyobashi (current Arakawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) as a senior commercial school and an updated version of the Nihonbashi Elementary Commercial School. The Chuo Commercial School name was selected at Mr. Takakusu’s suggestion.  Mr.Takakusu, after returning from Europe, had the words “center” and "central" always in mind, and expressed his wish of pursuing something that would be "at the center of society, culture, and education” by incorporating the word “chuo” into the name of the school.

The old-system junior high school and commercial school were abolished, a new-system "Chuo High School”　with a Commercial and General course was established in accordance with the new school system, and Chuo Gakuin evolved into a 6-year junior high school to high school education facility under the new system.

The Chuo Gakuin Educational Institution was approved by the Ministry of Education in accordance with the establishment of the "Private School Act" (established in November, 1949)
The Chuo Commercial Junior College was established.
Official authorization to establish a junior college was granted by the Ministry of Education. (Subjects: Commercial 1 course, co-educational night school).

A student in the commercial course of the high school won the Tokyo High School Invitational Abacus Calculation Tournament championship with full marks. This event, sponsored by the Tokyo Regional Postal Savings office, was ranked at the highest level. At that time, the ability to calculate with an abacus was a kind of barometer to gage the effectiveness of commercial education. Winning the championship with a perfect score at the highest level of competition was such a remarkable accomplishment that it greatly enhanced the Chuo Gakuin name and also helped prove the high quality of the education that had been implemented. In order to further improve the quality of commercial education, the commercial faculty of the high school became independent and was renamed "Chuo Commercial High School".

In this era, when the Japanese economy had accomplished miraculous development following the national policy of high level economic growth and when ethics and morality as well as social order were changing, a new university plan was established with a philosophy of cultivating both social and moral integrity and backed by a plan for industry-university cooperation, and "Chuo Gakuin University" was born as a college with a Department of Commerce and a Faculty of Commerce in Abiko-machi (current Abiko City) in Chiba Prefecture.

Taking the opportunity of the 80^th anniversary of the University's founding, a preparatory commission was set up to add an additional department. The new department that was decided on was the Faculty of Law. The purpose of the Faculty was defined as the cultivation of local public officials in response to the importance of local societies in current Japan. Two courses, a Judiciary course and an Administration course, were established and the history of the Department of Law's Faculty of Law had begun.

As one of the 100^th anniversary memorial projects, construction of the Chuo Gakuin 100^th Anniversary Memorial Building, with 8 stories of classrooms and offices above ground, proceeded and was completed in February 2004, further enriching the learning environment. The overall floor area is about 11,000 square meters and the building is proud of its advanced security system as well as its information system environment.

As one of the memorial projects for the 40^th anniversary of the university's founding as well as the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the Chuo Gakuin Educational Institution, the Graduate School of Commerce (Master’s course) was established.
21st century society has been changing from the era when priority was given to the profit coming from mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal, to the new era where business ethics and the social responsibility of industries are urged. From now on, in order to study and do research in commerce, it has become imperative to include an understanding of corporate governance and compliance and the adherence to ethics and law. For this reason, this Graduate School is dedicated to cultivating business persons with professional knowledge in accounting and management and the general high levels of business expertise that will be needed in order to accommodate these changes in our social environment.

As one of the memorial projects of the 50^th Anniversary of the University's founding, the Faculty of Liberal Arts opened.